Abstract
An understanding of spatial and thermal factors, two fundamentally intertwined elements, is essential to the health and welfare of captive reptiles; carers cannot address one without consideration of its influence on the other. This chapter highlights the need to recognise the many shortcomings of past practices, and urges individuals charged with keeping reptiles to become familiar and competent with new understandings revealed by research into the complex interplay of spatial and thermal factors. Essential to this issue is recognition that a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach is never a good option. However, despite advances in our understanding of the spatio-thermal requirements of both wild and captive reptiles, there remains opportunity for abuse, exemplified by the highly restrictive rack system for housing snakes. In terms of spatio-thermal requirements, the modern, progressive reptile carer must become familiar, not only with species-specific requirements, but also the needs of individuals, taking into account the impact of seasonal and behavioural factors.
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We are most grateful to three external reviewers and to Donald M Broom for their comments and suggestions.
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Arena, P.C., Warwick, C. (2023). Spatial and Thermal Factors. In: Warwick, C., Arena, P.C., Burghardt, G.M. (eds) Health and Welfare of Captive Reptiles. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-86012-7_13
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