By Jennifer Greene and Loren Leigh
A controversial topic today in reptile keeping is the term “farmed”. What does that really mean to the hobbyist today? What does farmed even mean, and does farming really deserve the reputation it has garnered among reptile keepers? Hopefully with some insight from Loren Leigh, the owner of LLLReptile and Supply Co, Inc, you can have a better understanding of what farming really means for reputable dealers.
A young Argus monitor
If you google “reptile farming”, or similar terms, you get many results for animal farms in the US that allow tours, or produce animals as pets, or for actual farms with cows, sheep, or similar livestock. Getting someone to give you a straight answer on what exactly farming is in relation to reptiles is difficult as well; answers vary widely from person to person. The reason for this is that there is no set definition for reptile farming. Is it farming to have large numbers of ball pythons in enclosures, producing dozens or hundreds of babies a year? Is it farming to have outdoor enclosures for a couple of sulcatas that produce dozens of babies each year? Does your answer for the ball pythons change depending on the country they are being bred in? What about the sulcatas? Does it change based on numbers? At what point are you no longer a hobbyist breeding an animal you love, and you are a farmer? Does the country you’re in change your answer as to whether or not your animals are “truly” captive bred?
When I asked Loren to help me define Farming for this article, he explained the difficulty in defining a word so loosely used in our industry. Generally speaking, though, it is considered farming when it is a particular species being produced in its country of origin in a controlled situation. Furthermore, it is farming when the species is produced outdoors, relying on naturally occurring conditions to stimulate natural behaviors resulting in breeding. Loren has had the fortune to actually visit reptile farms both in the US and outside of our borders, including a friend’s farm in Tanzania. One of the biggest upsides to farming is that it allows for us here in the US to get species that are difficult to find in the wild, as well as difficult or not yet bred here in the states.
A baby Green Tree Python – a species commonly “farm bred”
Monitors, for example, are a group of animals not frequently bred here in the US. For some species, we would not have any access to them whatsoever without the offspring produced at reptile farms in places like Indonesia. One such farm is the one featured in this video (click link to view) that was visited by DM Exotics – you can see the large adult monitors being housed and cared for so that they can produce offspring each year. Species such as melinus, doreanus, prasinus, dumerilii, and more are all farmed in Indonesia under conditions similar to their wild habitat. Without reptile farms, US keepers would not have these species. If you watch the video linked above, you can also see the conditions the animals are kept in. Many reptiles cannot and will not breed if conditions are not exactly as they need; reptile farmers realize this and their breeding stock is housed spaciously, fed well, and clearly efforts are made to keep them healthy and happy.
Another example of farming would be red eared sliders here in the US, in particular, at farms located in the South in states like Louisiana. The US is the biggest exporter of Red Eared Sliders in the world, along with map turtles, and soon box turtles as well. However, none of the adult breeding stock being used to produce these numbers is wild caught – the red eared sliders, for example, that are used to produce these incredibly high numbers for export (both in the pet trade as well as food) come from established lines that have been in captivity for multiple generations. There is no need for wild harvesting of red eared sliders or map turtles, thanks in large part to these reptile farms in the parts of the US they occur naturally.
A baby Mississippi Map Turtle
The reality of farming is that an enterprising reptile keeper can set up outdoor enclosures for any species that occurs in a similar environment to where they live, add animals, feed them, and voila – you have a reptile farm. One of the largest producers of sulcatas in the world, for example, lives in Honduras! Florida also has an excellent environment for setting up many species outdoors, which is why it is such a mecca for reptile enthusiasts. In the southern half of the state, you can set up an outdoor pen for nearly any tropical species and it will thrive.
While in the past, farming may not have been the most ideal situation for a reptile to originate from, a reputable, modern farming operation should be seen as the boon for the reptile industry that it is. The emphasis for most farms has switched from simply holding animals to reproducing them, resulting in animals that are, essentially, captive bred in their country of origin. Various locales of Green Tree Pythons are one example, as are blue tongue skinks, frilled dragons, Madagascar ground boas, emerald tree lizards, Colombian boas, and even many species of chameleons. The majority of reptiles kept on farms such as these originate from adults in captivity that are kept with no intention of release, and instead are maintained until the next breeding season.
Baby Savannah Monitor
So before condemning all reptile farming as scummy and to be disdained, consider the species it has allowed us to keep. Remember that by simply setting up an enclosure or a few outdoors, and letting the natural weather conditions handle the heating and lighting for your pets, you could be considered to be a reptile farmer. Farming is not entirely cut and dry, and is not necessarily the worst way to produce pets for keepers here in the states or internationally. Where do you draw the line between a large scale breeder and a farmer? Can you? Does it really matter?
Food for thought.
The Reptile Times 