Argument on Why Reptiles Make Good Pets

Brianna Leviant

Marcia Cree

English 102-4012

December 7, 2017

The Problem with Reptiles

        Many countries and even certain American states outlaw reptiles or specific species but I don’t understand why. People say that because reptiles are dangerous or venomous and shouldn’t be pets but most available as pets are harmless. People only believe the myths that are spread about these wonderful creatures while yes bad owners are a problem every kind of animal can be mistreated. Many reptiles are actually amazing pets and as long as their care is properly researched they can be sweet, docile and long-lived pets that can find a special place in anyone’s heart. So, I think the idea of outlawing reptiles is just ridiculous.

        Many reptiles actually are very easy to care for and their enclosures can be fairly small compared to things like hamster cages or fish tanks. For example, snakes because they only need to eat about once a week you don’t need to constantly be buying bags food like with cats and dogs. They are generally pretty docile but it does depend on the individual animal and whether or not they have been handled by humans often. Also, many of the smaller species of geckos like leopard geckos can spend their entire life in a ten-gallon aquarium as they only grow to be slightly bigger than your hand. It really just depends on finding the best fit for whoever will own them.

        They are also not dangerous at all despite what people may think. My people believe snakes will strangle them but this simply isn’t the case not only could you easily pull them off you they don’t even want to hurt you, as snakes like all reptiles are cold-blooded they are simply going to the hot-spot of your neck as its one of the warmest parts of the body. People think that if they are bitten it will be a horrible deadly wound which isn’t true most reptiles don’t even have teeth and those that do their teeth are fairly small and would barely break skin. Although, it may bleed a lot as many reptiles’ saliva have an anticoagulant, a chemical that keeps your blood from clotting, but it passes quickly and because you bleed out a bit any bacteria from the bite will be washed out. Some do actually have mild venom but its more adapted to kill things like frogs or toads and the worst that could happen to a human is some slight swelling but ninety eight percent of reptile sold as pets are completely harmless. Also, many people worry that the snake will kill them but even venomous wild snakes hardly kill anyone when compared to dogs, or even cows which kill about 20-30 people a year in fact more people have died by drowning in their cats water bowl then have been killed by corn snakes

        Many people are just innately scared of reptiles but this is most likely because they are uniformed about them or have never met a snake. I actually used to be one of these people but after meeting a friend’s Mexican Black King-snake and realizing how fascinating they are I wanted to learn more. After I reaserched them I fell in love with the cute faces of geckos, the adorable noodle bodies of snakes and the cool dragon-like appearance of some lizards. I feel if people just tried to understand them they wouldn’t be afraid anymore or at least would be more accepting of these wonderful animals.