Rescues?

[Kathy]

I have seen a lot of people posting about their rescued snakes and such. How does one go about contacting these rescue places and adopting their animals?

[Dom]

i have a few rescues.. there more ppl who contact u lol They alwasy seem to find you ..

I know there is www.reptilerescue.on.ca that has some animals .. try there site.

check if any of your local petstores sponsors pet adoption days ect. the petco here has a calender that gives the date the reptile rescue folks will be in the store. I agree with Dom, if you let folks know that you are willing to take in rescues people find you, the down side is most of the Giants are hard to adopt out, in most cases even Zoo's will refuse them so you are stuck caring for the animal long term if you accept it. One case here I remember there were 13 animals 5 of which were over 12 ft, I think there were 4 boas and a ball that were all over 4 ft, and the rest were young retics. The smaller ones adopted out fairly quickly, but he spent a couple of $1000 building housing for the rest that he never recouped. I have taken in a few myself but try to restrict it to smaller animals that I know I can get into good homes and venemous relocation.

[eyespy]

Are there animal control officers in your city? If so, give them a call and let them know you are wiling to adopt a rescue animal should they come across one. You can also contact local vets. That has been my biggest source of rescues. Many owners who don't have the money for surgery or medications will surrender an animal rather than having it put down because they cannot afford care and vets often have staff who work to place these animals in rescues before they euthanize needlessly.

You can also get personally involved, trying to "liberate" abused animals from petstores. Should you find a neglected, improperly housed or downright abused animal, start making phonecalls. Get the attention of animal control officers, local media, animal rights groups and basically anyone else who is willing to listen. Let them know that you can handle the special needs of this animal and it will die if left in its current environment. It is an uphill battle but every animal that ends up in a proper home after suffering through some of the nightmare petshops is a major victory. Far more so than purchasing the animal to "save" it so that the store can use the profits to acquire a new animal to live in that same bad home.

[paul_le_snake]

i must say that reptile rescue ca are a great organisation.
just had to say that!!!!
cheers
paul

[andrea]

you might also post a flyer at a vet office or pet store and see if that might help. you could talk to a vet cuz sometimes they know of people who have snakes they cant afford to feed anymore, etc. but beware of people who want you to PAY them for a rescue. a rescue is NOT to make money off, in my opinion at least. If they cant feed the animal, they ought to give it away insteady of letting it die. some people have their burm, underfed, way too small for its age, at a pet store near us selling it for 200 on consignment cuz they cant afford to feed it anymore. no cage or anything comes with it unless you buy it AND their RTB for some high cost. you are doing them and the animal a favor when you take the thing, they ought to be glad. if you get some nice set up that might be worth the money, but all this of course is my opinion cuz we have seen our fave pet store's owners buy a bird for 600 bucks that had been abused and not taken care of.
sorry for rambling....

[vanderkm]

Several reptile and amphibian clubs and societies make rescue a part of their mandate - it is a very big component of what the Edmonton club does. They are affiliated with the local animal control office (dog pound) and SPCA and all abandoned or stray herps are turned over to the society. The society fund raisers and shows provide for the expenses that are required to make sure these guys are healthy and they are made available to club members for a nominal fee (which goes back to rescue efforts). They helped place over 50 herps in the last year. It is amazing the circumstances that some animals are found in - often lost by previous owners and found when someone new moves into the house. Many owner surrendered animals are iguanas unfortunately and the Edmonton society is working to educate the public about them and get local pet stores to promote more suitable lizards for first time pet owners. If you have a club in your area, it would be a good place to contact for rescues. If there is no club, you might want to consider getting one going. It may help with credibility in approaching city pounds and SPCA groups to help with rescues if you are part of a not for profit orgainzation instead of an individual.

mary v.

[Kathy]

Thanks for the info everyone. There is a cal king in a petshop here that desperately needs a larger enclosure, they said shes over 2 years old and shes living in a 15gal with no hides and just a water dish. I will call animal control tomorrow and see if they can do something about it. She sure doesnt look happy and they want $200 for her. Hopefully I can get her out of there without having to give the store the $200

[Pixie]

Call your city pound and SPCA. I've checked in my city and they do recieve reptiles regularly. Most unfortunately are large snakes and iguanas that are soon euthanised. If you leave them your information along with the species that you would be able to rescue they will call you when it comes up.

[marisa]

If the Cal King does have water, and is being fed...the Animal Control probably won't do anything about it.

As much as it is obviously more healthy and mentally satisfying to the snake to have hides, they aren't needed for it to live or even live happily as some snakes don't need them. And a 15 gallon *is* small but I'd be more concerned if it was a 5 gallon to tell you the truth. A snake can live in a 15 gallon semi comfortablly for quite some time even though it may be slightly cramped....cal kings aren't the largest colubrids and some stay fairly small.

I would either talk them down in price, but for a two year old Cal King 200 is not to far over priced. I probably wouldn't be adverse to paying 150 for an adult (which a two year old almost is) california king if it was healthy. Or I would stick to talking with Reptile Rescue (http://www.reptilerescue.on.ca) as I don't think any animal control will have enough of a problem with the cal kings care unless something else is terribly wrong.

Just my opinion.
Marisa

[Kathy]

I went to the pound and they said ot go to the humane society. I called them but they arent open on Weds but I left them a message. The store also had some beardies looked about sub adult in a 10gal (there were 4 of them). Even if they dont do anything they will still have a complaint on record, and if enough people complain than they will have to do something. I will let you guys know if the humane society calls me back