People who understand their reptiles...

...are the true keepers.  It's the truly great reptile keepers who  know what it takes to keep their pets in top health, and under optimal conditions.  It takes some effort, too.  Their environment requires monitoring, much more than a house cat's does.  Temperatures, humidity, calcium...all of these things are vitally important to keep a reptile alive in captivity for more than a few years.  Savannah monitors that should otherwise live 30 years are dying at the age of 10 in captivity, and due to substrate humidity errors.  Bearded dragons are acquiring metabolic bone disease because their UVBs are not being changed after 6 months.  Anoles are drying up because they are not given 80% humidity.  The decision to keep reptiles should be followed by a period of intense reseach of all aspects of keeping that species prior to purchase.  There are a lot of factors that need to be considered before the purchase including what kind of reptile you have the time for, how much money you can spend on your new pet, and how much space you can give it.  Spur-of-the-moment, or 'umpulse buys.' are often the precursor to neglect, and the new owner often remains unaware of basic care unless they choose to research.  Even then, people will blame their PetStores for the neglect or resulting disease, saying they didn't give UVB because the PetStore didn't sell it to them.  As much as we do feel the PetStores owe us correct information, ultimately it is the purchaser's responsbiliity to thoroughly research the species prior to purchase.  In the end, it really is people who understand their reptiles who are the true keepers.