INTRODUCING: CELTIC REPTILE AND AMPHIBIAN

Reptiles and amphibians are among the most threatened species in Europe. Tom and Harvey, both 17, have made it their mission to change this.

Introducing: Celtic Reptile and Amphibian

Celtic Reptile and Amphibian has gained a huge amount of attention from national news recently, a rare occurrence for positive herpetological news. However, two teenagers spearheading an immense conservation effort by launching the largest breeding facility for European herptile species in the UK certainly demands the attention.

Where it began

Harvey Tweats and Tom Whitehurst, 17, from Staffordshire conceptualised the idea during their GCSE’s. Destined to work in conservation from a young age, Harvey was inspired by his grandad to love the natural world, while best friend and co-founder Tom, found inspiration in Harveys love for reptiles.

Harvey said: “It all started on a frosty winters day when I was stood on a beaver dam in Devon. It was amazing to see the impact the beavers had to the biodiversity. After 6 years the dam was built, the place was full of birdsong. But one thing was missing, the frogs. In places like Bavaria, where beavers have been for over 500 years, the place is alive with frog calls. So, I thought “who is thinking about the reintroduction of reptiles and amphibians?”

Harvey, who has been keeping reptiles and amphibians for 10 years turned his attention to European species 5 years ago. Tom, Co-Founder of Celtic Reptile and Amphibian added: “I honestly had no clue on the impact that industrialisation has had on our country’s reptiles. I’ve been involved in the hobby for around 3 or 4 years. Though, I’ve been mates with Harvey for a long time and seen the animals he keeps which has been a great influence to me. I just thought it was crazy to be able to keep stunning reptiles outdoors, here in the Midlands.”

European species

Herpetofauna represents one of the most endangered groups of vertebrates in Europe. According to the IUCN, nearly a quarter of amphibian species and 20% of reptiles are considered threatened in Europe.

Multiple threats face European reptiles, from historic slaughtering of wild animals to climate change, habitat destruction and invasive species. The American red-eared slider (Chrysemys scripta elegans), for example, is decimating European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis) populations across Europe. 52 million of these animals were exported from the US between 1989 and 1997 for the pet trade and now inhabit many of the ecosystems previously supporting the European pond turtles.

Climate change has also recently been proven to have caused and continue to contribute to the decline in reptiles and amphibians in Europe. It is suspected that ‘most’ species of European herptile will lose suitable climate space by 2050. This is more prevalent in amphibians as water scarcity poses an increasing threat. In warmer climates, the disappearing of permanent wetlands is considered to have huge implications on European amphibians.

Celtic Reptiles and Amphibians will assist in continentwide conservation projects. Species that are likely to benefit from the efforts include the moor frog (Rana arvalis) and the agile frog (Rana dalmatina). Although considered ‘Least Concern’ by the Encyclopdia of Life, the populations are declining rapidly. Harvey claims “these species are being absolutely hammered by infrastructure development.”

Archaeological finds in East Anglia prove that both the agile frog and moor frog were once widespread across the British Isles. Now, moor frogs are extinct in the UK and agile frogs can only be found in Jersey, with only one confirmed breeding site remaining. Although this population decline likely happened during the first Century AD, it represents a broader picture of the herpetofauna of the United Kingdom.

Keeping European reptiles and amphibians

European species of reptiles and amphibians have been kept since the industry began, with localised species paving the way for husbandry understanding. However, replicating the environments on our doorstep can still prove challenging. Due to CITES restrictions, which ban the collection of European species, all the animals at Celtic Reptile and Amphibian are captive bred.

Tom and Harvey claim that some of these are from collections that have been ongoing for 60+ years and therefore the animals are better suited to their environment. However, it also means that animals are likely to descend from locales beyond British shores.

Despite claiming that, overall, European species are easier to keep than true exotics, Harvey said: “The sand lizards have actually been a nightmare. Although breeding projects in the UK have actually been really successful, ours are from mainland Europe. The locale we work with really don’t like our climate. They don’t get on with oceanic temperatures, so we’ve had to create a more stable environment for them. What we’re doing to combat this is mixing indoors and outdoors enclosures. From about September, October, we’ll bring them inside into a fully bioactive indoor enclosure with full lighting spectrum and basking spot etc. Then at the beginning of the year, we’ll move them back outside.”

While the prospect of keeping reptiles and amphibians in outdoor enclosures and vivaria may be off-putting to some enthusiasts, there is a clear trend toward natural environments that is developing in the hobby. Whether it be the move toward bioactive, or the implementation of natural substrates, replicating the wild is paving the way for major breakthroughs.

Harvey said: “we tried to simulate the sand lizards outdoors enclosures by ensuring great air flow. This blows away pathogens and prevents them from getting ill, it’s common sense really. We used computer fans to create a jet stream through their enclosures. We also keep the rooms quite cold, their basking spot to help them acclimatise.” Tom added: “A lot of these things are universal with all species, but also the kind of things people forget.”

Tom and Harvey feed all their animals a diet which they describe to be similar to a “balanced diet chart”. They use conventional feeder insects such as crickets, locust and calciworms with the expectation that the animals will also feed on wild insects. The pair claim this has a wealth of benefits for the animals. Harvey continued “feeding our animals in their secure outdoor enclosures means the insects will feed on the natural vegetation and absorb UVB and convert it to D3. This makes for much brighter colouration and healthier animals.”

(Emys has been classified as ‘Near Threatened’ on the IUCN redlist for decades, with numbers continuing to decrease. Tom and Harvey have devoted a lot of their efforts to establishing a successful captive project for this species.

“Although stated as near threatened, this species is easily endangered by now. They have been hugely affected by road modifications, they’re slow animals and extremely vulnerable to new road infrastructure. Plus, their locales are so diverse, animals from one region are very different to

The European pond turtle is medium sized turtle, reaching around 20-30cm in length. The species is thought to have inhabited the UK around 8000 years ago, but due to climatic cooling, populations on the British Isles became extinct. Now, the species inhabits ponds and slow moving rivers across Europe and while their distribution is vast, their fragmented populations mean the species is rapidly declining across the entirety of Europe.

Biosecurity

Celtic Reptiles and Amphibians has strict biosecurity measures in place to protect against chytrid, ranavirus and other infectious pathogens. The duo have also built up a strong network of supportive professionals and institutions to advise on biosecurity measures and environmental responsibility.

Harvey said: “We take biosecurity very seriously. We’re working closely with experts in the industry to create watertight biosecurity methods. We also use a block system, involving sanitisation and foot dips between enclosures. Our biggest threat comes from other private collections so every animal is subject to a 6 week quarantine period.”

As well as building ecologically certified newt and reptile fencing around the facility, the duo have deliberately avoided including midwife toads (Alytes .spp), alpine newts (Ichthyosaura alpestris) and all salamander species to their collection, which are particularly susceptible to disease.

Challenges

With Brexit and COVID-19 creating significant issues across the reptile-keeping industry, Celtic Reptile and Amphibian have also encountered challenges as a result. Tom said “Most of our species are from mainland Europe. Naturally, Brexit is very concerning. We have been working with DEFRA to overcome some of the challenges with importing and exporting animals. But really, COVID is causing more of a problem for us. We can’t go anywhere to actually source the animals from breeders. Then again, we were always going to expect problems and it’s just a matter of finding solutions to them. “

Tom and Harvey expect to have Celtic Reptiles and Amphibians completed by 2022. They hope that the main infrastructure will be in place by March, with a swathe of further greenhouses being installed between April and June. Harvey said: “It’s difficult to say when a project like this is ‘complete’ but we expect to have finished our initial plans by next year.”