Looking through a lot of pictures of cute leopard geckos on google images, because why not, I noticed a good number running on hamster wheels. What is the opinion on these? I guess it opens up a new place to get out energy in a small enclosure, much like it does for a hamster.
Leo Enrichment and Hamster Wheels
- Thread starter Ajxackt
- Start date
Exercise can be detrimental to reptiles and amphibians.
They aren't made to use energy for extended periods, and replacing it takes a lot out of them.
They use their energy for important things, like hunting, and protecting their territory.
You can read the summary of the research at the link, or request the full PDF, but you have to sign up. It's probably enough to just read the summary.
Abstract
From the vantage point of thirty years of study, we can sketch the general features of activity capacity and performance ability in reptiles. Extant reptilian groups all share low levels of maintenance metabolism and ectothermy, with their consequent advantages (Pough, 1980) and disadvantages. Among the latter is a limited capacity to expand aerobic metabolism, limited in comparison to the relatively great costs of terrestrial locomotion. Particularly at low body temperatures, reptiles outstrip their aerobic capacities with any exercise more intense than a slow walk. Anaerobic metabolism, particularly anaerobic glycolysis, can be used to fuel bursts of intense activity. As a consequence, however, physiological disruption and exhaustion are entailed. Under field conditions, many reptiles alternate long periods of quiescence or slow movement with very brief bursts of exertion. Other ectotherms with a similar pattern of metabolism have been shown thereby to extend performance beyond that supportable by either aerobic or anaerobic metabolism alone (Weinstein and Full, 1992). Even with careful alternation between these metabolic modes, reptiles remain particularly prone to exhaustion during vigorous activity, as least as judged by our mammalian frame of reference. Their capacities for burst activity and exertion have been shown, at least in some species, to be important determinants of their natural survival.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/15389583_Exercise_performance_of_reptiles
Hamster wheels, no matter how big, can also force the reptile to bend its back at an unnatural angle, possibly causing spinal damage.