Rescues. Why I do not take them in.

[T&C Exotics]

I have been asked a lot as to why I do not take in rescues ao I figured I would make this post with the reply I always give.

The main reason is because I do not find it smart to take an animal that has been mistreated and spend hundreds on it just to watch it die. Next would be I will not knowingly bring an illness into my collection. The rescues commonly found on craigslist are usually infested with mites and so malnourished and dehydrated that they are not worth the efforts to get them healthy. Most rescues are taken in with the hopes of rehabilitating the animal and either keeping it as a pet or rehoming it to a good home. Neither of these are good options. Take into consideration the time and money spent on just one. First you have to convince the person of the actual value which is usually about $20 and they are asking over a hundred. If you talk them down you now have months of feeding, heating, watering, and usually medications to put into it. At end you have something that now has cost you a couple hundred dollars and can only rehome it for the original $20 at most. Add in what you value your time spent on it and you end up in the hole quite a bit. Now you get to worry about its new home and how it is being cared for. Even with the most detailed instructions given with it most people will not follow them. So rehoming is a bad option. Keeping it as a pet is not the best due to the reasons above and if you are breeding it is taking up valuable room that could be in use for an animal that can be part of a breeding program instead of a rescue. So it is now losing you money.

So for these reasons I do not take rescues. Let hear what you think about this.

[CptJack]

You know, you don't have to do anything you don't want, or justify yourself....

But I promise people who do rescue (any species) do so to help the animal, not because they believe it's lucrative. I don't rescue reptiles right now - I don't have the know how. I have rescues dogs. Three of my five are rescues. Two of those three have cost me thousands- literally. Do I care? No. I didn't do it to make a sound fiscal decision, I did it because I wanted to help those animals live good lives, and I had the money available. I donate to charities, too. It's something I do that makes me feel good.

If it doesn't have that payoff to you, no harm no foul and no ones business. There is no one size fits all here, and no need for judgement either way.

[Montypython696]

To be honest. I agree with you about 90% of the time. As much as it pains me to see the snakes that we all love being mistreated by ignorant owners, I just cannot bring myself to take in rescues.

The chances of the animal not having some sort of sickness, or mites is very low. I sure as heck don't want to bring that into my house with the chance of it spreading to other animals.

However, if I know the person, and its an exigent circumstance like they are moving and can't take it I don't see a huge deal about that.

Other than that, its a no.

[T&C Exotics]

To be honest. I agree with you about 90% of the time. As much as it pains me to see the snakes that we all love being mistreated by ignorant owners, I just cannot bring myself to take in rescues.

The chances of the animal not having some sort of sickness, or mites is very low. I sure as heck don't want to bring that into my house with the chance of it spreading to other animals.

However, if I know the person, and its an exigent circumstance like they are moving and can't take it I don't see a huge deal about that.

Other than that, its a no.

What I am talking about is all the ones I see constantly on craigslist and other places like it. If I know the person and know it has been cared for correctly I have no issues at all but if I do not I will not take it at all.

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[bcr229]

Well, if by "rescue" you include snakes that desperately need an upgrade but aren't so badly neglected that they can't be turned around with a little TLC... then I have four. None came with mites, none came in sick, three were obviously underweight but not life-threateningly so. Two came in with stuck shed, retained eyecaps, and scars from rat bites. All four were free.

I also have three dogs from a rescue, one of which has cost over $6,000 in vet bills between his surgeries and seizure medication. Yes, he's worth it.

[AlexisFitzy]

I'd love to take in a rescue ball python but I don't even buy snakes I need for my collection unless I'm 100000% sure I can care for it, and by that I mean buy everything it needs. Also I like to add to my collection slowly so I can get used to feeding three or four mouths instead of just one or two. But I'm not the wealthiest person at all, so I really couldn't even afford to take in a rescue. I'd love to but if I can't give an animal my 100% best I don't take it in until I can. If people would follow that simple statement their wouldn't be so many reptiles that needed rescuing.


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[whatsherface]

My one rescue came to me free, underweight and stuck in a horrid shed. I'm lucky that he's rebounded so quickly and that he didn't come with mites or infectious diseases. I honestly would not 'rescue' another snake. Maybe rehome, but not rescue. I'm at the point where I can't put the rest of my collection at risk to help soothe my bleeding heart. I wish I could operate a snake rescue, but I just can't afford it (the risk or the vet bills).

[Miranda2]

I take in rescues including wildlife, in fact half of my pets (reptile and otherwise) are rescues.Some have cost me and some were free. I have lost some and regretted taking in others, found great homes for others(mostly cats).. Bui for the most part I find it very rewarding. But its not for the faint of heart or the unprepared, it always costs something, time, money, or just heartache.

The rescues commonly found on craigslist are usually infested with mites and so malnourished and dehydrated that they are not worth the efforts to get them healthy

To me all animals are worth the effort, if I had more money I would do more but the supply of rescues will never end, my money does..I dont get brownie points for doing it, I just feel good that I can give back a little to the creatures that give us such pleasure and companionship.