Economics of Captive Breeding Applied to the Conservation of Selected Amphibian and Reptile Species from Madagascar

Abstract. The present study analyses the cost of breeding Malagasy amphibians and reptiles, integrating research data with analysis of data collected from private owners and hobbyists. The species under consideration were chosen as these are the ones most in demand in the commercial pet trade, and are therefore the most frequently exported species from Madagascar. All the information available on the reproductive biology of each species, and the costs of its captive management and breeding, are organized in such a way that the cost of captive breeding of a single specimen can be calculated. The market prices from different countries have been compared with the cost of a single specimen and the conclusions consider the possibility of using captive breeding of selected species as a tool for conservation management strategies.