The Responsible Keeper Note

Every reptile in human care is a life that did not choose this. We chose, on its behalf. That choice carries weight, and it carries some standards we hold ourselves to.

This note is published in every Citadel Culebra title. We mean it. It is not boilerplate — it is the floor we will not drop below.

Our commitments — to you, to the animals, and to the hobby

• We will name welfare concerns plainly — even when it is uncomfortable for the hobby, or for our peers, or for ourselves.
• We will not promote keeping practices we ourselves would not use, and we will tell you when we are recommending something we have not personally done.
• We will favor captive-bred animals over wild-caught wherever the alternative exists, and we will explain transparently when it does not.
• We will not glorify trafficking, illegal collection, or any keeping setup that puts a viral post ahead of an animal's welfare.
• We will tell you when the evidence is undecided, when we are uncertain, and when a recommendation is opinion rather than fact.
• We will respect the breeders, veterinarians, field herpers, and master keepers whose decades of work make this hobby what it is — and we will challenge them, civilly, when they are wrong.
• We will publish corrections publicly when we get something wrong, with the date and the change made plain.

The animal in your care is the metric. Everything else — including this book — is the conversation around it.

— The Citadel Culebra editorial team