Folklore Husbandry and a Philosophical Model for the Design of Captive Management Regimes

Keeping reptiles and amphibians is an activity enjoyed by many hobbyists worldwide and is also undertaken by zoos, museums, research organizations, and other professional animal care facilities. The United Kingdom pet trade alone consists of over 500 species of reptiles and amphibians (Tapely et al. 2011), including the importing of 100,000 individual reptiles (Rayment-Dyble 2004). Imports into the European Union include many CITES-listed species and therefore many species of conservation concern (Auliya 2003). Furthermore this trade has seen a continuous increase in both numbers and species diversity of animals as the private keeping of such animals has notably gained popularity over the last 10–20 years (Auliya 2003; Barten 2006; Mader and Mader-Weidner 2006; Tapely et al. 2011; Varga 2004;
Wilson 2005). From the perspectives of animal welfare and conservation it is important to develop appropriate husbandry regimes so that these species thrive in captivity, and ideally these would be based on some form of empirical data (Arbuckle 2009; Hosey et al. 2009; Kaumanns et al. 2000; Swaisgood 2007; Wiese and Hutchins, 1994).