Reptile & Amphibian Forums

jays,

In case you missed it below...

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As far as the symbiotic relationship... do you think there are parasites the animals are acquiring in captivity that differ from the ones they acquire in the wild? I would say yes, because they are under constant exposure to their own fecal matter within a captive enclosure.

Plus the stress factor of being cooped up in a cage constantly ads a little bit of vulnerability to their immune system.

So this is a bad mix.

What do you think about that? Is it the same parasites and the additional stress, or different parasites in the wild as compared to the captive environment?

thanks for the response and I value your insights

connection

typo
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it is a fact that many of the pathogens afflicting captive dragons are not the same species that wild dragons harbor. there are well documented cases to prove this. husbandry, ''good'' and bad are mostly to blame.this includes the care we give to feeders and the types we use. also bacteria from vegetables etc. this is an area of veterinary science that will never be definitively investigated or resolved. we will never know because i feel there are very few vets that have it in their capacity to research this. reptile medicine is still in the dark ages and unfortunately many vets ,and wanna be experts rely on information they get from horrible sources. i see it all the time.even here i see argument after argument regarding lighting. most of the people arguing are using the bulb manufacturer's claims as the foundation for their argument. huge mistake. there has not been enough independent research in reptile health and until there is ,everything is conjecture and opinion.I can only offer my practical experience and opinion that is supported by over 2 decades of breeding and my experiences with around 500 species.

Awesome!
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