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Essay: Why All Pet Reptiles Need UVB Light

boa under UVB

Many people mistakenly argue that UVB is not necessary for reptiles in captivity, and that it is optional or should not be used at all for certain species. These outdated, folklore-based beliefs harm hundreds and thousands of pet reptiles every year. In this guest post, Liam Sinclair of Reptiles and Research provides a brief essay on how UVB works and why it should be a requirement for all pet reptiles, not just some. Continue Reading

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YOUTUBE – Talking About the Benefits of Bioactive Enclosures with The Bio Dude

the bio dude reptifiles video bioactive loose substrate

We touched a bit on the subject of bioactive enclosures back when Josh Halter of The Bio Dude contributed his article, How to Build a Bioactive Terrarium for Your Reptile: An Introduction. The article introduced us to bioactive enclosures, but in this YouTube video, Josh and I expand on this post. We discuss the benefits of bioactive and naturalistic setups, plus one common dilemma that faces people who are considering making the switch. Continue Reading

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Is Your Reptile Husbandry Up to Standard? — Expanding on the 5 Freedoms of Animal Welfare

5 freedoms and provisions of reptile care - featured image

The reptile industry is young, and although we’ve come a long way since the early days, we still have a long way to go. Casual keepers and collectors are housing their reptiles like breeders, and there’s a critical lack of proper husbandry education and demonstration. Here’s how we as reptile keepers can apply the 5 Provisions of Animal Welfare to provide better and more ethical husbandry for the animals in our care. Continue Reading

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Is it Inhumane to Keep Exotics as Pets? — The Ethics of Reptile Keeping

abronia graminea - ethics of reptile keeping

In light of another inflammatory and argumentative article written by known PETA sympathizer Clifford Warwick, “Many animals across all classes are increasingly becoming victims of folklore husbandry,” many reptile owners (and exotic animal keepers in general) find themselves asking a controversial question about the ethics of reptile keeping: Is it inhumane to keep exotic animals as pets? My answer — Only if you don’t care for them properly. Continue Reading