Aquatic rescue

[CyberGhost]

I'm thinking of opening an aquatic reptile rescue kinda thing, nothings set or anything, I'm just brainstorming. But please listen to my ideas and give me some helpful hints and advice. Now I have recently begun digging a series of ponds in my yard and around my house. They are stocked with baby fish, I caught at the local lake/pond and I mean babies not even an inch long. I want to shelter peoples unwanted aquatic turtles and forgs freshwater only. I would get the animals, then keep them in an tank for observation for a couple of days kinda teach them to live in the semi/wild enviroment then move them out to one of the ponds. I was thinking of keeping a diffrient for each species. In the ponds they will be free to live as they will. I will suply the food and basic care but other then that it will be like they are in the wild. Of course sheltered from predators. I can't garuntee they will stay in the pond but close enough, I doubt the turtles would go anywhere but the frogs might. But everywhere else where I live is arrid[like a dessert] so I think they would come back for the water. I understand that opening a shelter is a very complicated and hard task, but I dont want mine to be like others. It would be more like returning the animals to the wild but keeping them safe. I doubt I would give many of them up for adotion. I'm not sure of anything right now so I was just seeing what everyone thought of my idea and what CONSTRUCTIVE critisism everyone had becuase I think it would be a very good thing. SO what does everyone think I could really use your ideas.

[nouserpif]

NO! unless it is all local incoming animals, the species wont mix, and will screw eachother up. I am not sure if it is true, but I have heard fish waste kills frogs REALLY easily. Since you are a "rescue" you will be having lots of injured animals come in... Please, every "I'm gonna start a rescue" post goes DOWN badly. I think the last person who started one got such a bad response, and by defending themselves, they got banned. I jsut re-read you post, and you say a different pond for each species... That might be a little hard to do. How bigs you're yard? This will cost almost all of your money, almost all of your time (not free time, but TIME) and be very stressful...
keeping a few pondfuls of stuff IS a good idea, however. that would be MUCH cheaper and easier than a rescue service in the long run. With rescues, expect turtles that need expensive vet service, and some moron who comes to dump off an alligator, a bunch of half dead frogs that you will have to nurse back to health... Then when you put them back in the wild, you can SCREW up te ecosystem badly (unless, of course, everything is local, but it is illegal to keep wildlife captive without permits).

I

[ranmasatome]

wanted to post but after reading..all i have to say is..'nuff said.

[CyberGhost]

I would't get alligators only turtles and frogs. If they were injured I would take them to the vet get them fixed up. It would be more like a turtle retirement home then a rescue. Like breeders when the turtle can't breed anymore or whatevr, or like somone has a turtle that they can't take with them on a move. MY yard is't a yard I live in the country. I could take over an entire pasture if I wanted, have lots of space. I could specilize the pond to the special habitiat of their needs. I know how to keep them enclosed now, a centimeter square screen fencing. Yes, it would probly just be local animals or like animals that could adapt eaily to my area like red ears are abundant here so I could take them and snapping turtles. No, fish poop does not kill frogs, thats stupid how would they live together in lakes. If I was to start this it would be awhile in the future I was just a thought. ALso I know of people that keep rescues like this for turtles one of which is a member of this site. But I understand your thoughts and will work on them but I have said in other post I really would not be able to have a rescue[read so you wannebe a reptile rescue] even though I would love to. I can't stand the thought of dying anything. I'm only 15 this would have to wait till after college. But I am going to work on the idea. Maybe then I will be able to join the leugue. But thank you for your words.

[marisa]

What is with you? Sorry dude no offense but it seems you have no idea what you are doing. You keep asking questions about mixing species, "setting things free" and "rescuing" things.

1. Turtles need filtration! Does each pond have an properly sized filter? Yes its obvious in the wild ponds don't have filters but does yours have the perfect amount of plant and fish life to sustain relatively clear and safe water?

2. If you take ANYTHING from a person, as in it was a breeder or a pet, you CANNOT allow anything to happen to it. This means it cannot live in an open pond outside, where you "hope" it won't run away. That is irresponsible. Do you think some square fencing is going to protect stuff from raccoons? And other wild animals? Who would give you an animal knowing it will be living "free" as you put it, even though thats not safe, not possible, and not o.k.?

