I hadnt forgot about this thread just been very busy with life.
I did want to keep up the conversation based on facts and logical debate. There were some very suspicious information posting related to imports and the like so for the record and strait from APHIS and here is the truth
-Where do reptile owners obtain their pets?
According to the APPMA survey 2 of reptile owners, in 1998 the majority (45%) of pet reptiles
were obtained from pet stores or pet superstores. Other sources for pet reptiles included the
following: caught outside 16%; friend or relative 15%; breeder 8%; previous owner 8%;
newspaper 3%; and bred at home 2%. Turtles were by far the most frequent species caught
outside. Other types of reptiles, e. g. snakes and lizards, followed the overall percentages
regarding where they were obtained (APPMA 2 ). Other potential sources of reptiles and
amphibians that were not included in the APPMA survey as separate categories are the Internet,
shows and expos, hobby magazines, and wholesalers.
Reptiles and amphibians are bought and sold over the Internet via breeder web pages, classified
ads, e-mail, e-mail lists, communities/ malls, online auctions, and USENET posts. A search of the
Internet, which was by no means exhaustive, found almost 400 web sites that sold reptiles and/ or
amphibians. Kingsnake. com is the largest reptile and amphibian site. In addition to being a
6
turtles
snakes
lizards
other reptiles
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
(thousands) number of households
1991 1996
source: AVMA
Household Ownership of Reptiles
turtles
snakes
lizards
other reptiles
0
200
400
600
800
1000
(thousands) number of animals
1991 1996
source: AVMA
Reptiles Owned as Pets
frogs
turtles
iguanas
snakes
lizards
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Percent of Respondents
Duration of Ownership 12
12 Page 13 14
source of information on all aspects of reptiles and amphibians, approximately 6-7,000 paid ads
are placed each month on kingsnake. com, selling animals, related supplies, and services. The
webmaster for kingsnake. com estimates there were 20 reptile related web pages in 1994, 100 web
pages in 1995, 1,000 in 1996, and 10,000 in 1997 (Barringer, 2000).
It is estimated that 53% of pet stores sell reptiles and amphibians, but they typically have a limited
selection, focusing on a few popular species (Meyers, 2000). It varies how and from where pet
stores obtain their reptiles and amphibians to sell. Some corporations, such as Petsmart,
coordinate the supply of animals to their retail stores from a few centralized distributors. Other
pet store chains are not supplied by their parent company and are on their own to obtain reptiles
and amphibians to sell. And this is obviously the case with pet stores which are independently
owned and are not affiliated with a chain.
Expos, shows, and swaps are other places to buy reptiles and amphibians that occur on a frequent
basis. Reptiles Magazine has a listing of events for the year 2000 that includes 17 in June, 19 in
July, and 19 in August. In some states, these events occur monthly. In addition to live animals,
items that can be purchased at shows and expos include feeds, feeder foods (e. g. insects), cages,
equipment, supplies, books, publications, jewelry, and gift items. A large expo can have an
attendance of 5,000 to 10,000 people and have more than 500 vendor tables present. Expos and
shows also often have educational workshops and speakers covering a variety of topics including
care and husbandry, general species information, habitat, breeding, diseases, and photography of
animals. Some of these events do not allow non-captive bred animals, while some shows do allow
wild caught exotic and domestic specimens. Typically, venomous animals are not allowed.
-How much does it cost to keep a reptile or amphibian?
The average price paid for reptiles and amphibians kept as pets ranged from $15 for frogs to $33
for iguanas and lizards in 1998 (APPMA 2 ). The average price paid for snakes was significantly
greater at $91. While there is quite a bit of variation, on average, owners spent from $67 to $451
in a year for the feeding and care of their animals. Snakes are the most expensive to maintain
($ 451/ year), followed by lizards ($ 341/ year), iguanas ($ 329/ year), turtles ($ 204/ year), and frogs
($ 67/ year). These cost estimates include food, toys, supplies, non-surgical veterinary care, and
medications. Not reflected by these data is the fact that hobbyists and collectors might pay
thousands of dollars for certain species, such as those that are rare, hard to obtain, or have unique
coloring.
