Three months ago, I set up a 4x2x2 enclosure for my bearded dragon Mango and watched her refuse food for a full week. The basking spot read 88°F with a cheap hardware-store bulb, far below the 105-115°F she needed to digest properly. I swapped in a proper halogen basking bulb, hit 110°F within 20 minutes, … Read more
After keeping reptiles for the better part of a decade, I’ve learned that getting belly heat right is the single biggest factor in keeping snakes and geckos healthy. Your basking lamp can be perfect, but if the floor of the enclosure never warms up, your snake won’t digest properly. That’s where the best under-tank heaters … Read more
Finding the best large snake enclosures for adult boas can make or break your pet’s long-term health. Adult boa constrictors routinely reach 6 to 8 feet, with some large males pushing past 10 feet, so a cramped starter tank simply will not cut it. After 60 days of hands-on testing with a 7-foot red tail … Read more
Finding the best tortoise enclosures for indoor setups changed how I keep my own Russian tortoise healthy. After watching him drag himself around a cramped plastic tub for two winters, I spent four months testing every wooden tortoise table, PVC habitat, and multi-room cage I could get my hands on. The difference between a proper … Read more
I spent three months testing and comparing 13 of the most popular multi-level ferret cages on the market, and I can tell you right now: not all tall cages are created equal. My two rescue ferrets, Bandit and Luna, were my honest judges as I measured bar gaps, watched them navigate ramps, and cleaned up … Read more
Building a thriving bioactive terrarium starts from the ground up. After testing dozens of mixes over the past three years, our team knows the best reptile substrate for bioactive setups makes the difference between a self-sustaining ecosystem and a constant chore. The right substrate supports your cleanup crew, holds plant roots, regulates humidity, and lets … Read more
Keeping a reptile means becoming their hydration manager. I learned this the hard way when my leopard gecko stopped shedding properly last year, and a quick check of the water dish revealed slime buildup I had not noticed. After that, I started obsessively testing different bowls and feeders across three of my own reptiles and … Read more
I built my first bioactive vivarium three years ago, and the single biggest upgrade I made wasn’t the substrate or the lighting. It was the background. The right terrarium background transformed a flat glass box into a living diorama. The wrong one had my crested gecko glass-surfing at midnight. After testing dozens of backgrounds on … Read more
I still remember the first time I tried to transport my cockatiel to the vet in a cardboard box. He panicked, kicked his way out through a corner gap, and flew straight into my ceiling fan. That was the day I started taking bird travel carriers seriously. Over the past three years, our team has … Read more
My cockatiel Pip used to look like he’d been dust-bathing in flour, and I had no idea why until I spent a weekend at a bird owner’s house watching her parakeet splash around in a tiny tub clipped to the cage door. That moment changed how I think about cage accessories entirely. The best bird … Read more