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Steve Irwin, the larger-than-life Australian who became known as the Crocodile Hunter, has died aged 44.

Keeping a pet is a rewarding experience which many of us enjoy, but it can also be expensive. As well as all the routine costs such as food and grooming, you can also come up against unplanned expenses such as vetinary bills through sickness or accident. These bills can unfortunately be very high, so to ensure that their pets can get the treatment they need many people decide that taking out pet insurance is a sensible way of helping to cushion these costs. But what should you be looking for in a pet insurance policy?

The first thing to consider is what kind of pet you have. The cheapest kind of pet insurance is that for the most common pets - cats and dogs. Prices for these policies can be very reasonable indeed, amounting to only the cost of a few tins of pet food a month. If, however, you keep a more unusual kind of animal as a pet, then the price you pay may well be higher. Make sure that any policy you take out specifically includes your kind of pet, as many will exclude more 'exotic' kinds of animal.

The main reason for considering pet insurance is cover for medical treatment, but there are some exclusions that you need to be aware of. Firstly, your policy will almost certainly not cover routine treatments such as vaccinations, flea control, or worming. Secondly, you won't be covered for any pre-existing conditions that were already known about when you took out the policy (you should also declare any existing conditions when you take out the policy, or you risk it being declared invalid when you come to make a claim).

You also need to check your policy for claim limits: there may be a time limit of cover, so for example a long-term condition such as arthritis may only be covered for a period of 12 months, after which you will be responsible for meeting the bills. There is also usually a limit to the total cost of medical bill claims you make in any one year, but this is usually high enough to cover almost any conceivable situation.

Another major reason for taking out insurance is to help you cover the costs of getting your pet back if it goes missing. Most policies will contribute towards advertising in local newspapers etcetera, and also to providing reward money for the safe return of your pet.

Another very important part of your insurance cover is public liability, especially for dog owners. Even the calmest and most well behaved of pets could possibly cause damage to someone's property, or even cause an injury to a person. In this thankfully rare event, you could be open to huge legal bills and compensation claims - make sure that your policy includes a substantial amount of third party liability cover as standard.

Finally, check whether the policy you're considering places a limit on the age of your pet. Many policies are only available to, for example, cats up until the age of eight years. As it is in later years that your pet is most likely to need treatment, it obviously makes sense to ensure your policy will cover this, especially if your pet has a few years under their belt!

These reptile cage making tips are not comprehensive by any means but they will hopefully help those of you who want to build your own snake or lizard terrariums.

The first, and one of the most useful tips is:

If at any time you feel frustrated or stuck, walk away and think about it for a while.

Rather than persist, I have found it is better to give yourself a break for a bit. Often the solution to the problem will come to you when you least expect it or you will be more relaxed to tackle something that have found difficult.

It is important to know the needs of you reptile before you start even designing a reptile cage.

Ask yourself questions like:

• Is it an arboreal enclosure or terrestrial or a bit of both?

• Does your herp need lots of water?

• Would it do well with a sandy cage or desert vivarium setup?

• What sort of substrate is best?

• Do you want sliding doors, perspex doors - drop down or swinging or a wooden/glass/perspex combination? Each of these has advantages and disadvantages. Think about how you would like to access you herp

• Do you want openings at the top or sides as well?

Another question you need to consider is what materials will you make the snake or lizard cage from? There are quite a few choices and you need to spend some time find out about this.

Have a reptile terrarium plan and draw it up. It may take quite a few sketches before you get it right or satisfy yourself that it is what you want. Draw your final cage from different angles. Use a ruler and pencil to make accurate pictures of your reptile enclosure so you get your measurements correct. Drawing from different angles, eg side view, front view, top view, back view will allow you to not only get your measurements correct but helps to give you visual cues when you start making it.

This also has the advantage of reducing the materials costs as you know exactly what you need. It avoids making multiple shopping trips – although, I always forget something.

Make a list of materials you need from your drawings, including sundry items like screws, glue, nails, hinges, sliding rails, vents etc. This is useful for when you go shopping.

