Herpetoculture

Not to be confused with herpetology, herpetoculture (also known as the reptile pet trade, amphibian pet trade and herptile pet trade) is the keeping of herptiles in captivity, whether as a hobby or as a commercial breeding operation. Herptiles, or "herps", is a term coined to refer to both reptiles and amphibians. It is undertaken by those who range from career herpetologists, commercial breeders, or casual hobbyists. Herpetoculture separates itself from the keeping of "pets" in the "traditional" sense in that they are not considered "family pets", and do not generally give their animals affectionate names, and generally opt to keep them in the scientific sense. However their are some, especially amateur hobbyists, that do treat their animals as traditional pets. As such, herpetoculturalism encompasses a wide range of behaviors respective to the collectees.