Three-quarters of pet reptiles are dead within a year

♦ Tougher measures are needed to prevent reptiles being bought by unsuitable owners, it has been argued.

Or the public should be banned from owning them because 75 per cent of the creatures die within a year, experts have claimed.

Writing in Veterinary Record, Clifford Warwick, a consultant biologist, and five vets say reptiles display at least 30 behavioural signs of stress, and owners often do not know how to care for them adequately.

“[Their] biological needs are so complex and require such advanced scientific understanding that they cannot be met even in the best zoos, let alone private homes,” said Mr Warwick.

Earlier this month, the RSPCA said reptiles were often neglected, not because their owners did not care about them but because they were unsure about how to care for them.

It is estimated 1.2million households have at least one as a pet, with as many as eight million reptiles and amphibians kept in total.