what are your fav reptile products

[gbraatz]

Im working on a survey and its a lot more complex then I thought it would be. I am a long time herper and of course I have brands of products I like more than others. So I got to thinking what products do other herpers like and what products do you hate. Please I dont want this to turn into one person not liking one product and everyone else rips him or her a new a@@hole. Please post what products you like. Be specific If you like T-Rex's juv bearded food let me know. Or if you like only brown substrate from some company please let me know. I dont care how much you right just please write.

[Scotty Allen]

Well fed rodents and insects, fruit and vegetables, fresh fish and a handful of bite sized snails as well as the odd bird, depending on species. A good brand of finely powdered calcium if it's not feasible to scrape your own from a piece of cuttlebone. As far as substrate, my all time favourite is Beta Chip followed closely by newspaper. For burrownig species, a sandy soil mix containing enough clay to hold a burrow. Spaghnum moss works pretty well for most terrestrial amphibians and for for any other species of herp which needs more humidity than which Beta Chip or newspaper is appropriate for.

For those inclined, there are a number of wonderful electronic do-dads, gim-cracks, thing-a-ma-bobs and knick-knacks out there for turning your lights and heat on and off if you can't remember to do it yourself. I use this thing called a switch. Okay, okay, I do use a timer for the lights on my skink colony.

In thirty odd years of keeping and breeding many species of reptiles and amphibians the above is really all I've ever used.

"Moon Drops", "Sun Drops", "Shed Aid" and all that other kaka out there may have some use other than lining the pockets of the manufacturers but I don't know what it is.

Feed your herps a good diet and research their temperature and humidity requirements and you'll be fine.

[chas*e]

Midwest products(hooks and grips) are well made and durable
Substrate- I use poly-paper (meat wrap) for most of my snakes the high humid snakes I use spag moss...
Nix-for head lice is the cleaner(dilluted) that I clean all my enclosures with every 2 weeks..it totally eiminates snake MITE infestations...and is not detrimental to the health of my snakes

[sleddergirl]

So far my favourite things are some clamp/locks that I bought to hold the screen lid on a tank (can't remember the company that made them) and ZooMeds light that has the clamp on it so I can pretty much angle the light from wherever I like.

[marisa]

I don't buy anything special for the snakes or stuff.....but recently we purchased two "trendy" pet store things for herps...

One was the Zoo Med cricket feeder for my roomates American Toad. This thing RULES! The crickets eventually come out one at a time, some stay in though and there is room for food/cricket water in there. Anyways it took the toad about a week, now she sits watching the hole waiting for a cricket or trying to find a good position in which to ambush them when they come out of the hole. Its awesome!

I also bought a Zoo Med magnetic rock cave. Half sits outside the cage half inside...its not *AS* cool as the cricket thing but I am buying another for a cool hide as well, since my leopard gecko loves it.

Marisa

[beth wallbank]

Rubbermaid.......I think I must own shares by now.
Next is well fed feeder bugs and rodents.
Vitamins (cheaper at your local health food store in bulk)
table saw and electric screw driver......best investments I have made.

[Bartman]

zoo med in general..just bought a bunch of stuff from them..mostly bulbs n things like that

[Lisa]

under tank heaters. are my fave. also love cage decorations.

[vanderkm]

Number one is ball tip probes for sexing snakes - just got really sick of relying on other people who were wrong way too often - these are essential. Can't say that we have compared brands - we have the set that Scales Zoo sells - has been perfect - for everything from very small corns to boas.

Second number one item is our RayTek MiniTemp temperature gun - love it - immediate indication of temp on any surface any time anywhere. Even though we use it many times daily - for everything from brumation temps now that it is dropping down to -40 overnight to water temperature when we do changes of the fish tanks, the battery has lasted well over a year. Great tool.

mary v.

[Stockwell]

Nice post Scotty!! I pretty much agree!
I think Provent a mite is a very useful product. I've completely irradicated mites and fleas in my mouse colony with it.. It's great for getting rid of ants too...
Oh yeah,, I hear its super effective for snake mites... but I never have those.. LOL
I also think Flexwatt heat tape is the best darn thing since sliced bread and no I don't work for them, but I might as well(at least they do ship to me directly now lol)
I am also an avid user of Bob Barkers(BJ specialties) original
Pinky Pump... Hell, I'm the only one I know thats worn one out... I'm now using Scotty's (thanks Bud)
And yes of course we all love Rubbermaid, and more recently, I'm using the Truly brand sold by the Bay and Zellers. Good containers for racks and lower cost
And yes I am a share holder of both those corporations.:)

And I also agree with Mary...Those little MidWest probe sets in the leatherette case... Those things rule.. I have a set of both the ball end and straight end.. I like them both, and keep one in the glove box of my car at all times.. its right next to the flashlight.. LOL
And yes, IR heat guns... Fantastic tool.. I use Raytek as well, but I use the Food Safety one, because it's more accurate in the range we want.

