SICKLY snakes, lousy lizards and
troublesome tortoises are all part of
the working day for exotic medicine
practitioners.
The inherent problem with exotic
pets, it seems, is the general lack of
knowledge needed to keep them
successfully. Kevin Eatwell, lecturer in
exotic animal and wildlife medicine at
the Edinburgh veterinary school, knows this only too
well.
Last year two biologists,
Clifford Warwick and Philip
Arena, reported that at least
75% of exotic pets died
within one year in the home, based on
estimates from import and domestic
breeding figures. Errors in husbandry
coupled with insufficient species
research appear to be the key reasons.
“One of the main problems we
have is that people really don’t know
enough about that animal to keep it,”
says Mr Eatwell. “They don’t know how
to look after it or what its behavioural
needs are. A lot of the disease problems
that we have can in some way be linked
back to the owners not looking after
these pets as well as we would like them
to.”
Large pet retail chains sell bearded
dragons and other exotic species but
there are concerns that more specialist
advice is needed to help pet owners.
Husbandry set-up alone often costs
more than the animal itself and owners
do not fully understand how much they
must invest to provide the right housing
and environment.
“They must have the right financial
backing to make sure that their
husbandry is right, and that they can
buy new equipment or veterinary care,”
says Mr Eatwell, whose presentations at
the London Vet Show outlined
common reptile ailments caused by
improper diet and housing.
“When you look at the spectrum of
people keeping these animals, some
people do an absolutely amazing job of looking after them. But at the bottom
end you have someone who clearly
should have sought better advice on
how to look after an animal sooner.”
Management and environment are
nearly always the problem with exotic
pets, agrees Professor John Cooper of
Wildlife Health Services International, a
specialist in zoological medicine.
“Someone buys a garter snake or a
bearded dragon, or an African grey
parrot, they are inexperienced and are
essentially learning on that animal. They
should not be, because there are plenty
of people who have kept these animals,
but they don’t necessarily have access to
that knowledge.
“Pet shops can play a better role
than they do at the moment in
educating people and asking if they
really have the facilities to care for a
certain species,” says Prof. Cooper. “I
put the deficiencies in management and
husbandry down to the fact that too
many people just think ‘oh, I’ll get a
snake’.”
Sudden popularity
According to Prof. Cooper, who has
kept birds and other exotic pets since he
was five years old, the problem has been
exacerbated by this sudden popularity.
“There are many people who belong to
bird or reptile societies and have kept or
bred animals for years.
“A lot of the welfare problems have
come from the fact that people see
exotic pets as having some kind of
cachet and shops are now selling
animals that 25 years ago you would
have to go to a private breeder to buy.”
Amphibian and reptile markets have
also come under fire in a report issued
last year by the Animal Protection Agency and two
other welfare
organisations,
looking at
systematic welfare
problems in
markets across the
EU and sustained
tactics by some
vendors to
continue
commercial trade
of wild-caught
and captive-bred animals disguised as a
hobby.
Kevin Eatwell believes restrictions
may be necessary to curb excesses. “If
you are talking about species that are
difficult to keep in captivity, or that
require wild-caught animals imported to
sustain the population, that is not ideal.
We just have to get that message to the
pet traders that are supplying members
of the public and get owners to look
after them better.
“I think a well educated set of
keepers or owners in combination with
an animal that is captive-bred from a
sustainable source, that is great.”
Rather than support an outright ban,
the British Veterinary Zoological Society
is drawing up guidelines of species that
are more suited to being kept in the
home.
Long-time member John
Cooper believes strong
guidelines in combination
with educational programmes
and an Animal Welfare Act to
protect companion animals
should be enough.
He believes exotic pets
have an important role to
play in society and supports
the principle of people being
able to keep non-native
species as long as they are
responsible. “If we start putting a
blanket ban on private breeders then the
enthusiasts who look after their animals,
keep extensive notes and write articles
about them will not be able to do that.”
Captive breeding has a strong role in
conservation, he maintains, the real
answer is teaching the correct methods.
“The veterinary profession is clearly in a
strong position to do that. I am worried
that some vets in the profession are
threatened by exotic pets.
“They don’t feel they know enough
about them and the profession itself has
to get its act together.
“I don’t shy away whether it is a dog
or a cat or a camel in Africa. I say ‘I am
a vet and animals are my business’,”
Prof. Cooper says. “There are not
enough British vets who have a feel for
these animals. That to me is a disgrace.”
