Starting a reptile rescue?

I recently found out that our local city pound gets a fair number of herps turned in, and has zero adoption program for them...if a shelter employee doesn't want one, they get euthed.

Right now, there is no official rescue in the state that I am aware of...there is one girl locally who tries hard, but pays for all the medical care at full price out of her own pocket, and thus is limited financially in what she can take on (plus I don't think she has much room to house them). And she has no web presence at all for getting them adopted out...she relies on word of mouth.
So I've been talking with a couple of other vet techs who also have significant herp experience about starting a rescue.

One girl has a committed husband who loves larger snakes, and she breeds and sells feeders...so we'd have a food source for snakes anyway.

I will be starting work this month or the next at a vet hospital that sees a lot of exotics, including reptiles, which I'm really excited about...so I'll have that as a resource to draw on.

Obviously, there will need to be some pretty strict quarantine protocols in place. I have a spare room I can use that is down the hall from my collection.

Also, I would expect to see a lot of malnourished/poor husbandry issues. I have zero experience with lizards or torts, but I'm sure I can find the information I would need. I am capable and comfortable with basic parasite control, giving injections, tube-feeding, etc.

We can easily get registered with Petfinder (I've done it before) and thus get exposure for adoptable animals. I need to get off my butt about FedEx shipping certification, and then we'll be able to adopt them out anywhere in the US.

What issues am I missing, or need more consideration?

What species and cases would I be most likely to see?

This is still just an idea...I haven't begun to take any steps to make it happen yet, beyond asking my fellow vet techs if they would be interested (they are, very much so). I don't want to leap into this and then find out too late that I can't handle it, or didn't prepare myself for a situation. I've done a ton of cat and dog rescue, and right now I just don't have the attention required to fostor and socialize a mammal. I'm thinking that herps would be easier in that respect, and there is a definite need for it in this area.

I reccomend that you narrow it down to what you will and won't keep, and what sort of enclosures you'll need for that. Will you keep all the rescues in one room? What if something comes in that seems ill, will it go into that room?
Can you have several "foster" homes? If so, you could have one person do beardies, another does ball pythons, someone does boas.. that sort of thing. That way it's all one type of feeding, one type of enclosure, so you could set up a set or racks, all for one basic type of animal.
Feeding a larger group of beardies(even if each has it's own enclosure) seems like it would be much better than feeding some beardies, some iguanas, some balls, some corns, etc. With one type, you could fix a large portion, or thaw a bunch of one item, and feed.
Make certain sure, that you get written ownership of the rescue. I always get a paper, signed, with a witness signing as well. Give a copy to them, and a copy for you.
You might want to write up a protocol for every animal taken in. Keep records. Who will keep it, for how long, does it get a vet check? That sort of thing.
It's a big undertaking, but it's so very much needed, so kudos to you for even considering to take on so much work. I hope this helped.

Sounds like a great idea, but definately important to keep your rescue operation away from your breeding operation. But I bet it would be very rewarding for both you and the animals involved. I would start out slow until you get the hang of things... if you don't have a ton of experience with a certain animal, maybe just have one or a couple of that type until you feel more comfortable. Definately get your Fed Ex certification and maybe even search out a few more forums that will allow you to place adoption ads to help you reach more people who may be interested in adopting.

Thanks for the input guys.

I've done quite a bit of rescue with dogs and cats, and am familiar with the necessary relinquishment forms to cover your butt.

At this point we have two, and possibly three foster homes (one guy may be moving). All of us are intelligent and knowledgeable techs with years and years of medical experience and a good set of informational resources to draw on. We would definitely be assigning the aniimals to fosters experienced in them where possible, but that may not always be an option.

At this point, with my personal situation, I picture quarantining them in the spare bedroom, then working on adopting them as soon as they pass quarantine. We definitely don't want to get overwhelmed with more than we can take care of or place, and so would have limits on what species and how many we would have in the program at any given time.

Severe medical issues would be case-by-case, and I am willing to euthanize if the prognosis is poor and the suffering is great. Any minor medicals would definitely get a vet check...if the animal appears healthy and and feeds well and doesn't have a history of serious neglect, do you think a vet check is still in order? I'm not sure if we will be able to get discounted exams, so finances are an issue as for any rescue. Obviously, any animal needing medical care would get it, and I imagine that for some that cost can add up quickly.

We do have a small local show several times a year and I expect we could get a table there too for display of adoptable animals.