And of course, I use and love BETA CHIP ASPEN CHIP and ASPEN SHAVINGS all made by NEPCO

[Scotty Allen]

Use it in good health bud but due to a couple of unexpected Christmas presents, looks like I'm getting back into snakes again. Nothing teeny enough for a pinky pump, but you never know.

[nolagurl]

Snake hook--midwest tongs. I have the collapsible one. It's perfect for hiking and home use. It fits in a back pack perfectly.

Thermostat- hrm. I think it's made by Aline. A good friend of mine recommended it to me. Works beautifully.

Heat domes- Fluker's. They're bases in Louisiana, so I'm partial to them. :-P

Heat emitters- I use Pearlco. Bought them on Ebay.

I personally think certain ZooMed products are crap, like their UTHs.

[ChristinaM]

I don't use specific reptile products for my snakes, but for my lizards:

Zoomed's UV bulbs.

RepCal pellets ( beardie and iguana ) ( before I get jumped on, they are not a staple...they are a back up if I don't have anything else, as well as a garnish and cricket food)

I do have some assorted decor that I bought...I love the stone type dishes in assorted sizes.

Those are the only Reptile intended products I have.

The majority of items I use, come from elsewhere ( vitamins and calcium are the human kind, ground up via coffee grinder )
most decor is homemade ( hammocks, coco-huts, wooden flexable bridges/basking spots)
food dishes, tin pie plates work great for my iggy.
plastic marg tubs, etc are great water bowls/bath tubs/etc.
lots of dollar store stuff, etc.

I am NOT a fan of Flukers. I have their dome lights ( the dome ) because it was actually the cheapest around here.....other than that, I think their vitamins/foods/etc are of very poor quality.

[chas*e]

If you are a herper like me...I build -scrounge- anything and everything for my snakes....I went to a fancy restaurant in Toronto last week and when I walked past the kitchen I seen a cooking tool for escargot(snails) I thought "man, I could use that for cleaning enclosures"...lol....it was hard not to steal/commandier them..lol...so there you go !

[drewlowe]

Zoo med and Exo-terra bulbs...
My little plastic tongs. Don't know how my fingers would be without those...
Bed a beast, absoultly love that stuff!!!
Rubbermaid, sterilite which ever you prefer, i don't mind either way.
The rodent ranch, were i get all my wonderful feeders.
Rep-cal beardies pellets, rep-cal calcium and herptivitamin (buy this stuff way too much !!!! Good thing there not to expensive.

Something creek (forgot the name) they make great hides and dishes from rocks and granite, very nice ones. I have a few water dishes and hides from them.

And all the cool homes there making for herps and the ones i have made myself, can't forget the masonry and feed stores, don't know where i would be with out those 2 places. Probly REALLY broke.

[V.hb]

repti-vite, herpti-vite, rep-cal.. probably the only pet stuff i use for herps..

[mykee]

Helix, Rubbermaid, FlexWatt and Myweigh. I've spent so much on this stuff, I should be a shareholder.

[Scales Zoo]

Midwest equipment, espcially the mini hooks, standard hooks, animal grabbers, big hemostats and large feeding tongs. As previously mentioned (thank you Mary) we do sell these, but they can also be bought from Reptile HQ in Toronto (in Canada).

Heat guns. Currently, all I've ever used is the Raytek MT2's for food safety, the ones we used to sell. In the near future, I am going to try the ones Ravi at the Monitor Spot has for sale.

Rep-Cal, and Herptivite - the only 2 supplements we use, and have ever needed.

Bright stick compact disposable flourescent light, for the non U.V needing reptiles. The tortoises get Verilux and sunlight.

Notable mention would include Nix as preventable medicine, Black Knight for new additions and quarantine, Flexwat, Paper towel by the case, landscape bark by the pallet, human heating pads, hardware store heat lights, electric space heaters, Rubbermaids, Kitty litter pans and cheap plastic dog water dishes.

This is a good thread, I'm sure I'll remember more.

Ryan

[Edwin]

Midwest makes excellent hooks, especially the lightweight standard hook. I was a skeptic until I actually tried them.

Helix thermostats - easy to use and configure, you just set it and forget it. Analog thermostats are good too, I use them over dimmer switches now.

Heat rope is pretty cool too, I havent put mine to use yet, as I am waiting for my rack system, but it is so much more user friendly than heat tape.

Exo Terra has a really neat reptile den for leos, the one with the magnet that allows you to peek in on your pet without disturbing them.

Black Knight is indespensable for getting rid of mites etc., especially for treating substrate and new animals. Nix is pretty good too.

A lot of improvements have been made in cage design, which significantly lower maintenance time (pull out trays) and help keep proper temps and humidity.

IR thermometers - great for checking temps without disturbing your herp.

Thats all I can think of for now..

[Lisa]

I forgot about those magnetic caves, they're awesome, my corn snakes love them.

[SaIiLdVaEnR]

My emperors love those magnetic caves too. I, personally, would not buy them but I did get them as a christmas gift so no complaints here.

Aidan