Archives of The Cold Blooded News

The Newsletter of the Colorado Herpetological Society

Volume 32, Number 1;   January, 2005

British Federation of Herpetologists Claim that Reptiles Ready to Tip Scales on Dogs in Pet Popularity in U.K.

Exotic reptiles such as lizards, snakes and iguanas have become so popular as pets that, in two years, they will outnumber dogs in Britain. A study by the British Federation of Herpetologists, the breeders' association, has found that 5 million reptiles are kept as pets. If the trend continues, their numbers will outstrip the dog population of 6 million by 2006, and could threaten the supremacy of cats, of which there are 7.5 million.

Chris Newman, the chairman of the association, said that the number of lizards and snakes had doubled about every five years since 1995, when there were 1.5 million. "The days when people bought a five-inch-long lizard to discover to their horror it grew to six feet are disappearing," he said. "It is a better informed, more sophisticated market."

The figures have been compiled through research among pet shop owners and suppliers of reptile food - mice and locusts. Breeders believe that well-known reptile owners such as singer Britney Spears, who has owned snakes, have added to booming sales. Reptile lovers say that their pets are relatively cheap to buy while young, are brightly coloured, and can survive with little or no direct human contact.

The most popular lizards are leopard geckos, bearded dragons and water dragons. Chameleons are also popular with children because of their ability to change colour; however, iguanas and monitor lizards are seen as suitable only for specialists, and few pet shops will sell them to inexperienced keepers.

The most popular snakes are the constrictors, such as the American corn snake, which grows to about 1.5 metres. Bigger species such as Burmese pythons are dangerous.

But reptiles can be hard work. Some lizards need live insects most days, while snakes are fed dead mice once a week.

The trend has prompted animal welfare charities, such as Animal Aid, to urge the Government to halt the trade in imported reptiles for fear that they are not being kept properly. The RSPCA is also alarmed at the increasing popularity of reptiles, particularly among children, and says that it is having to deal with a rising number of lizards abandoned by their young owners. An officer at the charity, Tim Wass, said that the number of abandoned reptiles had increased by 161 per cent since 1998.