Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Last night I had an absolutely horrifying meet-up with a potential animal surrender... This guy had been emailing me for about the last two weeks, saying how he had this boa that he wanted to get rid of, and he was too afraid of her 'hissing' to clean her tank... and he couldn't even remember the last time she'd eaten!

So we drove down to Sandy with our pickup kit, since he'd told me that she just needed to go, and he felt like a bad person for the state she was in. So upon entering the room, you could tell something was wrong... she was in a big glass aquarium with big planks on top of it, and NO ventilation. The glass was so filthy that you couldn't even see through it, except for where her body had smeared away the muck. When he pulled off the boards covering the tank, the fetid smell of ammonia and old feces was enough to make me gag... the water (which was in a big stainless steel bucket) was GELATINOUS with waste, and smelled worse than anything I've ever smelled in my life. There was no substrate, and the bottom of the tank was covered INCHES DEEP in sludgy urates and waste.

The snake itself was gurgling and gasping for breath, probably with a combination of a severe respiratory infection and lung damage from having to breathe that ammonia-saturated air for god knows how long. It was covered in stuck shed, but there were pockets of lifted skin that were full of the putrid muck that coated the inside of the cage. I spent a good 20 minutes trying to talk to this man about the proper care requirements for big boas, and the entire time I was holding her head and pulling off patches of filthy, soggy shed skin. She couldn't even breathe properly, and was extremely sluggish and obviously suffering.

The man was unwilling to make a decision on whether or not he wanted to surrender the snake to me, so I told him that he needed to take the night and wash her down, scrub out the tank and offer her a rabbit and a lot of fresh water... I've spoken with Sandy City Animal Control and Salt Lake County Animal Control now regarding the snake and its living conditions. The woman I spoke to from SLCAC said that they will be sending someone out to investigate the situation, and I may be called back regarding the issue if they need more information.

I still feel sick from the fumes that I was breathing, and the sight and smell of that tank will haunt me for quite some time... it is APPALLING to think that some people keep these big constrictors just for the rare 'photo op' and don't understand that they are LIVING, BREATHING creatures. The snake had probably gone 8-9 months without a meal, hadn't had any substrate to rest on or fresh water to drink and bathe in for months... sickening. I know it's naive of me to think that he'll learn something from this situation, but it GALLS me to think that people get away with stuff like this just because snakes aren't cute and cuddly like a puppy or a kitten.
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65 animals... and the number keeps growing!

dude... you should have taken that snake even if you had to quarantine it.one more thing you should think hard about calling animal care and control, that just gives people more fuel for the fire about restricting us with our animals.

first off, I'm not a dude.

Second off, I am NOT stealing a snake from someone, even if the snake is kept in conditions like that. I would have taken her in a HEARTBEAT if he was willing to let me take her, but he would not give me permission to take her.

I did the only thing that I could, and that was calling animal control. Situations like this are unfortunate, but because I was unwilling to STEAL the animal from him, that was my only other option for getting the snake out of those conditions.
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65 animals... and the number keeps growing!

sorry for calling you a dude

but in your post you said that this guy was emailing you for 2 months to come and get this snake. so i was not telling you to STEAL this animal. i am sorry if you took my reply like you were supposed to strong arm him and take his animal. i commend you for you rescue efforts as i have rescued animals myself. reptiles of all kinds, along with birds and mammals.

again i did not mean to offend you in any way so please accept my most sincere and deepest apologize

I hear you loud and clear Ed1..her second post thou me for a loop.Why go there if your not getting the snake. Atleast let him know you called AO on him....OK

Greg VanZweden
http://www.vanzwedenreptiles.com/

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Forever Trust in what we are,and nothing else Matters

he had been sending me emails for about two WEEKS stating that he wanted me to come and get the snake. So when I went down, I had expected to bring the snake home. But after arriving and speaking to him about the deplorable conditions, he began to have second thoughts about surrendering the animal, and he wouldn't give me permission to take her.

Apparently I didn't make that clear enough on my first post.
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65 animals... and the number keeps growing!

YOU DID THE RIGHT THING!!!

God, that's just appalling. Thank goodness there's folks like you looking out for reptiles and other unlucky critters. I think people do ignore reptiles because they're not cuddly companion animals, and partly because they don't bark or mewl or maul neighborhood children to death when they're neglected, but really, people will always find someone or something to be cruel to.

I recently rescued a filthy, matted, geriatric, obese, arthritic Newfoundland Dog from a city pound. Her previous owner had limited mobility and rather than calling a rescue, had apparently just kept her in a basement literally sitting in her own filth. She was so weak she could barely eat or walk to the corner and back, and she stank so bad I had to drive with my head out the window. And animal control just put her in a concrete pen and gave her to the first rube who walked in off the street with fifteen dollars, which in this case happened to be me on a day I was dressed like a nineteen year old hoodlum. It's times like that I really do hope Karma exists.

I just got a call from the SLCAC officer that was responsible for investigating my complaint about the poor snake... He did go down that night to see her, and he said that he was appalled by her tank, and gave the man several days to remedy the situation.

The man did give the snake over to one of the bigger rescue organizations in town, and they are working on rehabilitating her now. The officer told me that he would have impounded the snake today, if nothing had been done, so I'm glad that the man decided to surrender her before that happened, because I'm sure that she would have been put down if Animal Control had taken her.

I'm so glad that he called me back, it has really been eating at the back of my mind NOT knowing... at least she's in a place where she can be cared for properly, and that man knows that what he did is unacceptable.
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65 animals... and the number keeps growing!