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Reptiles are commonly housed in human care in zoo and wildlife parks, and as pets. In comparison to many other taxa, especially mammals, there is less known about their behavioral repertoire and how this may be used to assess their welfare. Furthermore, there is a current focus of zoos and wildlife parks to instigate formal assessment of welfare using species-appropriate welfare assessment tools. These tools should ideally comprise a mixture of resource-based and animal-focused indicators of welfare. Since there has been little consideration of animal-based indicators of welfare in reptiles, this study utilized a method of expert consultation (Delphi method) to gather opinions as to the validity and reliability of a range of animal-based criteria for assessment of reptile welfare. The resulting list of criteria comprises both health indicators and behavior-based measures. Further validation of these indicators in practical scenarios is now required to develop reptile-specific welfare assessment tools for use in zoos.

There is an increasing focus on evidence-based welfare assessment by animal care staff in zoos, along with a strong interest in animal welfare by the zoo-visiting public, to the extent that this can influence their choice of institutions to visit. Regulatory oversight of animal welfare standards continues to strengthen across many jurisdictions. Zoos are increasingly formalizing their practices with the development and refinement of evidence-based welfare assessment tools. There has been a drive for welfare assessment tools to comprise both resource-based and animal-based measures …