Determine how you will set up heating and lighting for your snake or lizard enclosure.

For example:

• Will the lights sit above the herp cage, above a mesh or a circular hole or will they be fitted inside the cage to allow stacking

• Do you need to stack the reptile cages or allow for the possibility of stacking?

• Do you need protective coverings for the lights?

• Are they purely for basking or do you need UV lighting and if so how long will your cage need to be? If you do need UV light, this can impact on door locations should you want an opening at the top.

• Will you make your own heatmats? What sort of temperature control will you use?

Will your reptile cage be moveable? If not there is no need for castors, or it can be places on top of cupboard. However, if the cage needs to be moved from time to time it is useful to put heavy duty castors on it. Alternatively, place it on a cupboard that has castors and can be moved.

One of the hardest parts is getting perfect right angles and nice straight cuts on large MDF or melamine sheeting should you choose to make your cage from these materials. One way around this is to get the timber accurately pre cut from either where you purchase it or from a local cabinet maker. They may charge you a few dollars but it is well worth it if you do not have the tools at home for accurate cutting. Clamps and timber pieces with electric or hand saws will work but you only need a clamp to slip or go a bit awry as you cut and the edge will be awful, or worse still, the piece has to be thrown away or the cage resized.

Before you start making it, are there some tools you need to borrow or purchase? If are unfamiliar with tools, do you need someone to help you? Make sure you know how to handle a particular tool. If you are uncertain, get someone who knows to show you. Chisels, drills and electric saws can all be dangerous if you do no know what you are doing.

Plan the assembly. Does something need to be done before something else? In what order will you put the pieces together. Does something need two people to make it easier? It is better and less frustrating to ask for help and make a task more successful and easier rather than doing it alone and making a mess of it.

The order of putting things together is not always intuitive. Making large vent holes is easier with the cage in pieces than after it is assembled. For small vent holes, this does not matter. Another example is if you have a top door, putting a UV light in before attaching it, and other doors makes it easier to attach. If you intend to paint the inside, it is sometimes easier to do so inside before you assemble it.

Are you going to paint your reptile terrarium? If you make if from MDF you probably need to paint it but if it is made from laminates, than there is no need. If you are going to paint it, will you spray paint it or paint it with a brush? Are you going to line the inside of the cage? If so, what with? When should you do this?

If you do paint your reptile terrarium, makes sure you leave adequate time for the paint to dry between coats. Give more than one coat and leave the paint to dry for quite a few days at the end before you house animals. This makes sure that the fumes are removed or reduced to an acceptable level.

If you want to decorate your reptile cage, what are you going to do it with? If you intend to put a rock wall in it, you will have to make it a bit wider than you would otherwise to allow for the wall. If you want to have branches in your cage, you need to make sure you can install and remove them easily. How will you attach them in order to do this? You need to treat any timber you use in the cage to remove parasites and unwanted visitors.

Making your own cages can be a rewarding, fun and satisfying experience provided you spend a little time planning and above all, don’t rush it.

About the Author:

Hermit crab is one of the wonderful creatures that all the pet lovers are overlook. Many people think that this animal is moving too slow and nothing to enjoy keeping them. However, it’s so unique that it can change its shell most of the time. Keeping hermit crabs may be fun!
First, remove from your mind the idea that these creatures are very low maintenance. It's not that they require a huge amount of your time, but they do require weekly bathing, new food every few days, new water every day, heat, and a regularly cleaned environment.

Habitat: A hermit crab will be very comfortable in a 10-gallon or bigger aquarium with a few inches of sand or stones at the bottom. Two shallow dishes of water are required – one for salt water and one for dechlorinated fresh water. You can buy additives at pet stores in preparing each water dish. Sponges sitting in the dishes work very well to help add humidity to the habitat.

You'll also need a thermometer and humidity gauge. The tank needs to be between 72 and 82 degrees Fahrenheit. You can use either an under-tank heater, or low wattage lighting to provide heat. The humidity must also be between 70 and 80 percent to keep your hermit crabs healthy.

