Rescued and rehomed reptiles
The National Centre for Reptile Welfare (NCRW) has reported that 1,508 animals were received for rehoming in 2021 – a more than 30% increase from the 1,148 animals received in 2020,
NCRW’s chairperson, Chris Newman explained, “Many of the animals we have received in the last year have been as a consequence of the Covid pandemic. Keepers who have lost their income or had to move home have found themselves unable to care for their animals. Similarly, many have become ill or died, so their animals have arrived here.”
Some species are received more frequently than others. “Common boas have the biggest challenge since the centre opened and we have reached a point where can now only take in the most urgent cases,” said Chris. “We’ve also seen an increase in the number of bearded dragons and tropical tortoises, which we expect is because these are relatively expensive species to keep.”
Sadly, the centre has also seen an increase in the number of abandonment cases. Most of these are animals left anonymously at pet stores, veterinarians or other non-specialist shelters. A Burmese python was also recently dumped in a box at the roadside, but cases such as this are apparently rare. “Usually we’ll see one or two abandonment cases a month, but this year we’ve seen five such cases in January already.”
Reassuringly, the number of animals leaving the centre is also high and the situation seems largely sustainable. “For example, we currently have very few corn snakes on site because we did a social media push featuring this species. We’re about to do the same with royal pythons to rebalance the numbers we currently hold of that species.”
How big should a snake’s enclosure be?
Currently this is an impossible question to answer as there is no conclusive research to work with. However, a study conducted by students at Hadlow College may provide data to work with.
Four cameras were set up to observe and record the behaviour of seven reticulated pythons, day and night, for 30 days. The study took place at four UK zoos – London Zoo, Paradise Wildlife Park, Crocs of the World and West Midlands Safari Park – each of which had retics housed in enclosures with enough space for the snake to stretch out their full length completely. Students retrieved the cameras and are currently studying the recordings, taking observations every 10 minutes to note: whether the snake was moving, how much of the available space the animal used and how frequently the snake was completely outstretched.
At the same time the students are also conducting similar research with a small group of royal pythons to determine the extent of this species’ arboreal behaviour. The students are currently processing the recordings, so no conclusions or data have been released as yet, but watch this space. Results from both studies should be available sometime later this year.
MBE for Mark O’Shea
Congratulations to renowned herpetologist Professor Mark O’Shea, who was awarded an MBE by the Princess Royal for his services to snakebite research. I was pleased to hear that Mark was wearing a tie patterned with lizards, crocodiles and snakes to the award ceremony. Keep up the good work Mark!