Reptile owners buy most supplies and feed from pet stores or pet superstores. The exception to
this is the buying of frozen foods or fruits and vegetables for feed. Most of these items are
bought from grocery stores (APPMA 2 ). In 1998, independent pet retailers (excluding pet
superstores) reported total product sales for reptiles and amphibians to be $255 million (Hellwig,
1999). Food sales and sales of animals each made up approximately 30% of this amount. The
other 40% of sales consisted of the following items: terrariums, terrarium accessories, heaters,
lights, vitamins, backgrounds, and other items. The percent of total pet product sales revenue for
the independent pet retailer that reptiles and amphibians account for, 5.9%, has stayed fairly
constant from 1996 to 1998
Appendix A: Reptile Imports
Live reptile imports 1998 -Quantity and value by port and type
--------------------------------------state= AK ---------------------------------------
Portname type quantity (#) value ($)
ANCHORAGE, AK snakes 27 325
--------------------------------------state= AZ ---------------------------------------
Portname type quantity value
NOGALES, AZ turtle s 211 3175
-------------------------------------state= AZ/ TX -------------------------------------
Portname type quantity value
OTHER PORT -REGION 2 crocs 2 1
OTHER PORT -REGION 2 snakes 1 200
OTHER PORT -REGION 2 turtles 1 1
----------------------------------
State 4 202
------------------------------------state= CA ---------------------------------------
Portname type quantity value
CALEXICO, CA lizards 2 125
LOS ANGELES, CA crocs 466 1568
LOS ANGELES, CA lizards 582619 1141497
LOS ANGELES, CA snakes 79975 584094
LOS ANGELES, CA turtles 30505 233989
LOS ANGELES, CA unspec 8158 21142
SAN FRANCISCO, CA lizards 8322 47652
SAN FRANCISCO, CA snakes 644 20911
SAN FRANCISCO, CA turtles 457 14121
SAN FRANCISCO, CA unspec 280 2613
SAN DIEGO/ SAN YSIDRO, CA snakes 8 100
SAN DIEGO/ SAN YSIDRO, CA turtles 1 100
---------------------------------------
State 711437 2067912
--------------------------------------state= FL ---------------------------------------
Portname type quantity value
MIAMI, FL crocs 4708 101032
MIAMI, FL lizards 510401 1159047
25 31
31 Page 32 33
MIAMI, FL snakes 65136 1559412
MIAMI, FL turtles 6996 99907
MIAMI, FL unspec 7213 18414
TAMPA, FL crocs 12 34
TAMPA, FL lizards 26600 60503
TAMPA, FL snakes 5431 29356
TAMPA, FL turtles 699 5777
TAMPA, FL unspec 2781 542
------------------------
State 629977 3034024
--------------------------------------state= GA ---------------------------------------
Portname type quantity value
ATLANTA, GA lizards 12451 56382
ATLANTA, GA snakes 2838 38390
ATLANTA, GA turtles 440 6700
ATLANTA, GA unspec 15289 33170
-------------------------
State 31018 134642
--------------------------------------state= HI ---------------------------------------
Portname type quantity value
HONOLULU, HI turtles 7 14
--------------------------------------state= IL ---------------------------------------
Portname type quantity value
CHICAGO, IL crocs 2 10000
CHICAGO, IL lizards 5212 28200
CHICAGO, IL snakes 706 7579
CHICAGO, IL turtles 182 5250
------------------------
State 6102 51029
--------------------------------------state= LA ---------------------------------------
Portname type quantity value
NEW ORLEANS, LA turtles 8000 6000
--------------------------------------state= MD ---------------------------------------
Portname type quantity value
BALTIMORE, MD lizards 9 294
BALTIMORE, MD snakes 25 11730
----------------------------
State 34 12024
26 32
32 Page 33 34
--------------------------------------state= ME ---------------------------------------
Portname type quantity value
HOULTON, ME lizards 1 1400
HOULTON, ME turtles 2 300
----------------------
State 3 1700
--------------------------------------state= MI ---------------------------------------
Portname type quantity value
DETROIT, MI lizards 17 775
DETROIT, MI snakes 7 490
DETROIT, MI turtles 1 3
-----------------------
State 25 1268
--------------------------------------state= MN ---------------------------------------
Portname type quantity value
