Nash, Ann-Elizabeth

English

The University of Kansas: Journals@KU

IGUANA  •  VOLUME 12, NUMBER 4  •  DECEMBER 2005 269COMMENTARYKeeping animals as pets is an accepted facet of Americansociety. Domestic cats hold the number one spot followedby dogs, rodents and rabbits, birds, and finally, reptiles.Approximately 10% of the US population keeps reptiles andamphibians as pets: 3 million ‘herps’ are in private ownership.What is the state of affairs for captive reptiles and amphibians?How are reptiles and amphibians like other pet animals and howare they different? Are necessary resources available? Theseinclude veterinary attention, knowledgeable husbandry practi-tioners, nutritious foods, and useful supplies for owners to carefor their pets properly. Simply stated, can we do a good job fora captive herp? If not, why? What are the consequences of ourfailures?Ray Ashton’s “Commentary from an Old Naturalist AboutExotic Species and a New Herpetocultural Ethic,” (Iguana12(1), March 2005) inspired me to think anew about reptile-and amphibian-related animal welfare and conservation issues.While we warrant a new ethic toward this group of animals, myconclusions start and end at a very different spot: I am a “newherper” who hopes to end the practice of keeping reptiles andamphibians in captivity.Ashton referred to himself as an ‘old naturalist’ interestedin reptiles and amphibians since childhood, and one of a smallminority whose curiosity had been piqued by these animals.Conversely, ‘new herpers’ may come later to such interests andare more easily able to join study societies, interest groups, andhave other resources available that simply didn’t exist a genera-tion ago.In his commentary, Ashton ostensibly offers seven usefuland logical steps toward responsible reptile and amphibian own-ership. These ideas are often repeated in hobby journals, inter-net groups, and countless herpetological societies. Using theGreen Iguana (Iguana iguana), a very common and most neg-lected, discarded, unwanted, and abused reptilian pet for thebasis of my discussion, we can see that Ashton’s set of rules is dif-ficult to follow or achieve.1. Learn about your pet. Purchasing and reading a bookabout the common Green Iguana won’t necessarily providean owner with correct, up-to-date husbandry information.Some publishers are unscrupulous about their editions,updating a photo here and there so a new copyright datehides gross inaccuracies. New books can also be poorlywritten and edited, directing a motivated owner toward apotentially fatal husbandry mistake. Few single sources pro-vide all the knowledge we need about any one species.2. Only purchase captive bred animals. Discussions regard-ing Captive Bred (CB) versus Wild Caught (WC) arelargely rhetorical. Removing wild animals for introductioninto the pet trade will negatively effect a wild population.Yet, we rarely consider the fate of CB reptiles and amphib-ians. Questions remain — how well can we care for a CBreptile or amphibian? Is our care humane? Potential suffer-ing of a CB animal must be considered of equal importanceto that of a wild-caught animal.3. Provide secure caging and lighting. We can build escape-proof cages and provide UVB lighting — but we do not yetC O M M E N T A R YThe Case Against Captive Reptiles and AmphibiansAnn-Elizabeth (Ae) Nash, DirectorColorado Reptile Humane Society (CoRHS)(www.corhs.org)Photographs by the author.Opinions expressed are those of the author and may ormay not reflect those of the IRCF.Pablo is a recent arrival at Colorado Reptile Humane Society(CoRHS). Even among the few Green Iguanas that survive captivity,few live out their entire natural lifespan of 20–30 years in the care of asingle owner.270 IGUANA  •  VOLUME 12, NUMBER 4  •  DECEMBER 2005 COMMENTARYknow how much UVB lighting is enough or too much.Many other habitat elements also need consideration: cli-mate, seasonal weather, visual breaks, height versus area, etc.4. Provide appropriate food. Nutritional research focused onlongevity versus breeding is scarce, as are commerciallyavailable diets based on such research. Most owners cannotoffer natural foods for I. iguana in captivity. It is time-con-suming and tiresome to prepare fresh foods daily.5. Consider habitat size. What percentage reduction in spaceis tolerable when housing a lizard that typically roams anacre of area in its natural habitat? If