Where do you get most of your animals?

[JD@reptiles]

I am just interested in knowing where you get you animals.

[MartinW]

I got my first 3 leos + accessories from the ott.forsale newsgroup. The rest of my leos I got from tarzet's, and I'm going to get one from HQ Reptiles and one from somewhere else (I need to find a male tremper albino born in April or earlier).

Martin

[Lizzy001]

At a reliable snake store..

the reptile house rocks!!

[TheRedDragon]

Straight from the breeders and sometimes rescues. :)

[drewlowe]

a little of all. I got a few from pet stores. Exotic pet stores that is. a few from expo's. 1 I breed, and 1 from a friend of mine that he brought his eggs over and i kept one of them that hatched. and soon from a breeder.

[liltattyprinces]

i tend to take in rescues of almost any sort but when looking for a certain snake i go straight to the breeders, i worked in pet stores at one time and find that most ppl are uneducated as to proper care, not all ppl are like that though, when buying i want to know it has recieved the best care possible and IMO you can't get that at a pet store too many employees too many opinions.

[Wuntu Menny]

Straight from the breeder whenever possible. If I'm trying to establish a new breeding group that is uncommon or there isn't enough diversity in available bloodlines, I'll order up from a wholesaler either directly or through a store.

WM

[reptilez]

I got my first lizard (leopard Gecko) from a superpet. Then when i was goin to get my Bearded Dragon From there, One of the Ladies Rcommended that i go check out this Reptile show in Missisauga. I did, nd ever since thats where i go to get my animals:D:D
-Reptilez

[eyespy]

Either rescues or breeders. If I see an animal in a pet store that I want to rescue, I call animal control and have the animal confiscated for abuse/neglect issues and then apply to adopt it. Buying an animal from a petstore even if you are intending to rehabilitate it just means they have an empty cage plus the sales statistics to show they will make a profit if they order another of the same species. In the long run, that just perpetuate pet store abuse problems.

[JD@reptiles]

Do you do that if the animal is in bad shape? or if you just want the animal..?

[reverendsterlin]

breeders where possible, reptiles main focus stores when not.

[burmer]

My albino burm, beardie and blood are from breeders. My normal burm is from a show. My nile and kingsnake come from two pet stores that I really trust.

[Doug & Deb]

I have the same question that JD reptiles has. Instead of getting animal control involved why don't you negotiate the price and buy it. Don't be so cheap. By calling animal control you once again cause the reptile species more problems. It is because of this that they keep making harsher and harsher rules and banning reptiles in more and more areas. Why don't you try to educate the store that does not know how to take care of the animal I really don't think they intentionally abuse them.

Doug & Deb

[snkmn]

i go to the pet stores

[damzookeeper]

breeders when ever possible and rescues. I will buy from 2 pet stores. One is in Ottawa and one in Mississauga, on occasion. Those two are pretty much the only ones I've visitied and know I can trust to care for the herps properly.

[eyespy]

Originally posted by JD@reptiles
Do you do that if the animal is in bad shape? or if you just want the animal..?

An animal has to be in serious shape before our local laws will allow for confiscation and adoption. By the time I get the process started, most of the animals have unfortunately already died. :(

[Tim_Cranwill]

I think you're missing a few options like... breeders, distributors/importers, wild caught, breed them myself...

I get all of mine from breeders... :)

[eyespy]

Originally posted by Doug & Deb
I have the same question that JD reptiles has. Instead of getting animal control involved why don't you negotiate the price and buy it. Don't be so cheap. By calling animal control you once again cause the reptile species more problems. It is because of this that they keep making harsher and harsher rules and banning reptiles in more and more areas. Why don't you try to educate the store that does not know how to take care of the animal I really don't think they intentionally abuse them.

Doug & Deb

Actually, it is WAAAAAYYYYY more expensive adopting confiscated animals than buying them. Adoption fees start at $30 for animals that didn't require any medical treatment during the 72 hour holding period and go up quite a bit when they need veterinary care. Most of the animals I've adopted have cost me at least 3 times what the pet store was charging. By the time most animals are sick enough to meet the guidelines for confiscation, most of them are on death's door and have been in intensive care with very expensive veterinary treatment.

As a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, I can get the animals sent to a clinic that works with me to maximize the care given and minimize the costs. I work with a team of veterinary surgeons, an anesthesiologists, and 2 nutritionists who donate their time and medical supplies in order to do this. We rescue up to 4,000 animals a year.

Here's an example, I rescued a green iguana last spring who had fused vertebrae from being literally crammed into a small fishtank. He was paralyzed from the pelvis down and had a severely irregular heartbeat because of dehydration and malnutrition. My adoption fee for Amazon was $400, for an iguana being sold for $12.99. But this was a bargain because that $400 covered 3 days on IV fluids, an MRI, physical therapy, heart monitoring, and medications. The MRI alone should have cost over $1,000 but the University of Pennsylvania donated the time and a radiologist's services.


This has proven to be the best way to get reptile-protecting animal cruelty laws enacted. The US has 2 separate sets of laws. Domesticated mammals and farm animals are regulated through the Department of Agriculture, which has very good guidelines for husbandry and can step in to remedy store conditions before things get out of hand.

Reptiles, birds, and exotic mammals go through Fish and Wildlife Services. They have a minimal budget and almost no staff to speak of. The laws are strongly geared towards protecting animals in the wild and pet shop animals have very few protections. Fish and Wildlife Service rangers have no jurisdiction over pet stores and cannot regularly check in to make sure minimum care standards are maintained or exceeded under the current set of laws.

Going through Animal Control is the best way to document nationwide statistics on reptile abuse to get more proactive laws drafted. Vast steps have been made in helping to stop the abuse of birds smuggled up from Central and South America. The incidences of disease such as French molt and psitticosis have gone way down and mortality rates have plummeted. Captive breeding programs have been funded and that has significantly reduced the market for smuggled birds stolen from the wild.


We are still in the baby steps stages of giving reptiles the same protection. However, we've made some great progress that has helped to lessen the bans on reptiles in PA, NJ and DE cities. Our work has proved that there is minimal risk of zoonotic diseases transmitted by animals who have been properly housed while in the pet trade.

[Clownfishie]

Out of all my herps, I've bought 2 from pet stores -- my first gecko (didn't know any better), and more recently my first pictus gecko. All of my other snakes/lizards have come from breeders -- either at an expo, or though a private sale.

[Lisa]

majority are from breeders some from petstores.

[meow_mix450]

Well the frist time i got it at the pet store and it died in a month and now i get it from breeders/shows, i really dont trust the pets stores around me now, they dont look to healthy

[LISA127]

I have bought a few leo's from pet stores, and one ball python from a pet store. 2 of the leo's came from petsmart, and the ball and the rest came from a well run privately owned pet store. I have gotten a few animals from breeders, either at shows or private breeders. Ironically, all of my animals that came from pet stores have been very healthy! I have gotten 3 or 4 from breeders/shows that have not been healthy. I'm confused, upset, and fed up!

[jaybox_reptiles]

it seemes like every time i buy from a pet store i get a sick animal

[jay76]

Definitely breeders! Except for my king, and he was LTC - luckily for me he hid so often that no one else could see how cool he is! ;)

[Neo]

LLL Reptile and reptile shows