It helps to have a lid on your tank to keep in moisture, and to keep in your crabs. They can be quite the climbers!

Food: Commercial hermit crab food can be purchased at any pet stores that sell the animal. Supplement their daily food regiment with assorted fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grain breads, or small pieces of fish and meat. You can also offer some pieces of cuttlebone or boiled egg shells for calcium.

You will need to clean food dishes daily and remove any uneaten bits of food from the tank. Also rinse and refill water dishes daily.

Shells: Be sure to provide plenty of empty shells in a variety of sizes. Make sure to also have a variety of shells in different shapes and styles, and with various opening sizes. You never know what type of shell a hermit crab may like, and if a good selection is not provided, crabs can fight over the best ones!

Bathing: Hermit crabs need to be bathed once per week to stay healthy. (This is also a good time to clean the rest of the habitat) Fill a bowl about one inch deep with lukewarm tap water. Very slowly place the hermit crab feet first into the water. Often, the hermit crab will seek shelter inside its shell during this process. As the crab emerges, the water will go into his shell and rinse it clear of any debris. After a few minutes of walking around, take the hermit crab out and place it into his newly clean tank. (This may also be a good time for a treat of fresh carrots or any other type of treat)

Cleaning the habitat: About once per month, do a thorough cleaning with hot water. Avoid detergents and chemicals as these can be harmful to your pets. Sand can be washed and boiled or baked to sterilize it for re-use, if desired. Hermit Crabs are very friendly and fun pets. While they do require a good deal of care to keep them healthy, they are very rewarding pets and can be quite the stress reliever. As with any pet, research should be done before you make the decision to adopt it.

Today, popularity of keeping hermit crab is increasing! You may want to keep one.

About the author:

Tonia Jordan.

This article has been submitted in affiliation with http://www.PetLovers.Com/ which is a site for Pet Forums.

Tonia Jordan is a freelance Journalist and an author at Writing.com

Iguanas are sensitive creatures; most of them rely on their environment for survival. Having an Albino Iguana as your pet gives you the obligation to properly care for it and make sure that it survives under your captivity.

One of the most crucial factors in an Albino Iguana’s survival is food. So being the owner, you must appropriately feed it with the right reptile food.

Iguanas are scientifically classified as herbivores so green leafy plants should not be in its main diet. Though some people still recommend on feeding iguanas with insects and other animal protein based food.

You may have seen iguanas eating insects on televisions and magazines but research studies shows that this thing occurs only by accident. Like for example, when an insect is on a piece of plant. An iguana slowly creeps over to eat it. Then leaf and insect are simultaneously consumed by the reptile.

Experts and veterinarians recommend more vegetables to be fed to your pet and lesser animal protein or insects. This will eventually lead to better physical health.

Albino iguanas also need water, so make sure to provide them with this. Iguanas usually dip their head on the water when drinking, so also make sure to have a tall glass that is full of fresh water. Sometimes they also lick off small water droplets from plants to quench their thirst.

It is highly recommended to feed your iguana every day and regularly. The ideal time for feeding your iguana is early in the morning usually an hour after it is awake. Succeeding feeding all through out the day can also be done but only in small quantity. Never feed your iguana immense amounts of food before sleeping time.

Feeding your Albino Iguana in the morning gives it time to properly digest food before sleeping. In addition, the morning temperature will give your iguana the right environment to properly digest its food.

The amount of food to be given literally depends on the size and bulkiness of your iguana. The main rule in here is to feed your iguana as long as it wants to. This kind of technique will allow you to note how much your iguana can take over one feeding.

Food for your Albino Iguana should be on a shallow bowl which should be made of ceramic, glass or plastic and should be regularly cleaned. The bowl to be used should be sturdy enough to hold your iguana and should not be tipped easily.

