New "Dr K Exotic Vet" show

[Spoons]

Not all people are 'pet people'. Unfortunately our culture has a view of these animals as being low-maintenance. If people considered reptiles the same way they do dogs, enclosures would be larger, and more attention would be paid to essential elements. I don't agree with selling exotics in stores, or even dogs for that matter, but if they are going to sell them, I think a great idea would be to display them in the right-sized enclosure so people can see right off the bat that iguanas need a 6 foot enclosure or ball pythons should have at least 4 feet.

I was particularly impressed when I went to my localish reptile store this last weekend. Their enclosures were pretty great for the regulars - snakes and lizards and what - but they had a whole room dedicated to their larger animals (as in, the room was their enclousure), even though they weren't large yet. They had a few baby sulcatas with a huge sign saying how big they get and how fast, and how much room they will need. Likewise with iguanas and monitors. And then you go to Petco seeing boas that will get to 20 feet being sold in a little tank, the only indication of their size being (sometimes) the little tag that is stuck on the tank. Sometimes there isn't a tag at all. When I went down when I first got my ball, on some of the animal tanks there was a little "Perfect with X pet kit!" and would direct you to an 'all in one' starter kit - and the boa display had a "perfect with" kit recommended. It was a 10 gallon tank kit. I was very disappointed. Yeah, it's a "starter kit" that would work for a time, but it really insinuates that that is all you'll need for the snake. Came with a (crappy) hide, some bedding, a basking light, and a plant if I remember right.