Since I began keeping reptiles as a kid in the early 70s a concept has been drilled into my head by other, mostly older keepers. That concept is this: Don't maintain a single specimen. This was commonly referred to as 'dead ending'.
The idea was that since the reptiles we were keeping were often difficult to obtain (and virtually all of them were wild caught), we as keepers should pair up lone specimens in an attempt to breed them. This would help to relieve the tax on wild populations as well as assure captive availability of the species we had.
Fast forward a few decades. Now the majority of the reptiles we keep are captive bred and many, many species are being reproduced in ridiculous numbers. So then, for reptiles like turtles and tortoises is it OK to keep them as single specimens--even if they can live for many years, or decades. In other words, do turtle keepers still feel the need to pair up lone animals so that they may reproduce. Or have the ideas changed to the point to where many of us are content to keep a single turtle or tortoise in the same manner one would a house cat or dog?
Turtles and tortoises are far more responsive than say, a boa or a python. Are we 'depriving' them of something if we keep them as a single animal? Is it cruel somehow?
I realize that I'm being anthropomorphic but still...
I ponder this because I've arrived at a point in which I am really only interested in owning a single specimen of certain species and I have little interest in maintaining a breeding pair or group.
The idea was that since the reptiles we were keeping were often difficult to obtain (and virtually all of them were wild caught), we as keepers should pair up lone specimens in an attempt to breed them. This would help to relieve the tax on wild populations as well as assure captive availability of the species we had.
Fast forward a few decades. Now the majority of the reptiles we keep are captive bred and many, many species are being reproduced in ridiculous numbers. So then, for reptiles like turtles and tortoises is it OK to keep them as single specimens--even if they can live for many years, or decades. In other words, do turtle keepers still feel the need to pair up lone animals so that they may reproduce. Or have the ideas changed to the point to where many of us are content to keep a single turtle or tortoise in the same manner one would a house cat or dog?
Turtles and tortoises are far more responsive than say, a boa or a python. Are we 'depriving' them of something if we keep them as a single animal? Is it cruel somehow?
I realize that I'm being anthropomorphic but still...
I ponder this because I've arrived at a point in which I am really only interested in owning a single specimen of certain species and I have little interest in maintaining a breeding pair or group.