How the guides are made

One person writes and maintains this site. I am a keeper, not a veterinarian, a biologist or a lawyer. I use AI tools to draft and organize. I check every claim against a source I have opened myself before it goes up, and the sources are listed at the foot of each article. When I get something wrong, I fix it and log the fix on this page.

That is the whole method. The rest of this page is what each of those sentences means in practice.

AI tools do a lot of the legwork. They search for sources, pull a first draft together from what they find, and keep wording consistent across a hundred-plus pages. They are good at that. They are also capable of producing a confident sentence that is simply false, and of citing a page that does not say what the sentence claims, so no draft is published as drafted.

Every figure and every claim of fact in a draft is traced back to a specific page in a specific source before it ships, by me, with the source open. A claim I cannot find a source for is removed, not softened. No source means no sentence. When good sources disagree on a number, the guide gives the range rather than picking one. Every recommendation a guide makes is one I have read and agreed with. The AI never publishes anything.

A source is a page I actually opened that contains the specific claim it is cited for. Veterinary references, peer-reviewed papers, university extension pages, government and agency material, and manufacturer specifications for equipment. What a guide covers is driven by what people actually search for about that animal. Where the figures come from is not: forums, social posts and other hobby sites never supply a number.

Each article lists its sources at the bottom along with the date it was last reviewed. Most guides rest on four or five. Where a guide spans several species it may carry more. A long list is not a sign of a better article, and I trim sources that no longer carry a claim in the text.

The legal pages work differently. They quote the statute or regulation itself, link to it, and show the date each state's entry was last checked against the current text. Laws change, and that date is the first thing to look at.

Some numbers can hurt an animal if they are wrong: basking temperatures, UVB distances, humidity ranges, calcium and vitamin schedules, enclosure minimums, and anything about medication or emergencies. Those get checked hardest, and where sources disagree the guide gives a range rather than picking a winner. The bearded dragon guides are the reference set the others are held to, because those are the animals I have kept the longest.

Every guide also tells you when the right answer is a vet, not a web page.

The review date at the foot of an article is the last day I read the whole piece against its sources again. It is not a publish date, and it is not a claim that nothing has changed in the field since. Guides are reread on a rolling basis, with the high-traffic pages and anything touching health or law going first.

A one-person check is a real limit, and I would rather say so than hide it. The pages below have been read for accuracy by someone outside the site, with their name, what qualifies them, and the date. When a reviewer is listed on a guide, it is listed here too. When this list is empty, no page has had outside review yet.

No outside reviews yet. If you are a veterinarian, a biologist or a keeper with real credentials and would read one guide against its sources, say so on the contact page. Your name, what qualifies you, a link to your practice or profile, and the date go on the guide and on this page.

Nothing here is veterinary advice, and nothing on the legal pages is legal advice. The guides are a well-sourced starting point written by a keeper. If your animal is sick, see an exotic or reptile vet. If you are deciding whether an animal is legal where you live, read the statute the page links to and call your state wildlife agency. A page here can tell you where to look. It cannot stand in for the person whose job it is to answer.

The printable care packages are the same research as the free guides, laid out for offline use. They are not a different or higher tier of information. When a guide is corrected, the matching package is corrected too, and anyone who bought it gets the new edition free.

Every substantive fix to a published page is logged here, newest first: what the page said, what it says now, and when it changed. A substantive fix is one that changes what a reader would do: a basking temperature that was wrong is logged, a sentence reworded to say the same thing is not. Typos and link repairs are not logged. Entries are never deleted.

This log opened on October 15, 2026. Before that, corrections were tracked in working documents. The entries below from before that date are the fixes from that period that changed what a reader would do, dated to the day the fix went live or was recorded as done. Consistency fixes and link repairs from the same period are not listed. Where a fix also reached a printable care package, the entry names the edition that carries it, and the package's own page lists every edition.

