Pet Reptiles—Are We Meeting Their Needs?
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...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-10-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/10/2964 |
| _version_ | 1827680364129157120 |
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| author | Alexandre Azevedo Leonor Guimarães Joel Ferraz Martin Whiting Manuel Magalhães-Sant’Ana |
| author_facet | Alexandre Azevedo Leonor Guimarães Joel Ferraz Martin Whiting Manuel Magalhães-Sant’Ana |
| author_sort | Alexandre Azevedo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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 ‘<i>normal</i>’ 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:46:49Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f5d91525615d4a7cb16e451e767498e1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:46:49Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-f5d91525615d4a7cb16e451e767498e12023-11-22T17:11:59ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152021-10-011110296410.3390/ani11102964Pet Reptiles—Are We Meeting Their Needs?Alexandre Azevedo0Leonor Guimarães1Joel Ferraz2Martin Whiting3Manuel Magalhães-Sant’Ana4CIISA—Centro de Investigação Interdisciplinar em Sanidade Animal, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade de Lisboa, 1300-477 Lisbon, PortugalCIVG—Vasco da Gama Research Centre, Department of Veterinary Sciences, Vasco da Gama University School, Avenida José R. Sousa Fernandes 197, 3020-210 Lordemão, PortugalCentro Veterinário de Exóticos do Porto, Rua Arquitecto João Andresen 132, 4250-242 Porto, PortugalCIISA—Centro de Investigação Interdisciplinar em Sanidade Animal, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade de Lisboa, 1300-477 Lisbon, PortugalCIISA—Centro de Investigação Interdisciplinar em Sanidade Animal, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade de Lisboa, 1300-477 Lisbon, PortugalThe 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 ‘<i>normal</i>’ 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.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/10/2964companion animalsanimal welfareexoticscontrolled deprivationreptilesbehavior |
| spellingShingle | Alexandre Azevedo Leonor Guimarães Joel Ferraz Martin Whiting Manuel Magalhães-Sant’Ana Pet Reptiles—Are We Meeting Their Needs? Animals companion animals animal welfare exotics controlled deprivation reptiles behavior |
| title | Pet Reptiles—Are We Meeting Their Needs? |
| title_full | Pet Reptiles—Are We Meeting Their Needs? |
| title_fullStr | Pet Reptiles—Are We Meeting Their Needs? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Pet Reptiles—Are We Meeting Their Needs? |
| title_short | Pet Reptiles—Are We Meeting Their Needs? |
| title_sort | pet reptiles are we meeting their needs |
| topic | companion animals animal welfare exotics controlled deprivation reptiles behavior |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/10/2964 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT alexandreazevedo petreptilesarewemeetingtheirneeds AT leonorguimaraes petreptilesarewemeetingtheirneeds AT joelferraz petreptilesarewemeetingtheirneeds AT martinwhiting petreptilesarewemeetingtheirneeds AT manuelmagalhaessantana petreptilesarewemeetingtheirneeds |