we house a single adultI. iguana in a bedroom (10 x12’ = 120 sq. ft.), we’veremoved more than 99.7% of its normal home range. Isthis acceptable? Even a 2000 sq. ft. house represents only5% of a normal habitat.6. When you need to ‘get rid of’ your pet. No animal shouldbe sent to an uncertain fate, released in a park, a stream,from a moving car, or any other cruel method that causesunnecessary stress, injury, or death. Animal welfare think-ing encourages pet ownership for the life of the pet, not thefluctuating interest of the owner. Is a profit-motivated petstore a good avenue for an unwanted animal? Shelters andrescuers are unable to re-home all Green Iguanas that comethrough their doors. No one wants another iguana.Euthanasia is often the outcome when an owner “exit strat-egy” is implemented.7. Avoid confrontations with non-herpers. Respecting yourneighbors always makes sense when you house any animal.No one likes a barking dog, bird killing ‘barn cat,’ or otherat-large pet. Fear of snakes is especially deeply felt, regard-less of legitimate danger. However, negative reactions fromindividuals or politicians should not be seen as unthinking.Many concerns about keeping wild animals as pets are rea-sonable.Reptiles and amphibians are readily available for sale or tradefrom outlets that include retail stores, internet sellers, andbreeder’s shows. In my home state of Colorado and other statesin the US, certain species may be legally taken from their wildhabitats and held in captivity. The average owner follows few ofthe points outlined in Mr. Ashton’s list, purchasing whicheverreptile or amphibian they desire with little or any researchregarding care, longevity, and nutrition. However, even the mostdedicated and educated owners, supporting the pet tradethrough the purchase of a CB reptile or amphibian, subject awild animal to a life of imprisonment and often a reduced lifespan, even in the absence of predators. Why is this acceptable?We have not truly domesticated any reptile or amphibian;I will therefore conclude that CB animals are as wild as theirWC counterparts. CB reptiles and amphibians may be more orless acclimated to life near or with humans; they may or may notdisplay aggressive behaviors to territorial intruders or otherencounters and experiences. They may or may not make ‘good’wild animals since, as often as not, breeders keep alive everyhatchling regardless of fitness. To declare an animal unable towithstand the pressure of a life in its wild habitat does not makeit any less wild. The individual animal would have simply metdemise early in its natural life.Moving from the difficulties of caring for reptiles andamphibians in captivity, a far more important question needsaddressing: On what grounds do we humans have the right toimpose captive conditions on wild animals? Combined with theproblems of invasive exotic species, Mr. Ashton should not besurprised that some ‘new herpers’ wish to curtail reptile andamphibian ownership for both the wild animals themselves andfor good stewardship of native populations. While we may pos-sess a legal right to keep reptiles and amphibians in captivity, Isuggest that we lack the moral right to keep a wild animal cap-tive for our own personal benefit or other financial or emotionalneeds, whether it is captive bred or wild caught.Much of my ethos regarding reptiles and amphibians stemsfrom experiences as the founder and director of a small humanesociety in Colorado that is dedicated to this group of animals.Through my work, I have personally appreciated many reptilesand amphibians. From this familiarity has grown a profoundsadness for these wild animals that are captive solely as a conse-quence of human folly.The new generation of reptile and amphibian owners does notshare any values beyond possession — any more than Ford auto-mobile owners or ice cream purchasers constitute a distinctsocio-economic, other demographic, or moral class. Old herpers,Mr. Ashton declares, were interested in learning about wild ani-mals — “but were also excited about keeping them in captivity.”I have no doubt that this is true. Keeping and breeding reptilesand amphibians generated great enthusiasm among pet owners— but at what cost to the animals? I am confident that a thor-ough investigation will clearly answer Mr. Ashton’s shock towardthose of us who would see the end of the worldwide trade