MINNEAPOLIS/ ST PAUL, MN turtles 5 0
--------------------------------------state= ND ---------------------------------------
Portname type quantity value
PEMBINA, ND crocs 3 0
PEMBINA, ND snakes 60 0
PORTAL, ND snakes 210 10
PORTAL, ND unspec 1 0
---------------------
State 274 10
--------------------------------------state= NJ ---------------------------------------
Portname type quantity value
NEWARK, NJ lizards 1415 10370
NEWARK, NJ snakes 2613 212
NEWARK, NJ turtles 1 0
-----------------------
State 4029 13582
--------------------------------------state= NY ---------------------------------------
Portname type quantity value
BUFFALO, NIAGARA FALLS, NY lizards 39 318
BUFFALO, NIAGARA FALLS, NY snakes 4 350
BUFFALO, NIAGARA FALLS, NY unspec 70 3945
NEW YORK, NY crocs 393 19780
27 33
33 Page 34 35
NEW YORK, NY lizards 28095 87482
NEW YORK, NY snakes 1066 18758
NEW YORK, NY turtles 1760 40011
NEW YORK, NY unspec 600 381
----------------------------------------
State 32027 171025
--------------------------------------state= OR ---------------------------------------
Portname type quantity value
PORTLAND, OR lizards 534 2054
PORTLAND, OR unspec 4 0
-------------------------
State 538 2054
--------------------------------------state= PA ---------------------------------------
Portname type quantity value
PHILADELPHIA, PA lizards 3 0
--------------------------------------state= TX ---------------------------------------
Portname type quantity value
DALLAS/ FT WORTH, TX crocs 7 4333
DALLAS/ FT WORTH, TX lizards 5936 64696
DALLAS/ FT WORTH, TX snakes 847 125828
DALLAS/ FT WORTH, TX turtles 468 18536
EL PASO, TX lizards 1 2
EL PASO, TX turtles 12 80
HOUSTON, TX lizards 778 5490
HOUSTON, TX snakes 607 3800
HOUSTON, TX turtles 6 0
LAREDO, TX turtles 2 20
---------------------------------
State 12664 222785
--------------------------------------state= UK ---------------------------------------
Portname type quantity value
UNKNOWN lizards 2086 10354
UNKNOWN snakes 254 1732
--------------------
State 2340 12086
--------------------------------------state= WA ---------------------------------------
Portname type quantity value
BLAINE, WA lizards 4 65
BLAINE, WA snakes 15 430
28 34
34 Page 35 36
SEATTLE, WA lizards 1385 9737
SEATTLE, WA snakes 30 3260
SEATTLE, WA turtles 810 8286
SEATTLE, WA unspec 2 40
--------------------------
State 2246 21818
====== =======
1440971 5755675
unspec = unspecified reptiles
29 35
35 Page 36 37
Live reptile imports 1998 -Countries of Origin
Number
Country shipments Quantity
Colombia 206 263876
El Salvador 87 229184
Vietnam 470 168672
China 427 109192
Thailand 78 94500
Benin 289 76305
Indonesia 843 71009
Madagascar 684 63629
Togo 283 58455
Tanzania 686 52676
Egypt 179 48724
Ghana 214 43339
Nicaragua 182 27462
Russia 41 20554
Honduras 221 16806
Costa Rica 21 15545
Suriname 91 8647
Mali 43 8618
Peru 61 7383
Various, Unspecified 39 5443
Guyana 71 5065
Greece 5 5042
Guatemala 31 3640
Equatorial Guinea 5 3575
Solomon Islands 59 3441
Nigeria 23 3231
Venezuela 14 3182
Argentina 4 2990
Cameroon 68 2685
United Kingdom 11 2370
Zambia 13 2320
Germany, Federal Republic of 63 2261
Mozambique 28 1832
Brunei Darussalam 3 1750
Turkey 3 1040
Malaysia 54 1012
Sudan 1 690
Hong Kong 32 663
Switzerland 26 544
Canada 32 515
United Arab Emirates 2 500
Haiti 1 400
Czech Republic 9 365
Paraguay 2 213
Taiwan 1 200
Ukraine 1 200
Hungary 3 188
30 36
36 Page 37 38
Uruguay 8 134
Japan 11 121
Mexico 28 116
Phillipines 2 108
Spain 7 65
Chad 1 64
Barbados 1 61
Kenya 10 61
Australia 10 60
Namibia 5 45
Trinidad & Tobago 3 40
France 2 33
Netherlands 4 29
Fiji 4 20
Saudi Arabia 1 19
Korea, South 3 11
Sweden 2 10
South Africa 3 8
Denmark 1 6
New Caledonia 1 6
Brazil 1 5
Tonga 1 4
Jamaica 1 3
Singapore 1 2
Algeria 1 1
Gabon 1 1
Israel 1 1
Italy 1 1
Pakistan 1 1
Panama 1 1
Poland 1 1
========
1440971
Sorry that its not more reader friendly for the charts. The full document can be viewd at
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/ceah/ce...es/reptile.pdf
That is a very comprehensive report with factual data not animal rights groups propaganda.
Linear Mode
