Breaking the Myth of the Unfeeling Reptile

For centuries, reptiles have been framed as little more than living fossils, cold-blooded machines acting on reflex and instinct, incapable of emotions, expectations, or anything resembling subjective experience. This view has not only shaped how they are studied but has also excused their mass exploitation. They are traded as “starter pets,” skinned for fashion, displayed in zoos as living ornaments, and experimented on in laboratories.