True, sorry bout that.

__________________
+5 bonus points to whoever finds me a job!

"Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines." - John Benfield

This I did not know. You mean its illegal to catch a reptile from your backyard, observe it provide it with food and water and then release it back where it came from? I can assure you that there is no shortage of water or bugs in my backyard.

About the shedding, I don't know if they are necessarily having shedding problems because i don't know how long they take to shed. Does anyone know?They are provided with a shallow water bowl at all times and they are misted several times a day. So I don't think lack of humidity is slowing down the shedding process.

If you keep it for an extended period of time (more than a day or two) it can pick up pathogens and transfer them to other wild species. When I relocate snakes for people if I have to store them overnight they are kept in disinfected Sterilite in the laundry room, well away from the animals that live with me. The immune systems of captive bred and wild caught can be immensly different.

The other problem is some introduced species, such as Red Ear Sliders, can actually take over an area and eliminate native species by taking over the habitat.

__________________
Answers are great. But I prefer questions!

Visit me at www.jaysreptiles.com

I have done countless speeches and reports involving the growing #'s of invasive species. I understand all of the problems associated with releasing captive bred animals into a foreign environment and the devastation this causes to the native populations. But we are talking about releasing a native lizard that was captured on native land back to the native soil it came from.
If a pet store down the street releases a Nile Monitor which I later see crossing the road to the canal where it will most likely thrive and live a long life, then does that Nile Monitor now belong in the wild? Would it be wrong to capture it? In the same sense, if the monitor happened to meet a mate in that canal making monitor babies and establishing a breeding population of monitors that begin to threaten the local Green iguana population because they are now competing for space and the young green iguana's lower in the trees become prey for the monitors, which species would be considered less native. We can't collect every invasive specimen we encounter. What I'm trying to say here is that practically every reptile I come across is a non-native species; As are most of the people I encounter. I finally found a colony of native lizards, couldn't resist keeping them for just a little while, and now I learn that even though I have not been caring for them properly as far as lighting requirements go, I can't return them to their home. It is kinda depressing, but, I've had them for a month now so if they are going to have problems readjusting to the wild, or if they will threaten all the existing populations of invasive species in my area, than I am going to have to keep them captive and keep my fingers crossed that I get the lighting thing right before its too late.

No it would be the proper thing to do to capture it and remove it from the ecosystem where it doesn't belong.
Its not the capturing that is the problem. Its the releasing. Herps that have been in captivity for any length of time are exposed to much higher levels of parasite and disease organisms than they would ever encounter in nature. This effectively alters their immune system to deal with this level. So they may be carrying a very high load of the organisms. They also may come in contact with parasite and disease organisms while in captivity that they would NEVER encounter in their native habitat. Once they are returned to the wild they become a walking dispenser of these organisms. Everywhere they deficate or if they are eaten they spread these organisms to the ecosystem. This can and is being disasterous.
The fact that there are a lot of introduced species in the wild does not make it right and give us as responsible people the right to contribute further to the problem.
This is a perfect example of what we are talking about. If you read your history you will find that white men brought all sorts of wonderful things to the endemic people of the lands they visited... like smallpox, syphyilis, the flu!
Actually all people no matter how different they look are the same species.

Though I have to admit that there are some people who look at ME like I am a different species!

And regarding the lighting,....you have a whole bunch of FRIENDS here who will be more than happy to help you get it sorted out!

__________________
Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

UVB, from a relatively "powerful" source like a Mega-Ray Bulb, could pass through 3/16" hardware cloth couldn't it????

Thanks, Andy

Absolutely! The screen we were talking about is the fine mesh window type or the nylon mesh in a reptarium. The openings are to narrow and the thread count too dense and it shades much of the light out.
Anything with an opening 1/8 inch or better is fine.

__________________
Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!