Do you ask if an exotic pet reptile was captive bred or taken from the wild?

(08-29-2013, 02:58 AM)ohiotom76 Wrote: I've always wondered if it was even humane to keep a reptile in a cage like that. I've heard that the life span of a Chameleon is much longer in the wild compared to being held in captivity indoors. It doesn't surprise me, but it's still pretty sad to think about that. I saw a lot of them for sale when I was on the Jersey shore a couple of years ago, but I don't think I could ever keep one captive like that.

Tom, this is a GREAT point. Almost all reptile species, especially if captive bred, will ive much longer in captivity than the average life expectancy of that animal in the wild, IF THEY ARE KEPT PROPERLY. What qualifies as properly varies a great deal form species to species, but you can't just grab an animal and stick it in a 20 gallon tank with a heater and wonder why it died in 6 months. I know of people with chameleons over 15 years old and breeding. There are a few guys I know with Diamond pythons breeding at over 20 years old, and very healthy. There is dual sided coin here as well, because even some of the people who truly know better will breed the animals out in order to make money.

Any time you see animals for sale in the way you mentioned, it is probably a bad thing. The people buying them probably have very little information on their specific needs, and it will probably end badly.