Captive Care - Code of Ethics

The hobby is definitely a popular and growing one in the UK despite some of the prejudices held by some organisations. The sheer exhilaration when reptiles produce healthy offspring inspires us. It also indicates that something is right - their care, maintenance, environment etc; but like any other walk of life there is the good and the not so good.

We strongly advocate responsible husbandry of these awesome, if not sometimes challenging animals. We also believe that experienced keepers know how best to keep their animals and in what conditions - after all, we take the time and effort to learn the requirements of each species by reference to their natural habitat and behaviour patterns. 

We have therefore decided to adopt the following principles in order to provide customers that aquire any of our animals the comfort that they have been kept and cared for in an appropriate manner.

GENERAL PRINCIPLES

1.            to promote responsible animal ownership

2.            to enhance our understanding and relationship with our pets

3.            to provide guidance for the captive husbandry and breeding of these species

5.            to provide a means for prospective and existing owners of these species to                 identify breeders who adopt these principles

6.            to provide objective information on species and cultivar specific issues including     any empirical or scientific research that is being undertaken and to publish any findings

CODE OF ETHICS 

Husbandry

  • We will keep all species owned in conditions appropriate to the species in terms of housing, environment, dietary and hygiene needs
  • We will use appropriate quarantine procedures when dealing with new animals or sick animals (either medically diagnosed or suspected sick animals prior to diagnosis)
  • We agree not to breed from any animal if it would be detrimental to the animal or cultivar.

Sale of Animals

  • We will only sell animals where there is a reasonable expectation of a happy and healthy life
  • We will offer help to re-home an animal if the initial circumstances change.
  • We will supply Care Sheets for each species of animal sold to include, as a minimum, housing, heating and dietary requirements and give guidance concerning responsible ownership when placing animals in a new home.  
  • We will provide details confirming that the animal being sold is captive bred from legally obtained parents and provide its parents’ details
  • Non captive bred animals will be stated as such and identified as being either wild caught or long term captive with details of where purchased and of any other history that we are aware
  • We will not knowingly misrepresent the characteristics of an animal nor falsely advertise or mislead any person regarding the quality of an animal
  • We will provide as much other information as the we consider necessary pertaining to the history of any animal being sold, for example (but not restricted to), its date of birth, feeding, shedding and weight records or ancestry