someone on craigslist list is saleing there snakes

[satomi325]

i understand what angle you are coming from but i know most people who only buy animals for looks are more than likely scared of them...thus they dont take the proper care of them...

I would think that someone who wanted an animal for display would take very good care of them in order to keep them looking beautiful. Isn't that the point of getting an animal for looks?

Neglected animals go down in health fast and don't make good displays...

And why would someone buy an animal they're frightened of? Sounds counter productive and makes no sense to me.

[Slim]

And why would someone buy an animal they're frightened of? Sounds counter productive and makes no sense to me.

I don't know why they do it, but it happens all the time. I have a Bro who works animal control down in Dade County. You'd be suprised what they get called out to pick up from owners. One of my favorite stories was about the girl who thought it would be cool to keep a couple of Eastern Diamondbacks in her living room...then realized that she would eventually need to clean their cage, and decided she wasn't such an snake lover after all.

[satomi325]

I don't know why they do it, but it happens all the time. I have a Bro who works animal control down in Dade County. You'd be suprised what they get called out to pick up from owners. One of my favorite stories was about the girl who thought it would be cool to keep a couple of Eastern Diamondbacks in her living room...then realized that she would eventually need to clean their cage, and decided she wasn't such an snake lover after all.

Wow. That is insane. Sometimes I wonder what goes through the heads of these types of people.

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[melodyb1985]

i understand the rescue groups trying to find homes for the animals and the animal shelters that use craigslist to try and help the animals out what i was talking about was there a few different people who will post "cute doggy needs a good home asking a rehoming fee of 100 or whatever if not found a home by tomorrow will be takin to the shelter.....only to a good home".....if your going to take it to a shelter because you dont want it any more why ask for a rehoming fee....why not just say free dog to good home like most people do.....and no i know a person who would only buy pets cause he thought they were cool to have but would not touch them and clean there cages...all he would do was feed them....yes he is dumb...and hes has been told that many times by myself....but no one can control him or what he does and im pretty sure there are more out there like that...

[Becs080]

I think reptiles, especially snakes, are seen more as the "disposable pets" which is ironic because they have such a long lifespan compare to other animals like cats and dogs, you would think there would be more of a commitment when buying one. I see people trading snakes like they're baseball cards. People always wanting the newest reptile, always looking to trade or sell of their pets because they've lost interest/novelty has worn off and now they want to fund their new project, be it a monitor or different type of snake or what not. It's sad because as we all know, reptiles adjust very poorly to being re-homed and most people selling their reptiles on places like craigslist or Kijiji where I live, do so after a year or two of keeping them and getting bored of them so if this animal actually gets lucky enough to make it 20 Years....think how Many homes that is!

[wolfy-hound]

Reptiles react very poorly to being rehomed? Where is that info?

Snakes generally don't care who owns them, as long as the husbandry is close to correct. I've never ever seen a snake pining after his first owner. Same with 99% of other reptiles.

People usually "swap" and trade reptiles because the animals don't care who owns and feeds them. If you're breeding and at a certain point you no longer need a certain snake, and someone else does need it, why not switch out and both of you have new animals that you can use in your breeding programs? The snakes don't care who's name is on their cage. As long as they get their rat, the person holding the tongs doesn't matter.

I'd ten times rather see a person who needs/wants to get rid of a pet GET RID OF IT. If you're "tired" of your dog/cat/horse/guppy/snake, then you're way less likely to continue to take proper care of it. Giving it away, selling it, taking to the humane society... all prospects for the animal to find a new home with someone who does want it. The same applies if you have something in life happen where you need to get rid of the animal. It's better for it to go to a chance for a good home, than to stay just because some random person might judge you for not being a "forever home".

Most people won't advertise a pet for free on craigslist because certain people continually tell everyone that ANY person looking for free pets is only going to feed them to their snake/use them in dog fighting/kill them in arcane rituals/send them planet X/ or whatever alarming situation MIGHT happen. So they put a "rehoming fee" in to prevent a new owner who will only want it because it's free, not because they actually want the animal.

[Becs080]

Reptiles react very poorly to being rehomed? Where is that info?

Snakes generally don't care who owns them, as long as the husbandry is close to correct. I've never ever seen a snake pining after his first owner. Same with 99% of other reptiles.

People usually "swap" and trade reptiles because the animals don't care who owns and feeds them. If you're breeding and at a certain point you no longer need a certain snake, and someone else does need it, why not switch out and both of you have new animals that you can use in your breeding programs? The snakes don't care who's name is on their cage. As long as they get their rat, the person holding the tongs doesn't matter.

I'd ten times rather see a person who needs/wants to get rid of a pet GET RID OF IT. If you're "tired" of your dog/cat/horse/guppy/snake, then you're way less likely to continue to take proper care of it. Giving it away, selling it, taking to the humane society... all prospects for the animal to find a new home with someone who does want it. The same applies if you have something in life happen where you need to get rid of the animal. It's better for it to go to a chance for a good home, than to stay just because some random person might judge you for not being a "forever home".

