my OH doesnt agree with keeping reptiles..

[Shelly24]

hi all,

yesterday i was chatting on about getting my new leo and my OH, although he listens and helps me build vivs n stuff, said that he doesnt agree with keeping them as pets. He said he feels they are wild animals and that we shouldnt keep them.

We had a bit of a heated discussion (which has led to him wanting 'a quiet night in on his own' ) where i said that if we are good owners in that we try to recreate their natural environment and keep them as wild as possible isnt that ok and he didnt agree.

im sure there are lots of people for and against, maybe not on here but it kind of got me thinking about the subject.
I dont personally see anything wrong with captive breeding reptiles for them to go to good homes with nice big vivs etc but i dont agree with taking wild specimens and keeping them in a viv, but then the first ones would of come out of the wild to captive breed anyway....

confusing..

anyone care to discuss?

[Athravan]

If he does not agree with keeping reptiles, he must also not agree with keeping birds, hamsters, rabbits, fish - these animals are also not domesticated, and are essential captive bred versions of wild animals (in the case of fish, often wild caught animals). Does he tell people who keep budgies, parrots, hamsters, and fish that they shouldn't be kept as pets?

If he singles reptiles out then he is a hypocrite, as long as the environment is correct and the needs are met there is little difference between exotic reptiles and exotic birds, exotic mammals or exotic fish.

[Shelly24]

thats what i said actually. I said 'what about hamsters, gerbils, mice etc and he didnt really have an arguement there, he said its not the same, i think its completely the same with any animal. The animal itself doesnt know whether its supposed to be out in the wild or whether it was created as a family pet, when they are born they know nothing else so if we can give them a good life in a big enclosure which meets their needs what is the problem?

[Spider Call]

By the look of your sig you also have a horse and two dogs...

Maybe you should ask if he agrees with keeping those as 'pets' Seeing as a horse in a stable on its own is further out of its natural environment than say a leopard gecko on its own in a viv.

Horses are herd animals and dogs are pack animals -shrug- Where as a leo is perfectly happy alone, so personally I think we make reptile homes more like their natural surroundings than we do anything else.
hamsters for example on peat or shavings... Really going to find that in the wild eh?

Also going to find a piece of plastic shaped like a house...

[Shelly24]

Originally Posted by Spider Call

Also going to find a piece of plastic shaped like a house...

of course you do, they are just a little blander, no curtains! HAHAHA!!

[iiisecondcreep]

Oh some people!
His point would be more valid if he had a decent argument behind it, rather than just 'they are wild animals, they should be in the wild!'

I used to have a friend that thought horse riding was cruel, yet would happily put bets on the races

[Shelly24]

RSPCA think people shouldnt keep reptiles as pets dont they, wonder what their arguement is?

[Saedcantas]

Sadly you come across people who just can't and won't see your perspective in life.

You have to accept that if a reasoned debate on the topic doesnt look like it will sway them, then they arent going to change their minds and you can't persist in trying to.

At this point, you need to forget the rest and decide if or how it will affect your relationship and if it won't then just let it lie.

[Taxemic]

Beardies are practically domesticated where they've been bred in captivity so long now that they are no longer wild animals. I don't agree with birds being kept as pets because their freedom is to fly and confining them to a cage where they can't do what they have evolved to do sickens me. But what can we say about dogs, cats, horses?

For people that want to keep reps and imitate a natural environment is good to some extent but nowdays people often just use tiles etc and the reps we keep are becoming domesticated.

[sandmatt]

Keeping reptiles are probably the best pets to keep purely beause you can give them everything they need where as most other animals will either want more space or ridiculous amounts of food.

But i tho ive kept birds i tihnk they need 100 times more space than anyone gives them and i hate to see them kept in tiny cages, especially things like rosellas, macaws which are wonderful birds and in the wild are never found on their own!