Evaluation of thermal regimes for transported ambassador ectotherms: One size does not fit all

Providing appropriate environmental temperatures for captive ectotherms should be a husbandry priority. This can be especially challenging for ectotherms that are routinely transported, such as those used in education programs at zoos, because they are unable to thermoregulate while confined in non-temperature controlled, compact carriers. To assess if ectotherms used in the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo's outreach programs experienced appropriate transit temperatures during cold weather, we placed temperature loggers inside two sizes of transport carriers, half containing a heat source (bottle of hot water) and half not (control). While transport temperatures were appropriate for many ectotherms, this simple procedure failed to meet the thermal preferences of species with relatively low or high preferred temperatures such as the eastern tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum) and the spiny-tailed lizard (Uromastyx maliensis), respectively. We found large heated carriers were warmer than small heated carriers, but the temperatures of control carriers did not differ. Despite considerable interspecific variation, large heated carriers provided higher thermal quality environments than both small heated and control carriers for all species except eastern tiger salamanders. We suggest further thermal monitoring of ectotherms during transit with the aim of identifying appropriate heat sources and developing efficient and effective transportation protocols. This could be achieved by modifying transport carriers so that animals are able to thermoregulate. Limiting or ceasing their use when appropriate temperatures cannot be provided may be necessary. Particular attention should be given to species with temperature preferences markedly different than the majority of others in a given collection. Zoo Biol. 35:339-345, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.