Reptiles are the most commonly kept exotic pets and among the least well understood, with high mortality rates from improper husbandry and significant welfare concerns in the trade.
Reptile welfare in the pet trade suffers from a double disadvantage: welfare needs are complex and poorly understood even among experienced keepers, and reptiles show subtle stress signs that non-expert owners rarely recognize. Thermoregulation failure alone is responsible for massive reptile mortality, as animals kept too cool cannot properly digest food or mount immune responses to disease. Wild-caught reptiles additionally experience extreme shipping stress, with mortality beginning long before purchase. Promoting captive-bred animals, thorough pre-purchase education, and improved husbandry standards are all urgently needed.