Hey there, so I know in captivity things like morphs are common, but are super rare out in the wild. I was wondering if there are any rare species of reptile that are commonly kept in captivity?
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Crested geckos are often considered a success story in this regard. They were once thought to be extinct in the wild until their new population was found. They are still considered threatened. Only a small handful of them where brought into captivity and now we have scads of them.
Ditto the rough-scale python, Morelia carinata. Only four or five of those were ever brought in to captivity but they are readily available now
Closer to home (if you are in the US) indigo snakes and Louisiana pines are endangered species that have some good stable hobby populations
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That’s really cool! I didn’t know about crested geckos. I would have never thought that they were considered extinct with how many of them I see in captivity
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Yeah, they were MIA for almost a century and then rediscovered in the mid-late 90’s if memory serves me. So it has been 25 years or so we have had them in captivity. And given the breed like rabbits in our care it is no surprise their numbers have boomed in captivity
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There is an interesting lizard called the giant Haitian Galliwasp that is endangered in the wild, but is bred in captivity and I have seen a few babies for sale on MM. They almost look like skinks, and I kinda want to get a pair someday to help keep the species alive.
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Not a reptile, but axolotls are critically endangered in the wild. There saving grace is that they’re v popular pets and lab animals
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