Water, Water, Everywhere, Let's All Have a Drink

I've loved working with all sorts of animals in zoos, but have tended to be a lot more selective about what I bring home as a pet.  I've liked reptiles, because they're relatively undemanding of time and attention compared to, say, a dog, and as I travel a lot, they can be left home alone for a few days without a problem.  I've a bias towards lizards, just because snakes can a) be a little more escape prone and b) apartments are more tolerant of lizards than snakes.  Lastly, I've steered towards desert lizards, because then I don't have to spend a lot of time fiddling with humidity.  Keep them hot and they're happy.

I've kept bearded dragons, leopard geckos, rock agamas, and ridge-tailed monitor lizards - desert species from three continents.  Husbandry and care requirements have been different for all of them.  One thing that has been consistent has been water.  I've always made sure each had a clean bowl of water.

This is why I was so perplexed when I came across a young hobbyist, new to reptile keeping, who had been advised by online correspondents not to give his new pet rosy boa (a North American desert snake) water, except maybe twice a year as a treat.  He was advised that the snake would get all of the water it needed from prey.  Or, perhaps, they suggested that, in the presence of a water bowl, it would glug it all down in a flash, get sick, and die.  Or (and this one strikes me as just lazy), they'll poop in the bowl.

I can't subscribe to this mindset.  This is not Dune and we're not on Arrakis.  Water is not a "treat."  It's a basic requirement of life.  Yes, desert species encounter water less in the wild than they would under human care.  They also encounter predators, too - does that mean we should periodically stuff a hawk or badger into the snake's terrarium also?  I've worked with desert antelopes, kangaroos, camels - all species that can go long times without a drink.  I've never been to a zoo that didn't provide these species with all of the water that they could drink.  I wouldn't give a rosy boa a bathtub, but a little bowl of fresh water won't hurt - far from it.

It saddens and irritates me that reptile care lags so far behind mammal care.  Yes, boas are very different from bears and their care should reflect that.  But it still feels like there are too many lazy hobbyists (and not a few zoo professionals) who seem to look at reptiles and find excuses not to do the most basic parts of their job - providing a large enough, complex enough habitat (see my rack rant).  Enrichment.  But water?  Come on, people...