How we research and choose

Sources

Every guide lists its sources at the end of the page. They come from:

• Enclosure, lighting, heating and misting makers' product pages, spec sheets and manuals
• Veterinary and husbandry references: veterinary manuals, veterinary associations and peer-reviewed studies on reptile lighting and care
• Zoo and animal welfare organisations' care guidance
• Keeper reports and Q&A where they add something the spec sheet does not
• Our own arithmetic (substrate volume, electricity cost), shown on the page

When makers state the same kind of figure in different ways (a peak rating against a continuous one, a nominal value against a measured one, a claimed maximum against a typical result), the guide says which one it is quoting. When a maker does not publish a figure, the guide says so rather than estimating it.

How a product earns a pick

1. We list what is actually for sale to US buyers on the day of writing, checking each listing on Amazon US, or the maker's own store for brands that sell only direct.
2. We read the maker's own specifications and manual for each one and put the figures that matter side by side.
3. We weigh those figures against the job: what the product is for and who will use it, the warranty, what is included, and what owners report going wrong.
4. We name a pick for each kind of buyer and say who should skip it.

Commission does not decide the order. Amazon is the only retailer we earn from. A product sold only by its maker is linked to the maker's store, which pays us nothing, and it is picked or skipped on the same terms as the rest. No brand pays for a place in a guide.

How the guides are written

Guides are researched and drafted with the help of AI tools and checked against the sources they cite. We do not publish invented test results or first-hand claims we cannot back up.

Prices

Prices in the guide text are a typical range at the time of writing, because retailer prices change daily. Buy boxes and pick cards also show Amazon's current price and product photo, fetched from Amazon's own product API and refreshed at least every hour, with the time the price was fetched. If a product has no new stock, the buy box says so and may offer a close alternative that is in stock. The price on Amazon at checkout is the one that applies.

Keeping pages current

When a product is discontinued, a listing disappears or a spec changes, the page is updated and its updated date changes. Corrections from readers go to info@reptilegearreview.com.