Family Values

With the recent moves in legislation to limit reptile ownership, there is no end to long winded arguments about why large reptiles are dangerous, why they aren't, who is at risk, blah blah blah. My stance on those issues is very clear, so I want to put that aside for a minute and focus on why I'm so adamant about these issues. There's my belief that it is important to have stable captive bred populations of reptiles and amphibians in the case that their natural habitat is threatened or gone (axolotls, various species of dart frog, etc). It's also a very educational experience caring for reptiles and amphibians because of their specialized needs in thermoregulation, diet, and specific behaviors to the species.

But my biggest and most important reason for fighting the anti-reptile laws and legislation?

I. Love. My. Pets.

They will never come when I call. They won't fetch, or seek out my every drop of attention, or "play" with brightly colored toys that I can pick up at Petco or Walmart. They don't have the capacity to learn tricks as other pets can, or wander around my house free range without significant modification to my home (someday...). 

With all my heart I love these enigmatic, beautiful, and sometimes very strange creatures. It doesn't particularly matter to me that they don't act like dogs, cats, horses, or any other common mammalian pets. To me, that's why we have dogs, cats, horses, and other mammalian pets; they fill those roles just fine. My reptiles will always need a space of habitat suited to their needs where the humidity is just right, the temperatures have the right range, and they're able to climb, burrow, or whatever their particular behavior requires. I enjoy providing these things for them, and as long as they're healthy I'm happy.

To anyone who has an animal of any kind that they look after and love, I hope you can relate and possibly understand that even though our reptiles and amphibians aren't your typical "family member" they are equally important to us. You have every right not to be fond of them (I'd feed every yappy lap dog to a boa if I had my way) but don't attack our rights to care for them just because you don't personally like them