As a child, I was a keen pet-keeper. As well as a dog and a cat, I was the proud owner of a grass snake who lived in an aquarium style tank in my bedroom. I didn't do much with him, other than admiring his remarkable reptilian physique, and taking him out sometimes to show off to my friends. He taught me about the responsibility of caring for a pet. I still remember him with affection.
Forty years later, much has changed for pet reptiles. We know now that snakes need to have a carefully controlled environment when kept in captivity. They need to live in a tank that has a regulated temperature, similar to their natural environment, with humidity that's appropriate to their species. They also need to have special ultra violet lighting, to make sure that their body produces enough Vitamin D to keep them healthy. And finally, they need the correct balanced diet, so that they don't suffer from any nutritional deficiencies.
We also now know that snakes (and other reptiles) are not good pets for children: they can carry Salmonella on their body surface, risking a human infection of this nasty disease.
Some things, however, have not changed much, but experts are saying that it is time that they did change. In particular, the latest research suggests that it's wrong to keep snakes in small tanks, as most pet snakes are currently kept.
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