The husbandry fundamentals every keeper should know, in plain language. If a term keeps coming up and you want the short version, it is probably here.
Aestivation
A summer or dry-season dormancy to escape heat and drought, the warm-weather counterpart to brumation.
Basking
Sitting under heat and light to raise body temperature and absorb UVB.
Bioactive
A living, self-cleaning enclosure with real plants and a clean-up crew that break down waste.
Brumation
The reptile equivalent of hibernation: a seasonal winter slow-down in cooler months.
Ferguson zones
A 1 to 4 scale that groups species by how much UV they need, used to pick the right UVB.
Gut-loading
Feeding feeder insects a nutritious diet before offering them, so the nutrients pass to your reptile.
Hibernation
A mammalian winter dormancy; in reptiles the correct term is brumation.
Humidity
The amount of moisture in the air, a species-specific target that affects shedding, hydration and breathing.
Impaction
A gut blockage, often from swallowed substrate, oversized food, dehydration or low temperatures.
Metabolic bone diseaseMBD
A serious condition from calcium, vitamin D3 or UVB deficiency that weakens and deforms bone and shell.
Quarantine
Keeping a new or rescued animal isolated for a period to catch parasites or illness before it meets your others.
Sheddingecdysis
The normal renewal of skin as an animal grows; snakes shed in one piece, lizards in patches.
Thermal gradient
The range of temperatures across an enclosure, from a warm basking end to a cool end.
Thermoregulation
How a cold-blooded animal controls its body temperature by moving between warm and cool areas.
UVB
Ultraviolet-B light that lets a reptile make vitamin D3 and use calcium for healthy bone and shell.
Looking for something specific? Browse the health reference, the care guides, or the free tools.