Variety of food is also important to make your iguana feel healthy and at home. Iguanas are known to eat a large variety of fruits and flowers in the wild so it is a good idea to also feed them this way while they are in your captivity.

Aside from proper food your pet iguana should also have the proper terrarium lighting and sunshine. Iguanas usually get calcium from the sun rays to help them properly digest their food.

So if you want your Albino Iguana to stay healthy and have a longer life span feed them with the right amount of food and the right kind of reptile food.

For more information about iguanas visit http://www.iguana-care.com

About The Author

Tom Baxter

Never know what to say in these things. I'm an iguana lover, I have several of my own along with other 'exotic pets'. I know what they like, how to look after them and anything else you need to know.

We will talk about several green iguana information here, including the housing, heatinglighting of the enclosure. Let's begin!

Reptile Terrarium

Normally, adult Iguanas can grow to 5-6 feet and thus should be housed in a larger cage. Tall cages or optimal for this type of lizard as they are tree-dwelling and consequently would prefer to be as high from the ground as possible. It is very important to sterilize all branches that will be placed in the terrarium or enclosure with a mild bleach solution.

The relative humidity level of the enclosure should be kept at approximately 70-75%, and this can be obtained by misting the enclosure a couple times daily, perhaps using a Reptile Misting System. Although many people feel that their Iguana could safely roam around the house, the opposite is generally true. Not only do you run the risk of your lizard knocking over it’s heat lamp and starting a fire, it is also common for large amounts of damage to be done to furniture, carpet, wiring, etc.

Reptile Cage Heating

Reptiles in general are Ectothermic which means that they do not produce their own body heat. Thus, reptiles must be given a combination of both warmer and cooler areas in their enclosure. This will allow them to choose their own temperature. Proper heating is vital to a lizards survival, as it allows for a healthy immune system and proper digestion.

Reptile Enclosure Lighting

“Full Spectrum Lighting” is vital to a lizards survival. When selecting a light source ensure that it provides ample UVB rays. For Iguanas this is particularly necessary. The most optimal lighting conditions would provide natural sunlight to the Iguanas. This however is normally not practical as even a standard window can filter out the beneficial UVB rays.

One of the pet lizard owners care and concern is the problem of their lizard tail. For some of the lizard, the tail may easily drop due to some circumstances and it take quite some times to grow back. You may need to read more about lizard tail problems and understand more about it.

Some lizards when confronted with a predator will voluntarily shed their tail. This process is called tail autonomy (self-cut). After the tail is detached from the body it will wiggle around on the ground for a few minutes. This provides a visual distraction and draws attention away from the vulnerable head and abdomen of the lizard. Usually this allows the lizard enough time to make an escape.

Not all lizard species are capable of doing this, the ones that can have fracture points in their vertebrae. The lizard's blood vessels in the tail area rapidly constrict after autonomy to ensure minimal blood loss. The muscles in this area are also adapted to provide easy shedding of the tail.

The whole process of shedding its tail can be very stressful to the lizard. If this happens while in captivity it is generally a result of stress and careful evaluation of the situation is required to ensure that it does not happen again. A lizard that has recently shed its tail should be kept in its own enclosure while it re-grows the tail. Ensure that this enclosure is kept clean to minimize the chance of infection. Growing a new tail requires the expenditure of a great deal of protein (energy) and fat. This is compounded by the fact that the tail stores a lot fat which is no longer with the lizard. It is widely believed that the energy required to re-grow a tail can negatively effect the reproductive cycle. This happens because the lizard is unable to put enough energy into producing the eggs. In some cases it may take the lizard up to 2 years to completely re-grow the tail.

Hence you may need to take more precautions and careful approach to handle your lizard and try to minimize lizard tail drop possibility as much as possible.

About the author:

The Lizard Lounge is a resource for the captive care of lizards, http://www.the-lizard-lounge.com. They provide comprehensive care sheets, articles and photos for all species of lizards.

Galapagos Marine Iguana, also known as Amblyrhynchus cristatus, is one of the unique iguanas. These lizards are mainly found at rocky shore of Galapogos islands.

