I've read about half the replies, and I would like to suggest a point that I
haven't seen made yet, using my own experiences as data.
I am 51 years old. Dime store turtles were my first herp pets, and I wasn't
too successful (remember ant eggs and shallow plastic bowls with palm
trees?). I had a WC Anole when I was ten; my allowance didn't cover
mealworms, so I was forced to use crickets and moths, etc., which probably
explains why the lizard lived almost two years. Flash forward through any
number of other species (mostly WC, because I caught them), and now I am
breeding corn snakes and four or five species of lizards.
The mortality among my adults of all species is low (yes, I did report a
problem with some female leopards a few weeks ago, and I have just had my
first bearded dragon die), but I have no doubts it is lower than mortality
rates in the wild. Among the hatchlings, the mortality rates are
significantly lower. Nature is prolific and wanton; how many eggs and
hatchlings make it even a few weeks in the wild?
Keeping reptiles is one of the factors that resulted in my being an nature
lover/environmentalist/conservationist. The real threat to reptiles (and all
wildlife) is people�but it is through their destruction of habitat. The
stories of what is happening in the rain forest are well known, as are the
accounts of habitat destroyed through pollution. Closer to home, urban
expansion is endangering hundreds of species in the US, directly and through
range discontinuation (and many of you can probably add to the list).
I am a high school teacher, and it is very clear to me that the majority of
my students have no direct experience with wildlife. As a result, they have
no great concern for wildlife and the environmental problems facing us.
Keeping reptiles and learning about them is a way for these kids to connect
to the natural world. Quite frankly, the sacrifice of an animal or two on the
way to learning to appreciate and protect thousands of species and millions
of individuals is a small price.
Finally, having kept dogs, birds, and fish as well as herps, I would say as a
keeper that herps are infinitely easier. Their caging is no more complicated
than an aquarium; feeding them is infinitely easier now than it was even a
decade ago through the availability of food sources; and the information is
readily available. Yes, challenges occur, but for me these have been almost
exclusively related to breeding my animals, not maintaining them.
I could probably ramble on, making the same points many of you have made only
not as well as you. But I think it is important to recognize the value
reptile keeping has in developing environmental awareness among millions of
children, especially in industrialized, urban areas.
John Cebula
Glen Ellyn, IL
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