Behind the rise of the UK’s reptile pet population

The update data from UK Pet Food estimates that in the UK there are 900,000 tortoises and turtles, 800,000 lizards and 700,000 snakes that are kept as pets.

This is around 5% of UK British households owning a reptile, up from 3.4% in 2022.

John Courteney-Smith, Head of Science and Innovation at reptile accessories’ manufacturer Arcadia Reptile, attributes the surge in reptile ownership in the country to the convenience and low cost to keep this kind of animal.

“Reptiles demand little in terms of walking or lengthy active daily interaction, are not frequently destructive to the house and if cared for correctly do not ‘smell,” he says in a conversation with GlobalPETS.

Courtney-Smith notes the benefits of ease of care, caging becoming ‘art’ within the house, low running costs and lack of allergens. The reduced sizes of homes and longer working hours have also led to an increased preference for reptiles as pets in the United Kingdom.

Future optimism

The businesses in the sector have noted a greater dedication within the industry to the quality and variety of food offered to companion reptiles. “Our brand [Arcadia] has been instrumental within the research and replication of wild-like diets as to adhere to our own passionate theory of ‘wild re-creation’,” notes Courteney-Smith.

He anticipates the market will witness the introduction of more reasonably kept species, owing to a “well thought-out self-regulation” among the traders of large snakes, lizards and aquatic turtles.

“I expect the amphibian sector to carry on growing. There will be more interest in the smaller arboreal agamids, the smaller varanids, and I think that there is still a lot of room for growth within the whole invertebrate sector in terms of keepers and improving tech,” says John Courteney-Smith.

He also predicts “a very welcome” and growing interest in colubrid snakes.