There are many different types of iguanas and marine iguanas are one of the most unusual of them all. In fact it wasn't until the early 1700's that the first reed of marine iguanas was ever found. They were discovered on the Galapagos Islands and by the famous explorer Darwin, of which he wasn't too impressed and considered them as being ugly foul creatures. Since then, their number have depleted enormously due to the regular human contact on the island throughout the last couple of centuries. This article will endeavor to discuss everything there is to know about marine iguanas so that people can better understand the struggle they are going through as an endangered species.

Before humans set foot in their natural habitat, marine iguanas flourished in numbers and in fact were too many for the island. Like every iguana the marine iguana is a vegetarian and fed from a variety of plants that inhabit the islands of the Galapagos. They spend half the time in the water and half out. In order to keep their skin from drying out this is a necessity. They are also a reptile and therefore require a lot of sun to warm their naturally cold blood.

The next humans to come to the island of the Galapagos were US troops in World War II as they attempted to stop the Japanese onset that was going on at the time. Like the Japanese this was also a bad time for the marine iguana as many US soldiers used them as target practice and severely decreased their numbers in a matter of years. Once the most seen creature on the Galapagos, the marina iguana was rarely seen.

Unable to make a comeback by themselves, it looked like the marine iguana was set to become just victim of human interaction. That was until a group of people found out about their dwindling numbers and decided to put an end to it and bring them back from the brink of extinction. A team of scientists from the US set up camp and started a study on the reason why their numbers were depleting so fast and what they could do to change this.

The results of this study were amazing to say the least. Marine iguana numbers steadily began to rise as awareness increased throughout the world about the animals of the Galapagos. Although their numbers are rising once again, it's still important to realize that they are still endangered animals and we should all make sure we don't let them vanish from the face of the earth ever again.

The lizard is truly unique and may need human attention and protection.

About the author:

If you want to know more about Iguanas including free information, reviews and much more, then please visit http://www.iguanainstitute.com

Learn how to take care of your Giant Green Iguana even you already have one! If you are new to giant green iguana and planning to adopt one, then these are some things you definitely need to know before setting out on this.

These Iguanas can grow up to six feet in length and need plenty of room in the house to design or buy for it. These animals can live for up to fifteen years and it is the largest of all iguanas being held in captivity.

About the Giant Green Iguana

The Green Iguana is a daytime active iguana that originates from the bowels of Central and South America and is extremely wanted by lizard all lizard standards. The Giant Iguana is a tree living being so it needs plenty of plant life in its habitat and this is an important feature to remember when you are selecting things to house your new pet.

How Do I House My Giant Green Iguana?

This is the most essential part of owning this breed of Iguana in the manner in which you house them due to their size as well as the fact that iguanas by nature are prone to disease and because of their lizard nature, they hide illness for survival in the wild. To begin with, your iguana will be small and you'll use a small tank but as it grows and matures, you will need to have a big custom made tank and it's advisable to do that prior to your needing it.

The top of the cage or aquarium needs to be made from wire to provide heat, light and ventilation and it is best to not keep your pet outside due to the effects of the sun on a glass enclosure is likened to a magnifying glass.

Lighting For Your Giant Green Iguana

The Giant Green Iguana, like any lizard is required to have at least 12-14 hours of sunlight or artificial light a day. Generally this can be purchased from any local hardware store to provide your new pet with the essential requirement for lights. A commercial 50-watt bulb can be sufficient when placed properly with a clamp light and alternate the schedule by turning the lights on and off every 12-14 hours. A very easy and cheap timer can be used so you don't forget about the light cycle.

Giant green iguana may be an interesting pet! Take good care of them.

About the author:

Dane Stanton. To learn more about Iguanas or more specifically Giant Green Iguana's, then check out IguanaInstitute.com - A comprehensive resource covering every topic about iguanas. Loads of information including articles, pictures, books and more... Take a look for yourself at http://www.iguanainstitute.com