About Course

Foundations of Herpetological Husbandry is a self-paced course in science-based care for reptiles and amphibians in human care. It is written for people who already keep a reptile or amphibian, or are about to, and want their setup grounded in evidence rather than pet-store habit.

Across 52 short lessons you will work through what welfare means for an animal that cannot tell you how it feels; how to read the natural history of a species and turn it into an enclosure; heat, light and humidity, and the hardware that delivers them safely; enclosure size and furnishing; diet, water and supplementation; hygiene and quarantine; handling; recognizing illness early and knowing when a veterinarian is the right call; and the questions to ask before you buy, adopt or rescue an animal.

The course draws on the current husbandry literature and on ReptiFiles articles, used with permission, alongside the Reptile Lighting Guide and published welfare science. Where the field has moved on from older advice, the lesson says so and explains why.

No animal handling is required to complete the course. Completion earns a certificate of completion from The Herpetology Collective.

How reptiles and amphibians actually work, and why temperature, light, humidity, and hydration must be offered as gradients the animal can choose from
A repeatable method for researching any species, including ones with no care sheet, and for judging whether a care sheet is out of date
How to size an enclosure from the animal's adult length and lifestyle, and how to choose a material for the animal rather than the room
Modern lighting and heating: separate heat, UVB, and daylight sources, Ferguson Zones and the UV Index, thermostats, probe placement, and the hand test
Substrate, hides, furnishings, humidity, and ventilation that let an animal behave like its species instead of merely surviving
Water, diet variety, supplements (including reading a D3 label against your lighting), feeder insects, whole prey, and herbivore diets
Enrichment, handling that serves the animal, safe transport, and how to prevent and respond to escapes
Hygiene and Salmonella, cleaning and disinfection, quarantine and biosecurity, choosing a reptile vet, records, first aid, and the husbandry errors behind the most common illnesses
Fire safety, power outages, storms, and evacuation planning for a room full of ectotherms
The long view: lifetime commitment, why captives are never released, rehoming well, breeding responsibly, and keeping your knowledge current
A welfare yardstick (the Five Provisions) you can apply to any practice, product, or piece of advice for the rest of your keeping life

Course Content

Unit 0: Orientation

H-0.01: How to Use This Course (and How to Read Husbandry Advice)
H-0.02: The Five Provisions: The Yardstick This Course Uses

Unit 1: Before You Commit

Unit 2: How Their Bodies Work

Unit 3: The Enclosure

Unit 4: Heat, Light, and Air

Unit 5: Water and Food

Unit 6: Behavior, Enrichment, and Handling

Unit 7: Health, Hygiene, and the Vet

Unit 8: Safety and Emergencies

Unit 9: Responsibility and the Long Term

Receive an elegant certificate upon completion.

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About Course

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Course Content

Unit 0: Orientation

H-0.01: How to Use This Course (and How to Read Husbandry Advice)

H-0.02: The Five Provisions: The Yardstick This Course Uses

Unit 1: Before You Commit

H-1.01: Read a Book! Doing the Research First

H-1.02: Consider Size and Longevity

H-1.03: Demand Responsibly-sourced Animals

H-1.04: Which Animal Fits Your Life?

H-1.05: Consider Rescue!

H-1.06: Consider the Cost: What a Proper Setup Costs in 2026

H-1.07: A Keeper’s Code of Conduct and Ethics

Unit 2: How Their Bodies Work

H-2.01: Ectotherms: Why Temperature Runs Everything

H-2.02: Gradients are Key

H-2.03: Replicate Nature and Read the Animal

H-2.04: How to Research Any Species: A Repeatable Method

H-2.05: Shedding: What Ecdysis Tells You

H-2.06: Brumation, Aestivation, and Seasonal Change

Unit 3: The Enclosure

H-3.01: How Big? Sizing an Enclosure by Formula

H-3.02: Proper Enclosures: Types, Materials, and Tradeoffs

H-3.03: Substrate: Behavior, Impaction, and the Evidence

H-3.04: The Importance of Hiding Places

H-3.05: Furnishings, Layout, and Safe Materials

H-3.06: Outdoor Enclosures and Natural Sunlight

H-3.07: Bioactive Enclosures: What They Are and Are Not

H-3.08: Community Enclosures (Cohabitation)

Unit 4: Heat, Light, and Air

H-4.01: Lighting for Herps, Part 1: Light Is Not Heat

H-4.02: Lighting for Herps, Part 2: UVB, Vitamin D, and Ferguson Zones

H-4.03: Heating Equipment: Making a Patch of Sunlight

H-4.04: Thermostats: The Device That Prevents Burns and Fires

H-4.05: Measuring What You Built: Thermometers, Hygrometers, and Probe Placement

H-4.06: Humidity, Ventilation, and Air Quality

Unit 5: Water and Food

H-5.01: Water: Hydration and Water Quality

H-5.02: Variety is the Spice of Life!

H-5.03: Supplements: Calcium, Vitamin D3, and Reading Labels

H-5.04: Invertebrate Feeders

H-5.05: Whole Prey, Plant Diets, and Feeding Well

H-5.06: Aquatic Turtles: Managing the Water They Live In

Unit 6: Behavior, Enrichment, and Handling

H-6.01: Even Herps Need Enrichment

H-6.02: Handling: When, How, and When Not To

H-6.03: Transporting Animals

H-6.04: Escapes: Prevention and Response

Unit 7: Health, Hygiene, and the Vet

H-7.01: Cleanliness is Crucial: Handwashing, Salmonella, and Zoonoses

H-7.02: Cleaning and Disinfecting Enclosures

H-7.03: Quarantine and Biosecurity

H-7.04: Choosing the Right Veterinarian

H-7.05: Recognizing Illness Early and Keeping Records

H-7.06: A Reptile and Amphibian First-Aid Kit

H-7.07: From Husbandry Error to Illness: The Common Pathways

Unit 8: Safety and Emergencies

H-8.01: Fireproof Your Herp Room

H-8.02: Emergency Preparedness: Outages, Storms, and Evacuation

Unit 9: Responsibility and the Long Term

H-9.01: We’re Not Disposable! A Lifetime Commitment

H-9.02: Never Release Captives Into the Wild!

H-9.03: Rehoming, Breeding, and End-of-Life Decisions

H-9.04: Keeping Your Knowledge Current

Earn a certificate

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