Captive Breeding Committee.
Report, Retiring Chairman March 1995.
When I first took over the C.B.C. in the winter of I991/92 there had not been a regular input from the captive breeding committee for some time and it was thought that the society needed some form of resurrection of input on this front. One of the first things we did was to create the Captive Breeding Open Day at Birkbeck College. This proved to be a great success as it was one of the few shows that only sold captive bred animals at the time. Further to this it generated enough income to substantially help in the production of updating the by now out of date care sheets and arranging several eminent speakers from overseas to lecture at B.H.S. meetings.
We also, with the help of a sympathetic veterinary surgeons, professional parasitologists and Bacteriologists, helped to fund an independent organisation aimed at aiding the professional and amateur herpetologist, conservation, scientific or captive breeding minded groups of the herpetological community.
This in the long term could prove to be one of the most beneficial things to have been achieved for the good of reptiles and amphibians in captivity and in the wild. This group and its ideology was set up by a practicing veterinary surgeon by the name of Mark Geach and its potential has as yet been used only in an embryonic way.
These past years have not been without their problems from changing legislation, some good, some bad. Animal rights activists have also played a part in our problems when trying to organise members days, these are primarily for the membership to sell, buy and exchange captive bred animals, discuss husbandry techniques and generally chew over the advances in captive propagation of new and difficult species. The obstacles placed in our way to prevent us from running such events have been a major problem.
Other things we have been asked to do were to produce a list of 12 species recommended as suitable for the beginner in herpetology, guide lines for displaying reptiles and amphibians at the C.B.C. and other similar open days. Below I reproduce these suggestions.
GUIDE LINES FOR DISPLAYING REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS AT THE B.H.S.CAPTIVE BREEDING COMMITTEE OPEN DAY.
- No venomous species.
- No overcrowding of animals.
- Suggest temporary display of single animals in clear containers.
- Adequate background heating if required.
- Intergeneric and interspecific housing of animals is to be discouraged.
- Any animals that are considered to be inappropriately housed will have to be removed.
- Appendix 1 species are not permitted to be displayed.
- Only captive bred animals are permitted.
- A veterinary surgeon will be in attendance.
- Antiseptic handwsh facilities will be provided for before and after handling
animals.
LIST OF RECOMMENDED SPECIES OF REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS CONSIDERED TO DO WELL IN CAPTIVITY.
- Spotted salamander, Salamandra salamandra.
- European treefrog, Hyla arborea.
- Yellow bellied toad, Bombina variegata.
- Red eared terrapin, Chrysemys picta elegans.
- Eyed lizard, Lacerta lepida.
- Leopard gecko, Eublepharis macularius.
- Blue tongue skink, Tiliqua species.
- Bearded dragon, Pogona vitticeps.
- Boa constrictor, Boa constrictor species.
- Corn snake, Elaphe guttata.
- Californian kingsnake, Lampropeltis getulus californae.
- Chequered garter snake, Thamnophis marcianus.
The above species are almost covered now by our updated care sheets apart from terrapins and yellow bellied toads. In addition there are frog and toad tadpole, newt and salamander tadpole, Royal python, Tortoises and Green iguana care sheets available.
In addition Simon Townson has worked extremely hard on editing a new book,262 pages,20 colour plates and 50 black and white plates of papers from The British Herpetological Society Bulletin,1980-1992, price
£18.00.
Several hundred have already been sold in the U.S.A. and it may well be necessary to reprint before long, due to demand.
All in all, thanks to a fantastic team the Captive Breeding Committee is alive and well. As from the A.G.M. John Spence is hoping to take the chair over. John has been a great help to me as secretary and adviser in the last 3 years.
Terry Thatcher