A Survey Study of Veterinary Student Opinions and Knowledge about Pet Reptiles and Their Welfare

Abstract

Exotic pet medicine is rapidly evolving, with reptiles becoming increasingly popular pet animals. Yet, there are only a few literature reports on veterinary perception of reptiles kept as pets. The aim of the study was to assess opinions and knowledge of the Croatian veterinarians-to-be about pet reptiles and their welfare. The questionnaire survey was conducted in the academic year 2019–2020 and included students of all six years of the integrated undergraduate and graduate study at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb. First-year students were surveyed twice, before and after having attended the compulsory course on animal welfare. Questionnaire statements were 5-point Likert scale questions, requiring the students to express their opinions about turtles, lizards and snakes as pets, issues related to their welfare, risks they pose to the health and safety of humans, other animals and the environment, and their self-reported knowledge about pet reptiles. Although expressing higher opinions after having attended the course on animal welfare, first-year student responses remained neutral to most of the statements. Such a trend continued until the end of the study. Student responses revealed that they were uncertain about their knowledge of reptiles as pets, considering different educational areas observed. Study results emphasised the need of alterations in veterinary curriculum and additional student education in reptile medicine. The results obtained have broad implications involving not only the welfare of pet reptiles in clinical practice and elsewhere but also the health and safety of humans and other animals, as well as environmental protection.

Surveys on Pet-Reptile-Associated Multi-Drug-Resistant Salmonella spp. in the Timișoara Metropolitan Region—Western Romania

“…The poor hygienic management of terrariums could be the cause behind this, mainly in pet shops where staff are usually busy and lack the necessary time to properly tend to cleanliness. Thus, ensuring proper cleaning and disinfection is difficult [30,31]. This situation encourages the persistence of MDR strains within shops, affecting consecutive batches of reptiles.…”

Veterinary Education and Training on Non-Traditional Companion Animals, Exotic, Zoo, and Wild Animals: Concepts Review and Challenging Perspective on Zoological Medicine

“…Ostovic and collaborators surveyed in the academic year 2019–2020 veterinary students from Zagreb (Croatia) from different courses related to the veterinary medicine of reptiles. The study also revealed the need to invest in efforts to update the veterinary curriculum to introduce additional education for future Croatian veterinarians in reptile medicine since, in addition to clinical practice, this problem has implications for the health and safety of humans and other animals, as well as for the protection of the environment [ 34 ].…”

Assessment of Animal Welfare at an Exotic Animal Fair in Poland: A Focus on the Quality of Exhibition Containers for Reptiles and Amphibians

“…Some of the vendors provide brief information in flyers and on container labels, where the buyer will find basic information about the species and help them meet specific husbandry requirements for species. For animal well-being, it should be assumed that potential new owners have generalized deficiencies in knowledge of the biology and breeding of exotic animals; thus, the transfer of basic knowledge should take place at the time of handing over the animal to a new owner [70][71][72]. Purchasing exotic pets without prior substantive knowledge can be motivated by status factors, narcissistic and borderline personality traits, ostentation, social recognition, conformism and materialistic indulgence, or done on impulse [9,67,73,74].…”