Most people won't advertise a pet for free on craigslist because certain people continually tell everyone that ANY person looking for free pets is only going to feed them to their snake/use them in dog fighting/kill them in arcane rituals/send them planet X/ or whatever alarming situation MIGHT happen. So they put a "rehoming fee" in to prevent a new owner who will only want it because it's free, not because they actually want the animal.

I'm assuming this reply is aimed at my comment. I never said anything about a snake being stressed because it misses or loves it's owner. I said being re-homed is stressful on any reptile - not because they miss their owner but because anything that's changes or disrupts their routine can cause stress. Moving cages, plane rides, car rides, different husbandry....all of these can create a certain amount of stress for a reptile. Usually when I've taken in a female that's of breeding age, she often won't breed if she was re-homed too close to breeding season and I've found that generally I need to wait until the following season to breed. Why do we wait a week or two to feed a new snake and why do we wait even longer to handle them? Because they need time to adjust to their new surroundings. Whether this is extremely stressful or just a minor adjustment for the animal, usually tends to be dependent on the specific animal and/or other factors but there's no
Way anyone can say that a snake who gets re-homed every couple of years for the duration of it's life isnt Going to deal with a certain amount of stress.

And my reason for not particularly understanding the whole trading of snakes isn't about the snakes attachment to me (or lack there of), it's about my attachment to the snake. My snakes are not just breeders, they're my pets and my post was in regards to the OP who was talking about people constantly selling and attempting to trade reptiles on Craiglist - some may be good owners, I can't judge those who I don't know but I've seen it myself with rescues that I've taken in, many are not and often times the new homes these snakes go to are not either. So yes if the husbandry is spot on then a snake doesn't care who feeds it and cleans it's cage, etc. But I'm not referring to owners who's husbandry is spot on. I'm referring to owners who decided that their snake has become an annoying responsibility and they'd prefer to trade it for an x box on craigslist. Or the owner who buys the new boa or retic or croc or monitor bc it's cool and soon tires of all the work and decides to unload it. I'm referring to a level of committment that is lacking. And again, I was not referring to my snakes attachment to me but rather my attachment to them.

[wolfy-hound]

But if a person is tired of the snake, why is it bad for them to offer to trade it for a xbox or whatever?

You're also assuming that all new homes are going to be bad homes. A person can buy from a expo or breeder, get a brand new snake and neglect it just as well. I'm just saying, don't ASSUME that everyone is automatically going to be a bad owner, or that someone that is trading or selling or giving away a pet is a bad owner.

That's one of the major reasons that so many shelters are full of pets. The shelters are now going SO overboard with only sending pets to a 'perfect forever home' that they are killing dogs and cats rather than adopt them out to someone who might not fit their ideal criteria. Some shelters standards are so high that nearly no one can possibly meet them, but they still cry that there's all these pets needing homes.

A lot of folks go get a snake because they see it on craigslist and think "Cool a snake!" and then they become fine pet owners and care for the animal. Some might do poorly, some do spectacularly. But everyone is so focused on the falsehood that almost all pets are going off to horrible conditions that they start beating up on every pet for sale/adopt/free, just because someone isn't keeping it.

[Becs080]

I never assume anyone is a good or bad owner and would never make that assumption based on anything but first hand knowledge. A person selling their snake or trading it doesn't make them a bad owner; how they care for the animal determines that. Someone buying a reptile from an expo or a pet store or craigslist or wherever - doesn't make a difference; there the good and the bad but I can't agree that re-homing a snake doesn't cause some level of stress for that snake and if done repeatedly, doesn't create a fair amount of stress and possible health issues related to the stress.
I'm not basing this on any studies or anything other than personal experience. I've seen first hand how it affects snakes and I've also seen firsthand how many owners see snakes and other reptiles as disposable.

I volunteer at a reptile rescue centre and I've had so many people surrender their animals because they're bored of them or they say things like "I was only ever planning to keep the snake for a couple yrs because I always knew I'd be going away to school..." why get it in the first place if you only want a 2 yr commitment?

A few posts back someone made a comment that's really true and is definately something I wonder about. With all the hundreds...thousands of forum posts of new owners proudly displaying their new baby snake or lizard...or YouTube "educational" videos about how to care for a caiman or a Nile monitor and the owner proudly shows their baby croc....where did all these animals go? There's far too many babies and no where near enough adults...

I do agree with you that if an animal isn't being cared for then by all means, give the poor thing a chance and try and find a new owner but my point is I wish some people would think twice when it comes to buying reptiles. Not everyone is meant to own a snake for example - it's a relationship that's based on you giving and loving and respecting and spending and cleaning and them ... Well tolerating at best :-)
Too many people get bored and you buy a snake you realize it's not for you so you find it a good home. Lesson learned. But when you keep buying and get rid or them and trading then the hobby itself becomes about trading and the novelty of it all instead of about the actual animal - this living, breathing, beautiful creature....that's worth much more than an xbox.

[skinnyrascal]

this living, breathing, beautiful creature....that's worth much more than an xbox.

I wholeheartedly agree there.