[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> Julie,
I second your sigh...
>Does anybody know exactly where the"90% first-year mortality rate" >comes from?
There have been a few studies, and in the general herpetocultural world the number is
fairly representative. I am not speaking about people like the gexlisters, or the
people on ADCHAM and such. I cannot locate the figures at the moment but there have
been litterally millions of iguanas imported in recent years. Where are they?
>This number seems overly high, especially with improvements in >herpetoculture
>over the past several years.
Nah - you guys are doing well, but you are a very special subset of herp owners. The
average Joe can still kill and iguana/RES/asian turtle/ball python/"insert herp here"
with relative ease.
>I also wonder how many of the millions of herps exported each year
>from the US are captive-bred? The statistics make it sound like
>they're all wild-caught.
Depends on how you define captice bred. Most are RES and are not pet animals. They
are hatched on farms - hardly what you or I would call captive bred though. Zillions
(scientifically verifiable number ;) are hatched and exported.
>According to the statistics cited, each pet reptile has a 1% chance >of giving
>Salmonella to someone. Anyone know similar stats for chicken?
Properly prepared far lower on a per exposure rate. But this is apples and oranges.
Chicken provides nutrition. Herps are for fun.
Here's another factiod that rankles herpers. Every tortoise person I know hates the
4" rule. And I have heard every argument against it. Consider this though - the
incidence of reptile associated salmonellosis declined dramatically within 3-5 years
of the ban. Is it a pain when you are trying to sell all those baby leopards you
female cranks out? Yup - but there are hundreds and thousands of kids, who are safer
for it - and that is what the CDC and the rule is really about.
>If anyone in the Humane Society is out there, I dare them to look
>after our cat, she's as much trouble as at least fifty geckos, and >that's
>on a good day!
The reality is though that the average cat in the average family lives more closely to
a normal life span than the average herp in the average family. Feeding herps:
complex nutritional manipulations of feeder insects and store bought vegetation, and
after all that there are still veterinarians making a good living treating nutritional
disease in reptiles. Cats: Open bag/can feed.
I am not defending the proposed legislation, merely saying that their facts are not as
scewed as some on the herp community (with some interests to protect) would have you
beleive. Remember - the majority on this list are well above average when it comes to
animal husbandry - and you associate with other above average folk.
Case in point - how many people are on this list? Now how many people in the general
population have geckos. This list is a vanishingly small percentage of the overall
gecko owning public. The "cream of the cream" so to speak. For every lister I ahve
dealt with 50 people sho simply have no clue. Ever wonder why most herp vets have 45+
minute appointments? Cause in the vast majority of instances they ahve to try to
start over at square one. I have friends in private practice that are still telling
people that lettuce and dog foods are not good for iggs.
Don't take this as a personal attack (the HSUS position), even though it will have an
impact on you, because you are really not the target. They are trying to prevent the
incredible numbers of impulse buyers from getting in waaaaay over their heads. Or
more likely - they know such legislation is impractical at best, and are merely trying
to get folks to admit that there is a problem, and raise the standard of care on their
own.
Keith
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