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Reptiles and the Pet Trade

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Reptiles and amphibians are undeniably amazing animals. 

However, we do not recommend reptiles or amphibians as pets. 

They make bad pets for several reasons:

  • Long lifespan - Even animals like leopard geckos could live 30+ years, while some turtles may live several hundred years in the wild.

  • Costly care - Tanks, specialized bulbs, food, and care for these animals adds up quickly.

  • Few vets - Qualified reptile/amphibian vets are few and far between, and care is likely to be very expensive.

  • Rampant misinformation - Finding accurate and up-to-date information about the needs of these animals is difficult, if not impossible.

  • Human contact is stressful - These animals are not social, so spending time around humans is stressful.

  • Overexploitation - Many pet reptiles sold have been wild-caught, and enforcement is lax, so promises that animals were captive-bred may not be true. Endangered and threatened species are more likely to be taken from the wild than common species.

  • Invasive species - If released into the wild, some unwanted pets have the potential to become ecologically harmful invasive species.

If you have done plenty of research and have decided that a reptile is the pet for you, please adopt, don't shop.

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Animal Donations

About half of the animals at My Nature Lab are unwanted pets. 

We WILL NOT ACCEPT

  • Ball pythons/royal pythons

  • Corn snakes

  • Bearded dragons

  • Leopard geckos

  • Crested geckos

  • Steppe/Russian tortoises

  • White's tree frogs

Species not listed to the left. Please send information about your unwanted animal including at least one photo of the animal to info@mynaturelab.org or (720) 248-7251. â€‹

We MAY ACCEPT

We cannot guarantee that we will be able to accept your unwanted pet. Our ability to accept animal donations depends upon budget and space constraints as well as whether the animal would fit into our teaching collection. 

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