Pet Reptiles—Are We Meeting Their Needs?

Abstract

The ability to meet the needs of each species in captivity is at the heart of the ethical debate on the acceptability of keeping reptiles and other animals as pets. Little is known about the ability of reptile owners to understand their pets’ behavior and to meet their welfare requirements. In this study, we surveyed pet reptile owners in Portugal (N = 220) to assess their behavioral knowledge and the provision of essential husbandry needs. Although two-thirds of respondents (68%) scored very good to excellent in terms of knowledge of their pet reptile’s behaviors, only 15% of respondents met four essential reptile husbandry needs (temperature, lighting, diet and refuge) and 43% met two or less. None of the respondents reported their reptile’s welfare as very poor, and only a single respondent reported it as poor. Logistic regression model showed that while snake owners had fourteen times higher odds of reporting adequate husbandry provision, lizard owners had the highest odds of reporting good or very good welfare despite providing less of their animals’ basic husbandry needs. These results suggest that many pet reptiles in Portugal live in, at best, ‘controlled deprivation’ and are at risk of suffering poor welfare throughout their captive lives. Moreover, behaviors indicative of poor welfare and captivity stress were considered ‘normal’ by up to one quarter of respondents. We suggest that the frequency of these behaviors in pet reptiles has led to their acceptance as normal, precluding the search for ways to prevent them. These results suggest that campaigns aimed at challenging the current norm for adequate reptile welfare are warranted.

Keeping reptiles as pets in Brazil: keepers’ motivations and husbandry practices

“…Motivations were overall complex and multidimensional, with keepers having more than a single reason for keeping reptiles as pets. This finding is in agreement with other studies that have also shown affection and emotional relations as well as a variety of other motivations for keeping exotic pets [ 20 , 29 , 30 ]. For example, in Portugal, most keepers described affection toward reptiles to explain the acquisition and keeping of reptiles as pets, while convenience, entertainment, companionship, and duty of care were the motivations for long-term keeping [ 20 ].…”

“…This finding is in agreement with other studies that have also shown affection and emotional relations as well as a variety of other motivations for keeping exotic pets [ 20 , 29 , 30 ]. For example, in Portugal, most keepers described affection toward reptiles to explain the acquisition and keeping of reptiles as pets, while convenience, entertainment, companionship, and duty of care were the motivations for long-term keeping [ 20 ]. In Greater Jakarta, Indonesia, the motivations for keeping snakes were mainly influenced by seeing close peers keeping snakes, visiting snake exhibitions, social media, or gifts [ 31 ].…”

“…Inappropriate husbandry conditions, such as maintaining individuals in small and barren enclosures, with incorrect temperature and humidity levels, a poor diet and nutrition, as well as inadequate hygiene, handling, and health treatment are some of the most common issues reptiles face when kept as pets [ 8 , 20 ]. Subjecting animals to negative experiences (e.g., hunger, fear, inability to express normal behavior, pain) contributes to poor animal welfare, health problems, and eventually death [ 21 – 23 ].…”

Pet management practices of frog and turtle owners in Victoria, Australia

“…13 Amphibians and reptiles are kept as pets by about 4% of Australian households, 14 but there is very little research investigating their welfare. Data regarding the welfare of pet snakes 3 and lizards 2 in Australia have been previously reported, and turtles have been studied in a sample of Portuguese owners, 15 but not in Australia. Turtles are the most common pet reptile species in Australia.…”

Developing guidelines for pet rat housing through expert consultation

“…Providing pet owners with accurate information about pet care is essential for the welfare of their animals, especially as many owners will actively seek advice on what care to provide. 1,2 Accurate information is even more valuable when there are welfare concerns about the housing and husbandry of animals, as is the case with many less popular companion species, [3][4][5][6] including rats. 7 However, developing good care guidelines for pet rats poses a number of challenges.…”