Cages

This isn't a reptile specific topic, but it definitely applies! As a kid my mother let us have all sorts of pets in the form of dogs, cats, rabbits, and horses. However, with every trip to the pet store or after a visit to the zoo I would ask earnestly about getting a pet bird or other small animal. She absolutely would not allow it, and when I asked her why she'd always say "I don't want to have something in a cage that should be free"

After a conversation with a friend of mine the other day it occurred to me that I don't really consider my current pets "caged." With reptiles in particular, the goal of the enclosure is as much about replicating their natural environment so they can be healthy as it is about keeping the reptile in one place. Especially with the geckos, space is a very serious consideration, but these aren't animals that will go miles every day romping to and fro. From what I've read, the crested geckos are fairly still creatures that come out at dusk/night to find food, mate, and do their best not to get eaten. Providing them with a 30 gallon space of plants, optimal temperatures, and endless food, I don't think that they feel the wistful desire of freedom from their terrible prison. 

When people have larger, more active reptiles like iguanas, or animals like birds, I consider it a basic husbandry issue to make sure you have enough room! People often buy tortoises and various turtles thinking they can keep them in 20 gallon aquariums, when in reality these animals often need a pen type of enclosure with as much square footage as possible. Winged creatures are another issue altogether due to the fact that you have to consider how much air space that animal needs. These problems are too fixable for me to be against cages in general though. With enough research I am confident I can make a home for my animal that is more than comfortable and healthy for them.

Not really a burning issue with everyone, and I suppose it's an ethical question for some people. I was telling my friend about how I'd probably end up giving the normal balls I won't keep to friends who wanted them, and I offered to keep in touch with him if he was interested. He simply said he didn't want to keep anything that would have to stay in a cage. Fantastic guy, and he wasn't judgmental of the fact that I already had animals that were in cages (and planned to get more), but it was an interesting objection to getting reptiles that I hadn't come across yet now that I am a keeper.