There are many reasons for keeping amphibians. Zoologists, those who have terrariums and like amphibians are happy to receive these escaped or lost troublemakers, even if they might call during the middle of the night, need regular water changing and other trivial tasks, just to have a close encounter with these creatures. The pets are even kept in decorated glass tanks as a decoration in the living room or in other rooms.

Terrariums are just like a natural world on a miniature scale even though they are placed at homes and are man-made, yet the hobbyist have a chance to get a peek at this mysterious natural world. However, keeping amphibians is not entirely a hobby in biology, some perform trade and exchange activities with other peers. Trading caecilians, olms, newts, and salamanders, for monetary gains is just supplementary. Among the order Anura, the brightly-colored and diurnal Poison Dart Frog is especially well received and relatively expensive. One can get to know the “market status” of the amphibians through exhibitions, searches or supply journals. Constant attention should be paid to national legislation from each country regarding the keeping, trading and transporting of amphibians and at the international level as well; a reliable and ethical local enthusiast is a good source for this type of information. At the same time, the associations provide on-hand exchange information and academic discussion through various seminars, special groups and trading publications.

More and more people who have terrariums are amateur zoologists who are interested in natural science; they are especially referred to as dedicated herpetologist in Europe . Benefits gained from experience in breeding and caring for amphibians may help solve the biological mysteries of these animals. For instance, the mating, breeding, transportation and larvae feeding of the Dendrobates pumilio was first described from observations in terrariums.

Studying amphibians in a terrarium is far easier than in the wild. Terrestrial caecilians, salamanders and frogs have a relatively secluded lifestyle. They are hard to locate in the wild, but can be effortlessly observed in the terrarium (for example, using a black window glass to cover their underground cave). The other advantage of the terrarium is that one is able to observe each animal for as long as one requires. Information on the reproductive rate, individual development or possible gender transformation may be gathered without relying on toe clippings, dye injecting or other marking methods that may injure the animals.

Individual reaction is the key to studying mating behavior and parental care. Questions such as “will the parents guard their nests,” “will they nurse their young,” “how is the intra-species communication conducted,” may be answered systematically. For this, some simple operating facilities such as relocating the nests, replacing one partner with another, or other experimental setups are required for better tracking. This precise method was used to study parental care of Anotheca spinosa of Central America which lay their eggs in tree holes. Research staff conducted the study by using man-made scenarios such as relocating larvae or males from the terrarium.

Artificial tree holes inside the observation window can be used as a replacement when monitoring tree holes in natural settings is not feasible. During its captivity inside the terrarium, the underground tunnel system of the Thai salamander, Ichthyophis Kohtaoensis) was blocked at various timing which led to the discovery that the tunnels were being used for a very long period of time, and the animals would return to the marked resting area.

Many observations of the amphibians require luck. This means “at the right time and the right location” in the wild open area. In general, those with personal and monetary ambitions require enormous efforts to obtain an observation, while the chances of discovery and observation are relatively higher for amateurs who spend more time day after day beside their pets. The first observation of individual young spawning from the back of the South American Surinam Toad (Pipa pipa) occurred in a terrarium.

There are still countless unanswered questions; sometimes, issues related to taxonomy are resolved through interbreeding in the terrarium. The topics related to other larvae are answered through captive feeding in the tank.

Breeding rare, near extinct species in the terrarium would at least provide the potential for re-colonization in the wild, such as after the occurrence of a major disaster; but this is only meaningful after the natural habitat is ready and protected. An example from this activity is the protection and re-introduction plan of Alytes muletensis