Explore our articles on herpetology and herpetoculture

So how did I end up with a mid-sized, snail-crunching anole that dresses up as another species?

Before anyone sharpens their pitchforks - there is absolutely nothing wrong with care sheets.

What behaviour have I seen in captivity that made me stop and think:

I knew boas. Or at least, I thought I did.

In this article, I’ll describe how my beloved Royal Python, Perry — one of my earliest rescues — came into my life and quietly dismantled almost everything I thought I knew about the species, Python regius.

Two years and 3 days ago, Penny and I rescued a, at the time, 8kg 6-year-old sulcata tortoise named Agnes. She is now a shade over 20kgs, and she’s just turned 8 years old. But it was not plain sailing from the word “go”. I originally constructed the paddock itself using 65 feet of fencing, giving approximately 260 square feet of space, a pond, several shaded areas and I also built a fully functional, thermostatically controlled all weather basking/hotbox with built in UV lighting. All on timers and self-contained – night time temperatures not dropping below 24 degrees Celsius – and UV’s turning off after 11 hours. Everything was set for this desert tortoise to come in and have a whale of a time eating all the grass and digging holes. That’s because as a grazing species, sulcatas are easy right….. yeah. That went well.

Gizmo.

For many people, myself included, reptiles and birds feel like opposites.

A few weeks ago, I took in a rehomed leopard gecko.

With the country caught in the most severe heatwave since 2022, some of us nutty herpetoculturists are asking the same question: what do we do with our animals during this time?

This is a point of contention within this hobby at the moment. Herpetoculture has grown exponentially over the last 20 years with now more than 1 million people across the country keeping a reptile, amphibian or invertebrate. That’s 5% of the population with a direct interest in more exotic pets.

With a reputation somewhere between “ideal beginner large snake” and “small fire hose with scales,” the common boa — Boa imperator — has become one of the most recognisable snakes in captivity.

This is always a tough one to answer. As I cannot – ever – turn down a rescue, me and my dear Penny are pretty much overrun with geckos with 3 feet, dragons with muscular dystrophy, garter snakes with neurological issues, royal pythons with genetic deformities and not a single one of our 17 snakes has a leg between them. We always end up with the special ones!

Another fun article. Are exotic vets actually any good? Is it reasonable to remortgage your house to afford a vet bill? More importantly, do the vets actually know what they're talking about?

This is going to be fun.

For many reptile keepers, the corn snake (Pantherophis guttatus) was their first snake. Affordable, generally placid, beautifully patterned, and forgiving of beginner mistakes, corn snakes have served as ambassadors for reptile keeping for decades.

For many British reptile keepers, the leopard gecko (Eublepharis macularius) was their first introduction to the world of exotic animals. Hardy, charismatic, and blessed with an expression that permanently suggests they know something you don't, leopard geckos have become one of the most popular pet reptiles in the UK.

For a country famous for drizzle, tea and apologising to lamp posts, the United Kingdom is an unlikely place to encounter exotic turtles. Yet scattered across ponds, canals, lakes and reservoirs from Cornwall to Scotland lurks a surprising cast of shelled immigrants. Some are sunbathing on logs, some are hiding beneath lily pads, and at least one memorable individual looked as though it had escaped from a prehistoric monster convention.

From giant pythons in Florida to unexpected snakes in London, reptiles have become some of the world's most successful accidental colonists. Unfortunately for native wildlife, many of these newcomers didn't get the memo about being polite guests.