inreptilian and amphibian pets: When the best and most resourceful owners cannot provideeven a small percentage of the real estate a wild animal hasin its natural habitat, we have failed that animal. When nutrition research focused on longevity (not breed-ing) is scarce, when the foremost veterinary medical text isa mere 512 pages for all species of reptiles and amphibians,A malformed Three-toed Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina triunguis) suf-fered from an insufficient diet and a lack of ultraviolet light.IGUANA  •  VOLUME 12, NUMBER 4  •  DECEMBER 2005 271COMMENTARYwhen we have no antibiotics or other drugs designed foreven a single species, we have failed. When reptile and amphibian owners cause immense suf-fering and death to at least 500,000 Green Iguanas eachyear in the US alone — and who knows the numbers forother species — we have failed. When we refuse to recognize that most captive-breedingprograms bring into existence wild animals doomed to alife in captivity, we have failed.After seven years of sheltering and euthanizing unwanted rep-tiles and amphibians, I would suggest that the average individ-ual with a typical amount of space, time, and funds is simply notequal to the responsibilities of owning a pet reptile or amphib-ian — even if it began as an appropriate endeavor. In fact, mostreptile and amphibian owners surrendering their animals to theColorado Reptile Humane Society can probably tell you moreabout the attributes of their cell phone and calling plan contractthan the live animal of which they now wish to rid themselves.Like all bell curves, a few humans do a great job for their pets, afew would meet a legal definition as perpetrators of cruelty, andthe great majority provide mediocre care. Mediocre care to mil-lions of reptiles and amphibians seems to me something old nat-uralists and new herpers ought to oppose collectively. Does thefact that an amphibian or reptile was captive-bred really matter?Can we learn from our myriad failures and experiences?Some will answer that better research will yield the knowledgewe presently lack, that educated owners will improve husbandryissues, and that we can protect our native ecosystems from inva-sive species. My experiences tell me otherwise. On a typical after-noon at the Colorado Reptile Humane Society’s shelter, oneowner who ‘got rid of ’ his Bearded Dragon (Pogona vitticeps)because she was ‘too boring’ was already planning the purchaseof a chameleon. Another owner brought forth an iguana withan advanced type of metabolic bone disease, misdiagnosed by aveterinarian. The owner had provided UVB lighting, but it wastoo far away from the lizard to be useful. Red-eared Sliders(Trachemys scripta) are dumped by the dozens after outgrowingaquaria that were never large enough. Who is going to house anunwanted (and unsocialized) 4.5’ Black-throated Monitor(Varanus albigularis spp.)? He was surrendered because his fecalmaterial “smelled bad.” Owners do not often advance their owneducation beyond “Cool — a reptile!” These animals forfeittheir natural lives on human whim.A realistic accounting of how captive reptiles and amphib-ians endure our lack of largesse would convince most individu-als that we only rarely meet the lowest bar of care standards —and that wild animals should remain wild animals. I often coun-sel would-be adopters of North American box turtles (Terrapenespp.) that these turtles roam about two football fields worth ofhabitat. Subjecting box turtles to life in a 55-gallon aquarium isequivalent to a human living out the rest of her life in a smallbathroom — and without internet, cell phone, or other stimuli.As North American box turtles experience a near 70% predationrate on relocation, they cannot be released. However, for per-manent captives, we can raise the standards we allow to pass forcaptive husbandry.Let me propose a less than radical notion toward reptilesand amphibians: Acknowledge them as the wild animals theyare and operate as their conservation advocates and wardens,keeping them and their needed ecosystems protected in ourworld — and out of all living rooms. Reptiles and amphibiansare not appropriate personal pets, any more than we would rea-sonably consider mountain lions, hippos, or ostriches. If theywere larger, vocal, and able to harm us more easily and moreoften, I suspect they would no longer be such a