I've been toying with the idea of starting a reptile rescue. I am not entirely sure where I am going with it anymore...but that's for a different post.

Anyway if you want it legit, you might consider creating a business plan for a non profit organization. I don't remember the code thingy for it, but you'll be able to solicate donations and even look for grant money.

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Originally Posted by Reptilian

...I don't remember the code thingy for it...

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It's called a 501(c)3, that's the non profit organization code thing.

EDIT:

Something to expcet to recive a lot of is Iguanas, Aquatic Turtle, and large snakes 6+ feet.

Also something to consider it to limit the amount of speceies you can take in. Such as iguanas, have a limit of 3 or so. Since iguanas are usually the most challanging to adopt out, don't accept any till more till you've gotten one or more of your specific number adopted out.

The only part i see anyone not mentioning is if you have to have a license to run a rescue.I had a rescue for a short time and we needed a license to have a rescue here.I had the same license as the pet stores did :rolleyes:.It was silly in my opinion as the inspector had no clue about snakes.Its something to check out though as some animal control places will not release reptiles to just anyone ;).Good luck :gj:

Considering what area you live in, you will see a lot of turtles, lizards, and a few snakes here and there. At least, that is what I see most in the petfinder ads, a lot of turtles, torts and lizards. A really stand up thing your doing, and something I know a lot of animal lovers wish they had the space and money to do.

I agree, get the financial bit covered first, license, and then start taking in animals. I am really excited to see someone else out there trying to make a difference for how our herps are cared for.

Money money money. The electric bill will greatly increase and obviously the feeding cost which I am sure you know all about. It will be very expensive and may take off a lot faster than you expect. Just a few thing I learned from volunteering for Phoenix Herp. Society for a couple of years is that being organized will help alot. Proper records and a nice system of knowing what has been fed and any type of "special dieting" will be your friend. Make sure that you will have enough time with your new job starting up. I will try and add more later.

Reptile rescues are really needed. I'm not sure there could ever be too many because they tend to be small. Just individuals trying to help reptiles out, not a big organization with lots of space and money backing them.
Good luck with starting yours.

You might want to contact some existing reptile rescues from around the country. I'm sure they could give you a lot of insight and advice. One I happen to be aware of because it is somewhat near me is MARS.

I think it is fabulous that you want to do this. It seems like more reptile rescues are needed. I think others have said to start out slowly, which I would agree with so you don't find out you've taken on more than you can handle.

Keep us updated if you do decide to start doing this!

Sounds like a very noble cause. It is sad to me, that your area shelters just euth the animals without even giving them a chance. There could be someone out there that'd be willing to take one in.. instead of supporting pet stores that generally contribute to the problem of people buying cute little herps, only to lose interest and/or be afraid of them when they grow.
I would contact any local rescues that you can find. Maybe, instead of blazing a trail now when you're just starting into this, you could foster for another rescue that already has its feet wet? Like, if you've got tons of BP experience, you could help them foster BPs and find homes for them..
I know that many rescues won't ship. I think that it's usually a case of them wanting to meet adopters in person, or to prevent the animal going to a shady source that might just neglect it like its other owners had.
A woman I know of(we'll call her "Sue) used to rescue cats and dogs. One thing was for sure; she always had about 20-30 dogs, and 10-20 cats at home at any given time. Quarantine was done at her storefront. She had a friend and they had a nonprofit status, but then her friend got busted for being thought of as an animal horder, and it affected Sue as well. Going into a rescue with friends, is similar to starting a business. Tiffs can develop (just asn my husband and his former friend; once business partners, they do not even speak anymore.)She ended up keeping many that either came back from novice owners returning them, or ones that had health issues. Not being afraid of knowing when an animal's too far-gone to save, and euthanizing it, is a must too I think.

I think a lot of good points have already been presented here. I would definitely say that money, time, and space are your main requirements and headaches.
You will see lots of iguanas, burms, African rocks, retics, and crocodilians as well as water turtles. I have a friend in Canada that has a reptile rescue and currently has 140+ iguanas right now!!
I have a friend who ran a reptile rescue here in the D/FW area that could give you some insight if you are interested.
For the most part, and I believe the hardest for most people, is to know when an animal is too far gone health wise or just unadoptable. There may be lots that a vet can do but if the animals' quality of life is suffering, it is time to euthanize it and move on to more hopeful cases that may be more deserving of your time. If not, you can easily get in over your head and feel overwhelmed.