• Chinchilla Tank SetupOctober 6, 2026
  Was: Gave a comfort band of 50 to 68 F, repeated on the hub, the degu comparison and the small-mammal heat stress guide.
  Now: 55 to 70 F, never above 80 F, on every chinchilla page.
  Source: PetMD (55 to 70 F) and LafeberVet (59 to 70 F).
• Fire-Bellied Toad HandlingOctober 6, 2026
  Was: Offered a small net as a handling option, and said the skin toxin harms tankmates of other species.
  Now: The net is gone; an amphibian is never netted. The skin secretion irritates the mouth and eyes of animals that mouth the toad, which is what the source says.
  Source: Smithsonian National Zoo.
• Crested Gecko CostOctober 5, 2026
  Was: The FAQ and the gecko comparison said a small heat bulb on a thermostat is needed.
  Now: Heat only when the room drops below about 72 F, a thermostat on any heat source, a thermometer either way. The care package had it right and the site moved to match.
  Source: Veterinary care sheets; the package edition 3.0 already carried the rule.
  Package: Crested Gecko Care Package 3.0, October 2026, was already correct.
• Bearded Dragon FeedingOctober 5, 2026
  Was: Called carrots a good staple and hornworms a regular staple, against the same page's safe-foods list.
  Now: Both are occasional foods.
• Hedgehog CostOctober 4, 2026
  Was: The enclosure row, and the tank setup guide, linked a hamster cage with 3/8 inch bars and a small floor.
  Now: The link is removed from both pages. The row says to check the floor dimensions; the hub asks for at least 2 by 3 feet of solid floor. No fitting product has been found yet.
• Hermit Crab Tank SetupOctober 4, 2026
  Was: 10 gallons for up to two crabs, 5 more per extra crab. The cost guide and hub said the same.
  Now: At least 10 gallons per small to medium crab and 15 per large, bigger is better. The cost guide now prices a 20-gallon long for a pair and a 40-gallon breeder for three or four.
  Source: Crab Street Journal; the owner keeps three in a 40.
• Platy Tank SetupOctober 4, 2026
  Was: A fishless cycle takes 2 to 4 weeks.
  Now: 4 to 6 weeks, matching the aquarium cycling guide.
• Neon Tetra Health IssuesOctober 4, 2026
  Was: Quarantine 2 to 4 weeks, on this page and the tank setup guide.
  Now: At least 30 days on both pages, matching the fish quarantine guide.
• Giant Millipede Care GuideOctober 4, 2026
  Was: Lifespan up to 10 years in captivity.
  Now: Typically 5 to 7 years, some past 10.
  Source: Tree of Life Exotics.
• UVB Lighting Complete GuideOctober 2, 2026
  Was: Replace a quality T5 HO bulb every 12 months.
  Now: Every 6 to 12 months depending on the model, matching the bearded dragon pages and the care packages.
  Source: Tree of Life Exotic Pet Medical Center.
  Package: Leopard Gecko, Crested Gecko and Russian Tortoise Care Packages 3.0, October 2026.
• Axolotl Care GuideOctober 2, 2026
  Was: pH 7.4 to 7.8, on the hub and the tank setup guide.
  Now: 7.4 to 7.6, with 6.5 to 8.0 tolerated as long as it stays stable. The care package already said so.
  Source: LafeberVet.
  Package: Axolotl Care Package was already correct.
• Hamster Care GuideOctober 2, 2026
  Was: Under 60 F risks torpor.
  Now: Below about 41 F (5 C), especially with short days, risks torpor.
  Source: Merck Veterinary Manual and LafeberVet.
  Package: Hamster Care Package 2.2, September 2026.
• Tarantula HandlingOctober 2, 2026
  Was: First aid for urticating hairs in the eye included rinsing.
  Now: Never flush the eye. Shield it and see an eye doctor the same day.
  Source: NIH StatPearls.
  Package: Tarantula Care Package 2.2, September 2026.
• Cockatiel CostSeptember 25, 2026
  Was: Lifespan 10 to 15 years here and on the hub, 15 to 25 on the cockatoo comparison, and up to 25 in the encyclopedia.
  Now: 12 to 15 years everywhere, with up to about 25 reported.
  Source: LafeberVet.
• Jackson's Chameleon Tank SetupSeptember 25, 2026
  Was: Ambient 68 to 75 F.
  Now: 70 to 80 F, kept toward the low end, with a night drop to 50 to 65 F.
  Source: LafeberVet.
• Crested Gecko Health IssuesSeptember 25, 2026
  Was: Weigh your gecko weekly.
  Now: At least monthly, more often while off food.
  Package: Crested Gecko Care Package 3.0, October 2026.
• Crested Gecko Tank SetupSeptember 25, 2026
  Was: The basking row read 82 to 85 F at the surface, then added "some sources: 72 to 75 F to be safe", undercutting itself.
  Now: Ambient 72 to 78 F, the warm area at the top up to about 80 F, a hard maximum of 85 F anywhere.
• Box Turtle Tank SetupSeptember 25, 2026
  Was: Adults fed daily or every other day, here and on the hub.
  Now: Every other day is the default for adults. Daily works only on the looser published schedule, and this species runs to obesity.
• Sulcata Tortoise Care GuideSeptember 25, 2026
  Was: Commonly 70 to 100 years.
  Now: 50 to 70 years typical, 70 or more achievable.
• Red-Eared Slider CostSeptember 25, 2026
  Was: Lifespan 40 to 70 years.
  Now: 20 to 30 years is the consensus range; the documented captive record is 41.3 years.
