There are two main sources of pet reptiles: wild caught reptiles
and captive bred reptiles. Wild caught reptiles are defined as
those that were born in their native environment to non-captive
parents, then taken into captivity. Captive bred reptiles are
those that are born in captivity to captive bred parents. This
is also known as "domestically bred." Though many people own
wild caught reptiles, it is much better to purchase captive bred
reptiles for a variety of reasons. Overall, captive bred
reptiles are significantly healthier animals that can have
normal life spans with proper care. They aren't subjected to the
enormous stress that wild caught reptiles are, and they are able
to more easily resist or fight off disease and infection. Wild
caught reptiles must deal not only with being captured and
transported, but also with adjusting to a captive lifestyle.
Prolonged stress causes very serious health issues in reptiles,
and it is estimated that up to 90% of wild caught reptiles will
succumb to stress-relate