The international reptile trade involves millions of animals annually, with high mortality during capture, transport, and in captivity due to specialized care requirements.
Wild-caught reptiles suffer from capture stress, parasite loads, dehydration during transport, and immune suppression that leads to high mortality. The species-specific care requirements of reptiles — precise temperature gradients, humidity, UV lighting, and diet — are rarely met by unprepared owners who purchased animals on impulse. Many reptiles die within months from preventable husbandry failures. The scale of the trade means that even a minority of poor-outcome animals represents hundreds of thousands of preventable deaths annually.