Reptiles are used in biomedical and ecological research in significant numbers but receive less regulatory protection than mammals in most jurisdictions. Their welfare needs in research settings are an emerging area of focus.
Reptile welfare in research is doubly disadvantaged: these animals have welfare needs that are less intuitive to humans than mammalian needs, and they receive less regulatory protection in many countries. The result is that research reptiles may be housed in conditions that compromise their welfare and, because physiology and behavior are state-dependent in ectotherms, may also compromise research validity. A reptile kept too cold metabolizes drugs differently, heals wounds at different rates, and displays altered immune responses — all of which affect research outcomes independently of the experimental treatment. Better reptile welfare in research is therefore simultaneously an ethical and scientific imperative: the same husbandry improvements that reduce suffering improve the validity of results obtained from reptile subjects.