Slow-Worm Care Sheet

[daftlassieEmma]

Originally Posted by LiamRatSnake

What % of UV is recommended if it's used? I can't imagine they'd need a high one. What about supplementation of food?

if you read axorozzas' post you'll see that UV isn't required supplement wise; i would dust purchased bugs, especially when it starts to get colder and wild bugs will be harder to obtain

[Mirf]

Originally Posted by LiamRatSnake

What % of UV is recommended if it's used? I can't imagine they'd need a high one. What about supplementation of food?

I personally provide a 5% uv and they do make use of it, basking for several hours in the morning. As for supplements it is quite difficult to dust a lot of the food they eat,so I tend to always leave a dish of fruit and veg, well dusted, in the viv at all times. The livefood feed on that thus ensuring the slowies get the required vits and calcium.

As for substrate I personally use finely seived garden soil. This seems more beneficial and the micro organisms within it help break down any frass, therefore keeping cleaning (and disturbance to the slowies) to a minimum.

[LiamRatSnake]

Originally Posted by daftlassieEmma

if you read axorozzas' post you'll see that UV isn't required supplement wise; i would dust purchased bugs, especially when it starts to get colder and wild bugs will be harder to obtain

Originally Posted by Mirf

I personally provide a 5% uv and they do make use of it, basking for several hours in the morning. As for supplements it is quite difficult to dust a lot of the food they eat,so I tend to always leave a dish of fruit and veg, well dusted, in the viv at all times. The livefood feed on that thus ensuring the slowies get the required vits and calcium.

As for substrate I personally use finely seived garden soil. This seems more beneficial and the micro organisms within it help break down any frass, therefore keeping cleaning (and disturbance to the slowies) to a minimum.

Thanking you both.

[snowgoose]

Yeah dusting can be done using something like Nurobol if you have some that you already use for your reps

[arthur cooke]

I've always liked slow worms, thanks for the care sheet Snowgoose, very interesting.
On my terraces in Italy there are lots and sadly when I'm rotovating in the spring I find lots of little ones that have been damaged by the machine, I always do a search first and clear what I can but still find 10 or 12 cut up.

The villagers think they are snakes and kill them and once I picked one up to show them it was harmless, they all backed off in fear, they now think I'm an English nutter who picks up deadly snakes and what's more, they don't bite me.
Rena, who is the, sort of village head women, tells me they are poisoness.

I think even in the UK people think they are snakes and kill them.

cheers arthur

[snowgoose]

Originally Posted by arthur cooke

I've always liked slow worms, thanks for the care sheet Snowgoose, very interesting.
On my terraces in Italy there are lots and sadly when I'm rotovating in the spring I find lots of little ones that have been damaged by the machine, I always do a search first and clear what I can but still find 10 or 12 cut up.

The villagers think they are snakes and kill them and once I picked one up to show them it was harmless, they all backed off in fear, they now think I'm an English nutter who picks up deadly snakes and what's more, they don't bite me.
Rena, who is the, sort of village head women, tells me they are poisoness.

I think even in the UK people think they are snakes and kill them.

cheers arthur

haha, that made me chuckle about people thinking they are poisonous. They rarely bite and if they did they don't have the strength to hurt

It's sad that people think they are snakes. If they took the time to find out what they are when forum rather than jumping to conclusions suck as "they are snakes" and " they are poisonous" they might be more common all over the areas that they habitat.

[axorozzas]

hairless caterpillars

Also avoid brightly coloured ones as these are toxic.

[jordyaleo]

The lack of knowledge in this country is unbeleiveable i swear everyone thinks they are poisonous and soul aim in life if to kill everything people should terach their kids about the organisms we have to share this planet with

[Chuckwalla]

I photographed and returned this little beauty, he was quite content to be handled, and did not seem skittish at all.

[daftlassieEmma]

Originally Posted by Chuckwalla

I photographed and returned this little beauty, he was quite content to be handled, and did not seem skittish at all.

image

gorgeous looks pretty big too