Health and Welfare of Captive Reptiles

This extensively revised and expanded new edition offers concepts, principles and applied information that relates to the wellbeing of reptiles. As a manual on health and welfare in a similar vein to volumes addressing the sciences of anatomy, behaviour or psychology, this book thoroughly examines the biology of reptile welfare and is about meeting biological needs. Positive and negative implications of general husbandry and research programs are discussed. In addition to greatly revised original content are nine new chapters offering readers novel insight into sensory systems; social behaviour; brain and cognition; controlled deprivation and enrichment; effects of captivity-imposed noise and light disturbance on welfare; spatial and thermal factors; evidential thresholds for species suitability in captivity; record keeping as an aid to captive care; and arbitrary husbandry practices and misconceptions. Although primarily aimed at academic professionals, this comprehensive volume is fundamentally a biology book that will also inform all involved in captive reptile husbandry.