• Goldfish FeedingSeptember 25, 2026
  Was: The FAQ split the difference between once a day and two to three times as "1 to 2 small meals".
  Now: Adults get one small meal a day eaten in under two minutes, which can be split in two with the same total. Juveniles two to three.
  Source: PetMD.
  Package: Goldfish Care Package 3.0, October 2026.
• Canary Tank SetupSeptember 25, 2026
  Was: Offered a canary seed mix or a pelleted food as equals.
  Now: Pellets at about three quarters of the diet, matching the feeding guide.
• Cockatoo FeedingSeptember 25, 2026
  Was: 75 to 80 percent pellets, with fresh food covering no more than another 20 to 40 percent. The shares could add to more than 100.
  Now: Pellets 75 to 80 percent, fresh food the remaining 20 to 25, seed under about 10.
  Source: VCA Animal Hospitals.
  Package: Cockatoo Care Package 1.2, October 2026.
• Quaker Parakeet FeedingSeptember 25, 2026
  Was: At least 70 percent pellets plus 20 to 40 percent produce, which could add to more than 100. The conure feeding guide had the same arithmetic.
  Now: Pellets at least 70 percent, produce the rest up to 30, seed as a treat only. The conure guide was fixed the same way.
• African Grey Parrot Legal GuideSeptember 25, 2026
  Was: The FAQ told buyers to look for a CITES certificate.
  Now: A US-bred bird needs a closed band, not a CITES certificate. CITES controls imports and exports, not sales between states.
  Source: US Fish and Wildlife Service CITES fact sheet.
• Sugar Glider Tank SetupSeptember 25, 2026
  Was: Pair cage minimum 30 by 18 by 36 inches, with no source behind it.
  Now: 36 by 24 by 36 inches, here and on the hub.
  Source: Merck Veterinary Manual.
• Guinea Pig HandlingSeptember 25, 2026
  Was: Approach from the side.
  Now: Approach from the front, on every page that describes picking one up.
  Source: RSPCA Australia.
• Rabbit Health IssuesSeptember 25, 2026
  Was: Uterine cancer in 80 percent of unspayed does aged 5 and older.
  Now: Up to 80 percent by 3 years in some strains, which moves the spay decision earlier.
  Source: Merck Veterinary Manual.
  Package: Rabbit Care Package 3.0, October 2026.
• Degu EnrichmentSeptember 25, 2026
  Was: Sand, not dust, for bathing.
  Now: Chinchilla bathing dust, two to three times a week for about 20 minutes, on every degu page.
  Source: PetMD.
• Degu Tank SetupSeptember 25, 2026
  Was: The cage minimum was given three ways across the setup guide, its FAQ and the cost guide, and the wheel as 11 to 12 inches on one page and 12 to 14 on another.
  Now: 28 by 18 by 28 inches for a pair at minimum, and a solid wheel at least 12 inches across, on all three pages.
• Flying Squirrel FeedingSeptember 25, 2026
  Was: A routine vitamin D3 dusting that contradicted the page's own source.
  Now: About 80 percent rodent block and 20 percent produce, plain calcium on moist food three times a week and on insects, cuttlebone always in, extra D3 only as a vet-set dose. The health guide and hub match.
• Tiger Salamander vs AxolotlSeptember 25, 2026
  Was: Temperature 60 to 72 F and fatal above about 80; handling tolerant with damp hands; lifespan 10 to 20 years.
  Now: 60 to 75 F, never above about 78; handle only when necessary, briefly, with wet powder-free gloves; 12 to 15 years typical, 25 the record. All three now match the species guides.
• Giant Millipede Tank SetupSeptember 25, 2026
  Was: A heading said to skip isopods as a cleanup crew and a fun fact said they can harass a millipede, against the guide's own body and the hub.
  Now: Isopods and springtails are fine as a cleanup crew in a display tank.
• Small Mammal Temperature and Heat StressSeptember 25, 2026
  Was: The key takeaway put the danger line at 80 F while the table on the same page gave guinea pigs at risk from 75 F.
  Now: The takeaway is species-dependent, with guinea pigs at risk from 75 F.
  Source: RSPCA.
  Package: Guinea Pig Care Package 2.1, September 2026.
• Bearded Dragon FeedingSeptember 16, 2026
  Was: Not eating for 1 to 4 months during brumation is expected, next to advice to see a vet past about 3.5 months.
  Now: 1 to 3 months is typical, with a vet check past about 3.5 months, matching the brumation guide and the care package.
  Package: Bearded Dragon Care Package was already correct.
• Reptile Emergency PlanSeptember 3, 2026
  Was: The uromastyx act-below night temperature was 75 F, from one manufacturer care sheet, against the setup guide's 65 F.
  Now: 68 F is the act-below line and 65 F the hard floor, from a survey of six sources. The manufacturer sheet was dropped.
  Source: Chicago Exotics Animal Hospital, Reptile Supply, Dubia.com.

Use the form on the contact page, or email [email protected], or message the site on any of the social accounts listed there. Tell me the page and what you think is wrong. A source helps but is not required. I read everything. If you are right, the page changes and the fix is logged above. If I think the page is right, I will tell you why and what it rests on. The About page has the rest of the story.