Why?????

[ballpythonluvr]

I see so many ads on craigslist for unwanted snakes. Why do people buy snakes in the first place if they can't take care of them and also why buy it for a child when they are going to lose interest eventually or not be responsible enough to care for the creature? It really pisses me off sometimes. I wish I could take them all and care for them.

[Shadera]

Same reason you see so many rabbits on there after easter, or any other pet for that matter.

Sounds cool in theory, but then when they get the animal they realize it's actual work to keep/care for it. Yuck, can't be having to do any sort of work, won't it feed and clean up after itself?!? Our society has somewhere decided that animals are disposable.

Not everyone of course. There *are* legitimate reasons for rehoming animals, and then there are those who'd never dream of giving up pets.

[CCfive]

There are to many people who end up with an impulse buy as well. Poking around in a pet store, or with the kids, when"Oh look, a snake, I'd be sooo cool if I got one!" Then they get home and realize that rodents are involved or it's too expensive to get a thermostat and all the other required equipment needed to properly care for the animal and it's off to Craigslist. People need to take the time to research, then make informed decisions.

[Valentine Pirate]

It also seems that reptiles have an odd way of seeming disposable to people who don't research much and simply go by a chain pet store's advice. To most people, they're an authority on pet care and it wouldn't cross their minds that there's a financial influence to sell useless products, etc.

I was speaking to a friend of mine who keeps beardies and fat tails, and in the beginning she was simply taking them to Petsmart whenever something seemed wrong. Luckily they had a reptile specialist who actually keeps/breeds beardies and she goes to this person for advice now, but it shocked me that she'd go to a chain store first. I had to stop and think about the fact that the only reason I am now much more critical about what the stores say is because I've spent so much time here learning about these things, and for years before I actually got my first pair of ball pythons I lived vicariously through the forums. To anyone who isn't aware of what reptile care actually means/looks like it isn't unusual to have a lizard or a snake that dies/gets rehomed in a couple years or less.

Anyway, whole point is that there are a lot of rehomed pets for legitimate reasons (usually explained in the ad) and not so legitimate, but I look at the owners and pet stores as responsible for lack of education. The only way we can do anything to help is keep promoting researching animals before buying them, and encouraging people to get involved with the rest of us crazy herpers We're fun -and- we love helping out