PETA Lawsuit: Reptile Retailers’ Consumer Deception Leads to Snake Suffering, Deaths

For Immediate Release:
August 29, 2025

Contact:
Nicole Perreira 202-483-7382

PETA is suing online retailers Reptmart and its parent company Snakes at Sunset for violations of D.C.’s Consumer Protection statute, alleging that the retailers’ false claims about snake care—including advising consumers to confine snakes who grow as long as six feet to a three-foot tank—can result in snakes suffering and dying at the hands of misinformed consumers.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of consumers in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, outlines that snakes require enough space to stretch out the entire length of their bodies—otherwise, they can suffer atrophied muscles, reduced bone density, and even a fatally dislocated spine—and enough humidity to allow them to shed their skins. Some snakes additionally require enough substrate to burrow in, enough water to fully submerse their bodies in, and/or structures as long as their bodies to climb up, among other species-specific needs. Without these necessities, snakes can die within months from malnutrition, emaciation, infection, and various diseases. PETA’s lawsuit notes that the retailers fail to share these key details with customers and misleadingly market snakes as “easy” or “starter pets,” and seeks to require the companies to provide transparent and science-backed guidance on snake care.

“Confining a five-foot ball python to a 3-foot-long tank is like sentencing an NBA player to spend the rest of his life crammed inside a gym locker,” says PETA Foundation Deputy General Counsel and Director of Litigation Asher Smith. “PETA’s lawsuit seeks to stop these retailers from lying about the spacious, varied, temperature-controlled environments that snakes need to prevent them from suffering and dying.”

Snake mothers are fiercely protective of their eggs, and some species care for their babies for weeks after they hatch and even “babysit” other mothers’ hatchlings. Many snakes are social, living in large communities where they make friends and form cliques. More and more, jurisdictions are recognizing snakes’ unique needs. For example, following support from PETA and other animal allies, a new Colorado law will require snakes in the pet trade to be housed in enclosures large enough to enable them to fully extend their bodies. PETA encourages the public to call on their local officials to pass similar laws and urges everyone to never buy snakes from breeders or pet stores.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.