Feeding – Wilmette Pet Center

Caring for your reptiles and amphibians just got easier (and more attractive)

Christopher, manager, WPC — Tue, 21 Aug 2018 21:41:03 +0000

Part of the fun of keeping reptiles is creating a little chunk of the jungle in your home. But some of the equipment you need to help them thrive can be bulky and unattractive. That’s why we brought in Zilla’s newest cage accessories, helping make your terrarium both attractive and healthier for its inhabitant.

Many reptiles evolved to lap water off of leaves and plants, usually from rain and fog, so they do not see standing water as something to drink. Providing moving water can be a little difficult, until now. The Zilla Spring Cave is a brilliant way to add moving water to your cage while looking incredibly cool!

A sealed basin holds the water, and a fine screen on top prevents animals, debris, and crickets from getting in and fouling up the pump.
Water cascades over an artificial plant, keeping ambient humidity high and providing a perfect drinking spot.
Realistic looking mossy rock and stick perch blend beautifully into your terrarium decorations.
Top holds blue LEDs and a feeding dish.
Great for frogs, chameleons, and geckos.

Zilla’s new Mushroom Feeding ledge puts the food up high, where many species of reptiles naturally look for food. Mimicking their natural habitat will make sure they’re eating well, and helps reduce stress. This realistic ledge holds a feeding fish, is lightweight and durable, and attaches to the terrarium wall with a powerful locking suction cup so it won’t come loose!

Both of these would look greatwith a red eyed tree frog, or the White’s tree frog. They like to be up high, and the waterfall will help keep the high humidity they need to thrive.

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This post, Caring for your reptiles and amphibians just got easier (and more attractive), originally appeared on Wilmette Pet Center on August 21, 2018. Tweet This Post!

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We have calciworms!

Christopher, manager, WPC — Fri, 17 Aug 2018 17:26:11 +0000

We have calciworms! These nutritious fly larvae are high in calcium and protein, and are a great way to add some variety and interest to your insectivorous reptile’s diet!

You can read more about their nutritional content here.

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This post, We have calciworms!, originally appeared on Wilmette Pet Center on August 17, 2018. Tweet This Post!

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Understanding live feeders and reptile nutrition

Christopher, manager, WPC — Mon, 06 Aug 2018 22:34:25 +0000

Part of responsible pet ownership is providing a healthy, species appropriate diet. For many animals, mostly reptiles, that is going to include feeding live foods. And yes, they can be gross for some people, but they meet a need that your pet has like nothing else can.

Why feed live, when there are dried and canned insects available?

Many of our pets are ambush predators, and have to see their food moving by them. Dried and dead insects often will not trigger their appetite, and are not as nutritious as live ones.

Because no food is nutritionally complete, to ensure that your pet gets the best nutrition it’s best to both gut load and dust your insects with vitamin/calcium powders. Gut loading just means ensuring that you insect is eating and filled with something nutritious, so that your pet will receive it, too. Gut loading can be done with a variety of foods, from potatoslices and zucchini to apples and fresh greens – potatoes and zucchini tend to last the longest without spoiling, but always be sure to clean out old veggies and replace with fresh.

Looking for something more simple? Flukers makes a cricket diet that is packed with vitamins and minerals. Repashy offers Bug Burger, a powder that you make into a unique, highly nutritious gel for all your insect’s needs. These are an incredibly convenient way to deliver high quality nutrition to your feeder insects and, therefore, to your pet.

In nature, reptiles and amphibians are exposed to a wide variety of food items, often much more varied and ultimately more nutritious than those diets fed to captive herps. We often need to give supplements to ensure great health. There is a great deal of discussion in herpetology about vitamins and mineral supplements, and people find this very confusing. How much do you give? What is the difference between calcium with D3 vs without? How much is toxic?

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This post, Understanding live feeders and reptile nutrition, originally appeared on Wilmette Pet Center on August 6, 2018. Tweet This Post!

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Our newest foods for reptiles and fish!

Christopher, manager, WPC — Thu, 08 Jun 2017 19:18:04 +0000

We have two very cool new foods to introduce:

Our pets were not meant to eat pellets. There’s nothing like it in the wild, where their food is full of water. We feed them pelleted foods for one reason only: convenience. But Repashy is changing all of that.

They’re well known for their powdered crested gecko food. It is an amazing diet, and is thought to be responsible for increasing their lifespan in captivity. And now they’ve taken that idea of an incredibly nutritious diet one step further with recipes for all of our reptile companions in a unique gel formula.

Repashy makes it incredibly easy to prepare your own moist, nutritious food for your pets:

Add one part powder to two or three parts hot or boiling water. Let it cool at room temperature (spreading it out in a pan helps it set faster, as does putting it in the fridge), then cut up into cubes. Placed in a bag, it will stay fresh for up to two weeks in the fridge or 6 months in the freezer.

Grub Pie – Our Insect Based (75%) Meal Replacement Gel for Insectivorous Species of Reptiles and Amphibians. Great for Bearded Dragons, Skinks, Dwarf Monitors, Salamanders and more. Insects are raised in the USA on high quality ingredients!

Meat Pie – Our Meal Replacement Gel for Carnivorous Species of Reptiles and Amphibians. Great for Monitors, Tegus, Newts, Salamanders, Horned Frogs and others.

Veggie Burger – Our Moderate Protein Level, Plant-Based Gel Formula for Omnivorous Reptiles such as Bearded Dragons and Blue Tongue Skinks. Also makes a Great Occasional Treat for Herbivores such as Tortoises and Iguanas.

Grassland Grazer – Our Low Protein, High Fiber Gel Formula for Leaf, Grass, Flower, and Veggie Eating Species such as Tortoises and Uromastyx.

Grub pie for fish – Our Insect Based (75%) Meal Replacement Gel for Insectivorous Species of Tropical Fish. Great for Livebearers, Gouramis, Catfish and even Amphibians. Insects are raised in the USA on high-quality ingredients!

Gut load your insects properly with a gel!

Bug Burger – Our Complete Diet for Crickets, Roaches, and Other Insects. Three ounces of powder makes 1.25 pounds of finished gel feed. Feeds AND Hydrates. Calcium Fortified.

Stop by for a sample of this great food and learn how to train your pet to eat it.

For our finned friends we have:

Bug bites!

Since the dawn of time, insects have been hunted by fish in the wild as they offer a widely available, nutrient-rich food source. This instinctive feeding habit is the foundation behind Bug Bites, which are formulated with Black Soldier Fly Larvae as the #1 ingredient. Employing a unique and sustainable process, the larvae are raised on human-grade fruits and vegetables to provide several “super food” benefits versus any ordinary insect:

“super food” benefits versus any ordinary insect:

Excellent amino acid profile
High in protein
Low in carbs

No exoskeleton – easily digestible
Appealing taste fish crave

It’s available in multiple formulas for every kind of fish and feeder in your aquarium.

They use more than just bugs. Check out their page to see the other high quality proteins and supplements, plus their levels of quality control.

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This post, Our newest foods for reptiles and fish!, originally appeared on Wilmette Pet Center on June 8, 2017. Tweet This Post!

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