Animals like geckos, lizards, frogs, miniature snakes and bearded dragons are often mistreated, so much so that it is practically more common that they are than not. The same is not true for the larger, typically deemed exotic reptiles, like komodo dragons or boas, though, as people have the understanding that they need research and planning to purchase, as well as licensing in some areas. Every single reptile is considered exotic in veterinary definition. So, why do the two of them experience such opposite treatment? It’s because of the exotic title, and the way that it is handled in a social context. Small reptiles are animals that require extensive, educated care, just as much as the large ones, and should share the same protective title that their counterparts hold.
People often view creatures that are able to fit into a cage to be easy, show-off, low maintenance type of pets. But, labeling something exotic deters people away from having that sentiment no matter its size. Despite the small size of poison dart frogs, a majority of people have the understanding that you can’t just buy one and cage it–and that extensive research is required–because they are labeled as exotic.
The term originated from Greece, utilized much in the late 16th century to define flora and fauna that were a part of other continents. As for animals, any that are not native technically fall under this umbrella term. But, it is more commonly just used in a veterinary or legal sense to separate animals that are not traditionally domesticated pets from ones that are, with the gaps between how they are maintenanced causing certain requirements or changes compared to how you would handle a dog or cat.
Caged animals, however, despite majoritively not being native to the United States, are treated just about as exotic as a sheepdog.
The requirements, in sense of the term, for an animal to be considered exotic, is foreign, non-native, and something that is un-domesticated, that still holds its wild instincts, giving it complex dietary, housing, and social requirements.
One of the animals that are commonly viewed as an easily-caged, cute pet is the gerbil. Gerbils have unique caging requirements, from the bedding, to the height of the water dispenser, and the temperature. They are viewed as easy “beginner-friendly” pets, and are often owned by young children. And, while it’s not difficult for people to mistreat them, any malpractice is usually sourced from abusive behavior, like locking them in a ball, neglecting and underfeeding them, and/or giving them cruelly small cages. Not wild behavior being uncomplemented. Due to them being semi-domesticated, they are more flexible than purely wild animals, and can typically handle the lack of strictness in their habitat requirements, usually their abuse not sourcing from a lack of consideration on that end.
To put it into perspective, though, reptiles are not domesticated at all. They retain their wild temperaments, and have incredibly complex care requirements in every factor of being a pet, similar to macaws, tigers, and other picture-exotic animals. Small leopard geckos found in a pet store are just as inherently exotic as iguanas that you have to go through an extensive purchasing process for. Turtles are just as exotic as axolotls that are commonly considered one of the most difficult pets to care for properly. And, despite all of this, the smaller, less colorful reptiles are left without any protective status, easily-accessible and overall prone to insane mistreatment.
The lack of the exotic title on small, caged reptiles is incredibly harmful.
In a veterinary sense, they are exotic, due to the fact that they are not domesticated. But, despite that, they are still as easily accessible as hamsters, and often given just about the same amount of thought into their care.
The issue relies in both an inherently social context, with a problem in the way that people perceive them as non-exotic due to their small size and ability to fit into a cage, as well as a lack of any emphasis on the veterinary terminology around them, and little to no legislation on their care in the same sense that iguanas hold in most states.
Small reptiles are just as exotic as the big ones, and need to be considered, cared for, and treated as such. A lack of that process has, and will continue to, lead to their mistreatment.