You are talking about putting RES in with wild fish you have caught which are chuck full of parasites. You are talking about keeping frogs with RES. RES will murder frogs if they get the chance. Not to mention they are very dirty creatures, and you need some serious filtration to keep things clean.

What you need to do is stop trying to adopt things and catch things until you have more experience with captive bred speciemens. Maybe after a few years of working with aqautic turtles or reptiles you will learn that a TRUE set up like you are talking about will take YEARS of work, won't work the way you describe it, and will take a huge truck load of money to do properly.

This message is not meant to offend you, but I really feel you should enjoy the herps you have now, don't get any more and start doing resaerch because you are really far off on some of your care ideas. Good luck!

Marisa

[CyberGhost]

Hey listen I just asked a question I never said "tomorow I'm going to go get all the unwanted turtles and stick them in a pond" and and even if I did do it way later in life I would have filters and stuff if their needed. Though I think I could get the proper plants and stuff I could check it everyday and stuff keep it safe. Like I said this was't a plann it was a very rough outiline for a very rough draft of a plan for a rescue. I wanted to know about mixbreeding because I have heard alot about it, and wanted to know some fatcs from people I trusted. I never siad anything aBOUT SETTING ANYTHING FREE I said I was returning it to a more natural habitat. No offnese to anybody but the people on this site are jumpy I our anybody else says something you twist our words and bring up anrealetd subjects. Alot of other members feel this way to that I have talked to via IM's lay back people it was just some questions a thought in my head not something I planned on doing at leats not for a very long time. I would have to grad from college and I will be 26 then gett financialy stable 30 so you see how long it would take people I'm only 16.[IMG]C:\My Documents\My Pictures\Tpython.jpg[/IMG]

[XxRachxX]

well...... since this is pretty much 15 years away then i dont even think its worth planning this far ahead!! yeah sure you can have hopes for the future, but nothing ever goes as well as first planned! i wanted to be a zookeeper, im at the end of my first year of college and i dont want to be a zoo keeper any more, i wanted to work with dogs, now i dont.... its silly planning out your life at 16!! just take it as it comes, if it happens, then i happens!!
BTW: do you keep them as pets?? you may find you change your mind?
there are always unwanted res hanging around! if your really want to start a "sanctuary" you need to have a great love of the animal!! other wise you probably wont be dedicated enough!! go to a rescue and adopt one if you want to get started! just do your research, (im sure there are loads of books around!) and all shall be good in the end!

[eyespy]

CyberGhost, if you are serious about this idea, why don't you contact www.turtlehomes.org and ask them to teach you about what it takes to become a rescue or foster home for turtles that need rehoming. Please note that it may take them awhile to answer as they just took over an entire reptile museum that was a nightmare of abuse and neglect so they are quite busy these days.

I started working rescue at my grandfather's side when I was 7 so it's never too young to start but it is VERY important to have mentors, financial resources and the proper licensing so you don't end up having the animals confiscated and put in stainless steel dog kennels without heating or UVB. If you're serious about this idea start out very small and slow.

They are one of the organizations that seem most willing to work with new rescues or people wishing to learn the skills necessary to run a rescue. Also, contact your local and national governments to find out what permits are required.

Then, save your money and start sucking up to vets!!!! I spent over $1,200 on one animal in 2002 and the vets are friends of mine who donate their time. That was merely the wholesale cost of medicines and supplies plus lab and MRI fees. You should develop excellent relationships with reptile vets long before you ever take in your first rescue so that you have the help you need. It's a sad fact that there are not enough good reptile vets to go around so it can be very hard to get one on an emergent basis for a newly acquired rescue if you don't have home phone numbers and their permission to call at any hour.

Depending on your local laws you may need to prove you have at least one vet on staff as a consulting medical expert before you take in your first case.

[CyberGhost]

I totally understand, and thanx for the ideals I will totally follow through but listen to this. Today I went to a pet shopp near my town when I got there I walked inside to see the owners about to eject some kind of python. To put it down I told them to stop and asked to hear the story. They said that they found it in a box in front of the store. I have no clue what kind of snake it is and neither did they, I assumed it was some kind of python or boa by the color and patterns. It had some scars or places where the scales were gone. Other then that it seemed healthy but they said no-one would ever want it and that it was in pain. So I said I'll take him, if you will let me. I did and now him but have no clue what he is so plz help.

