One of the trends that I’ve noticed locally, there are quite a few ‘Reptile Rescues’ popping up. They post ads in various free forums volunteering to take your unwanted reptiles and find them homes. In some cases, they are very specific in which animals they will take (one guy would only take tortoises or box turtles).
I’ve called or e-mailed quite a few of them with questions or offering animals for them to rescue to gauge their responses. All of them, except one, that I’ve contacted and asked if I could fill out an adoption application had no application process. They told me I could just come by, pick out what I wanted and pay my adoption fee. None of them required site visits. I called the one person that had an ‘application’ and told him that I had no experience with reptiles, but could I adopt anyway? He said I could if I had the appropriate cage. When I told him that I had no equipment, but I wanted the animal first then I would go out and buy what I needed, so I didn’t waste money on equipment. He said that would be ok.
I contacted many of them claiming to have a 20 inch sulcata that I needed to surrender. Every single one of them wanted ‘him’. I put them on the spot and asked what they would feed him, what would his enclosure be, and did they have ready accommodations now? Many of them couldn’t answer, claiming they had tortoise/turtle experts that they would consult with. One guy flat out admitted that he didn’t know but would be able to research. Only one stated that he currently had accommodations and agreed that I could view his facility to see where the sulcata would be kept (I never went over to look). The rest made up excuses why their facility could not be viewed.
I’ve also contacted quite a few of them claiming that I would surrender red-eared sliders, painted turtles, anoles, green tree frogs, fire belly toads; and other very common, inexpensive animals to see what their response would be. Many of them will not take those animals. A small handful would take them but only if I ‘donated’ the enclosures they were in or made a cash ‘donation’ to them, since they claimed to be non-profit. When asked if they would be able to show me 501c3 documentation that they were certified non-profit organizations, none of them could (many didn’t even respond when I asked the question). There were only a couple of ‘rescues’ that would take these inexpensive animals in unconditionally.
I also see some people posting ads to take in your unwanted reptiles, and that they are private keepers that will give them homes. I think those individuals are not as bad as the fake rescues, since at least they’re being upfront about what they’re doing. On the other hand, those individuals make we wonder how much they can afford to spend on care, when they don’t want to pay for animals or pay adoption fees?
I’m not knocking legit rescues, ones that will take in reptiles regardless of their ‘retail’ value, have a legit adoption and screening process, and are really doing it to help animals not just make money.
I’m curious if these types of reptile ‘rescues’ are popping up all over the place. Is my strong negative attitude towards them, shared by others too?
Sorry for the dissertation. I didn’t think this would end up being as long as it is.
I’ve called or e-mailed quite a few of them with questions or offering animals for them to rescue to gauge their responses. All of them, except one, that I’ve contacted and asked if I could fill out an adoption application had no application process. They told me I could just come by, pick out what I wanted and pay my adoption fee. None of them required site visits. I called the one person that had an ‘application’ and told him that I had no experience with reptiles, but could I adopt anyway? He said I could if I had the appropriate cage. When I told him that I had no equipment, but I wanted the animal first then I would go out and buy what I needed, so I didn’t waste money on equipment. He said that would be ok.
I contacted many of them claiming to have a 20 inch sulcata that I needed to surrender. Every single one of them wanted ‘him’. I put them on the spot and asked what they would feed him, what would his enclosure be, and did they have ready accommodations now? Many of them couldn’t answer, claiming they had tortoise/turtle experts that they would consult with. One guy flat out admitted that he didn’t know but would be able to research. Only one stated that he currently had accommodations and agreed that I could view his facility to see where the sulcata would be kept (I never went over to look). The rest made up excuses why their facility could not be viewed.
I’ve also contacted quite a few of them claiming that I would surrender red-eared sliders, painted turtles, anoles, green tree frogs, fire belly toads; and other very common, inexpensive animals to see what their response would be. Many of them will not take those animals. A small handful would take them but only if I ‘donated’ the enclosures they were in or made a cash ‘donation’ to them, since they claimed to be non-profit. When asked if they would be able to show me 501c3 documentation that they were certified non-profit organizations, none of them could (many didn’t even respond when I asked the question). There were only a couple of ‘rescues’ that would take these inexpensive animals in unconditionally.
I also see some people posting ads to take in your unwanted reptiles, and that they are private keepers that will give them homes. I think those individuals are not as bad as the fake rescues, since at least they’re being upfront about what they’re doing. On the other hand, those individuals make we wonder how much they can afford to spend on care, when they don’t want to pay for animals or pay adoption fees?
I’m not knocking legit rescues, ones that will take in reptiles regardless of their ‘retail’ value, have a legit adoption and screening process, and are really doing it to help animals not just make money.
I’m curious if these types of reptile ‘rescues’ are popping up all over the place. Is my strong negative attitude towards them, shared by others too?
Sorry for the dissertation. I didn’t think this would end up being as long as it is.