I personally like to take a more hands on approach. Now, let me explain myself before I get the "You're expecting too much from a reptile" or "Reptiles don't have emotions like people" talks. Handling reptiles in the literal sense can easily stress them out if done all of the time. It should only be done when you are taking the reptile out of the tank or putting it back in. When I say handling, I don't mean it literally. I take my reptiles out usually once a day for exercise. I call it 'play time' (which is probably why I'm getting the lectures about how reptiles don't have human emotions), but I don't actually try to interact with them, and I don't disturb their roaming about unless they are getting into trouble (trying to go behind things, etc.). I don't ever pick them up and just hold them or set them on me or anything like that. The only time they are held is when I take them in and out of their tanks, and even then I can tell when they start to get stressed, so I take as little time as possible when doing so, and I provide a lot of support so they don't think they are in danger of falling. They occasionally will crawl up onto me and hang out, and no, I don't see this as "Hey, they're crawling on me, they must like me". They just do it because I am like a giant heat pad to them...plus sometimes they get treats. But this does make them seem more pet-like, because an untame reptile does not usually approach something so much bigger than them and utilize their better qualities (giving off heat).



So I don't advocate "handling" reptiles, but I like them to get used to my presence, and letting them out to run around keeps their life from stagnating (this obviously doesn't apply to all species). I love the idea behind dirt, but it doesn't work for me because I can't fit enclosures big enough to justify not letting the reptiles out at least every couple of days. Naturalistic setups require far more space because the reptiles are getting all of their exercise solely from what they do in their tanks. They do get a lot of exercise from digging in dirt though which is why naturalistic setups work well.



But either way is fine. It's all a matter of opinion, and as long as whatever you do doesn't cause unnecessary stress on the animals it is fine (well, as long as the environment they are in doesn't cause health issues). If I had the space, I'd raise some reptiles in huge, natural setups...but I would probably also still like to have a couple that had the more pet-like qualities I have achieved from the reptiles I currently possess. So it doesn't come up again, by "pet-like", I don't mean that they enjoy our company or even really like us, but the fact that they don't see us as a threat.

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