[Alicewave]

I think it's a great idea and I'm glad you are thinking ahead and realize it will be many years before your idea pans out. I can't give you any specific advice but I think advice others have given is good. I don't see any need for the throat jumping since you are obviously not planning on doing this any time soon. One bit of advice I can give you...major in something in college related like biology or zoology. And for your electives, take a couple business courses. You're going to need to know a lot about managing your funds and raising money, and especially if you want to incorporate into a non-profit business courses will help you. For now I think it would be a great idea for you to volunteer with a reptile rescue and get exposed to all of the behind the scenes stuff plus you will learn tons about animals you might not have ever dealt with.

I think we ought not to jump down the throat of everyone who wants to be a reptile rescue. Everything starts with an idea, sure the idea may need a lot of work and tweaking but that's why CyberGhost posted this in the first place. Frankly there aren't enough rescue centers for herps...mostly just dogs and cats. Its better for the herps if we can use this site right and help someone with this idea get it off the ground someday the right way. Not saying that everyone who wants to rescue has the best intentions in mind but not everyone who does want to start a rescue just wants free herps.

[eyespy]

I don't take in any boids because of local laws so I can't really give any specific advice except call a vet as soon as you can. Look over caresheets for the more common boids in the pet trades to see if you can identify the species, and try to ensure good humidity levels since there might be damaged or missing scales.

If you're able to post pics I'm sure there are plenty of folks who could ID the snake for you and give more specific husbandry requirement info.

Good luck and let us know how this poor snake makes out.

[CyberGhost]

see idenity crisis 2

[marisa]

I believe I replied the way I did because he clearly stated he already caught wild fish (probably minnows so no bigge) and dug the holes. So that to me seemed he was saying he had already started the process. That coupled with the recent questions he has asked surely doesn't look ideal for any turtles being brought in.

I said meant nothing to offend you, you asked for advice. I gave it.

Marisa

[CyberGhost]

The ponds that I alredy have are just to attract wildlife to my house and yes they were only minnows a few baby perch and a crwfish or two. But I thank you all for your opnions and repsect them.

[Darlene]

I'm not sure which person on this site you referred to as being a member who keeps turtles that way ; but I do know what you described was similar to my turtle set-up which has been discussed in posts. Just in case it's me I'll tell you a bit about it. I started at about your age with goldfish & newts as my 'tank' animals (have always had tons of diff mammals). Then I got into more elaborate aquariums with tropicals as well. Then came a goldfish pond when I was settled/married/kids. Let's just say late 20's. Then a friend's mom decided she could no longer look after her 2 RES for her while she was at college. In moved my first 2 adoptee reps & it began. I fell for them & researched them. Found out their tank was too small & learned they could stay most of the year in a pond. Pond #2 was built. It is fenced with a fence that is buried at least 1 foot into the ground as they love to dig & burrow. It is filtered & I circulate with a waterfall pump that they love also. The fence screen covers the top , too. I have more worry here from owls then anything. The turtles also have a hutch to go in & climbing/basking rocks & logs. All this stuff has to be kept clean (javex scrubbed, boiled or oven-baked). I also have large rubbermades that are set-up for them to spend the winter cooling in. They are time consuming for sure so you must love them. That's how I got started. It wasn't planned as much as it sorta happened. It takes a lot of planning now. This year i had a lot of flood damage so our expansion had to be put on hold til repairs were done. I also belong to herp societies & have help from vets, breeders & fellow herpers/rescuers. Have support & help of friends & family & studied animal sciences at college with a minor in agri business. Really needed the help this year as no planning can prep you for nature's set backs. After repairs & new addition I will have 1 fish & 3 turtle ponds. I use kiddie pools for some juvie fish & turtles , too. These ones are also protected. This should give you something to think about for time,cost & set-up. Keep in mind though that I am not a rescue. I just take in the homeless & this is spread by word of mouth. I don't turn away sick or mistreated turts by any means but I refer other reps to other people. (Did take 8 orphan pond goldfish once tho !) I'm only set-up for the turts. A rescue is much more involved & expensive. This is just my personal contribution. Good luck with yours in the future.