popular part ofRosie, a Green Iguana (Iguana iguana), now a permanent resident of the Butterfly Pavilion (www.butterflies.org), is seen here atop her tree bower.272 IGUANA  •  VOLUME 12, NUMBER 4  •  DECEMBER 2005 COMMENTARYthe pet trade. We can shut down the introduction of new indi-viduals and new species of reptile and amphibians into the pettrade — and greatly reduce suffering and death. These idealsshould inform a true conservation ethic.A conservation ethic might include captive breeding toincrease the chances for a species’ survival — but wild animalsthat exist only as captive specimens are already lost to our natu-ral world. We assure a species’ survival when we realize the ani-mal can function as a wild animal only in its natural habitat.Captive breeding for release must already encompass habitatpreservation and management — without which release isimpossible.We need a conservation-focused ethic — for the reptiles andamphibians we hope to protect and not for the reason of contin-ued ownership of wild animals in our homes. Conservation needsto occur because, as Mark Beckoff observed, the human race hasalready won the race — and included in our winner’s ‘spoils’could be a greater future for reptiles and amphibians than cap-tive animals suffering and dying for short-term enjoyment. Aswinners, we could instead be generous toward these often-mis-understood animals, protecting them in the wild, while reducingand eliminating their human-imposed captivity.As a model for enjoying reptiles and amphibians in thewild, we could duplicate many of the elements of bird watchers.Life-long species lists (without taking herps from the wild!), rep-tile-watching trips, photography contests, and reptile conserva-tion societies could greatly contribute to the protection of thesewonderful species — all without subjecting them to captivity oran early demise. Instead, land could be protected for habitat, andparticipants could help collect useful data and assist researchersand conservationists.The natural world is a wonderful place and to rediscover,as most of us do, that it contains reptiles and amphibians, shouldbe exciting. I can conceive of no better gift than to leave wildanimals wild, hippo and herp alike.This Ornate Monitor (Varanus ornatus) is now deceased. An animalthat can attain a length of two meters, has a naturally aggressive dis-position, and requires a largely aquatic habitat is a questionable choiceas a pet for most people.What Others Say About This Book...Bulletin of the Association of Reptilian and Amphibian Veterinarians“I would recommend this book to anyone that is thinking of buying an iguana, anyone that owns an iguana and any veterinarian treating iguanas, no matter what level yourexpertise.”Reptiles magazine“The amount of reliable information provided is staggering.... If you own a green iguana, you really should pick up a copy.”Vivarium magazine“In both content and presentation Green Iguana—The Ultimate Owner’s Manual sets itsown high standard.  Most readers will consider it the definitive work on management, care,and personality traits of green iguanas in captivity.”NEWSECONDEDITION Updated Text and Index New Color Photographs Medical PhotosGREEN IGUANA–The Ultimate Owner’s Manualis available through all of the major on-line book stores, herpetological and pet web sites, plus leading book and pet stores.If you need more information, please feel free to contact us at: Dunthorpe Press, P.O. 80385-R, Portland, OR 97280, USANEW: NOW AT ALL PETSMART ® STORESCONTACT US:   DUNTHORPE PRESS (503) 635-8222       FAX (503) 635-8405       www.iguana.comBest Iguana Source Book Ever!If you own an iguana, YOU NEED THIS BOOK. Propercare information can mean the difference between life and death for your iguana. Choose the care book thateveryone has confidence in and recommends...GREEN IGUANA – The Ultimate Owner’s Manual.Now ONLY$22.95(was $32.50)GREEN IGUANA – TheUltimate Owner’s Manualby James W. Hatfield IIIOver 10 years of research,weighs in at over 21/2 lbs andis the largest, most compre-hensive, up-to-date, helpful,fun, easy-to-read iguana petcare book ever written.People call our book the‘bible’ of iguana pet care

The Case Against Captive Reptiles and Amphibians

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The Case Against Captive Reptiles and Amphibians

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