Oh my, I don't even know where to start here. As a Wildlife Reseach and Managment major I completely see the merits of this. Many of you are not seeming to understand why he is doing this. Not all research is aimed at creating something new or figuring out a new way to do something. A large portion of research done with wildlife (captive or not) is done for knowledge sake. We might not need to know it now, but that doesn't mean that it couldn't be helpful in the future.

ex. Someone has a BP with digestive symptoms that haven't been seen before. When a culture is done it would be helpful to know what gut flora belong and what could be causing the problem.


I can't see something like this causing harm to the hobby at all. Do you reallly think the kind of people who don't know enough about E. coli to know that it is inside their own bodies are the kind of people who will be reading the science journals something like this would be published in?

OP, I think that as long as you explain it to him and respect his wishes you are in the clear. Make sure to take down what type of prey the eat (f/t, live) because that too may make a difference.

And please don't let people who don't understand or see value in research deter you.