EVENING PRESS (Norwich, UK) 23 July 08 Snakes s-s-suffering from rat shortage (David Bale)
There might be more rats than people in the UK but there are fears reptile owners are facing a crisis because there are not enough to feed their pets - such is the demand.
John Regan, 58, an HGV driver from Derby Street, off Heigham Street in Norwich, who owns about 40 snakes, aged from one to 13, said he is concerned about the shortage which means food for reptiles has had to be imported in from continental Europe.
He said: “There is a crisis for keepers of reptiles in Norwich. I have kept reptiles for 13 years but this year it's all gone to pot. In the past there's always been an abundance of food.”
His eight-year-old Carolina corn snake, which only eats rats, has not been fed for several weeks, he said, and had lost half his bodyweight.
He said: “Normally I feed them once a week. They don't feed over the mating season, so when it gets to this time, they have a hell of an appetite. They should be fed but the food's not available.
“There must be many other reptile owners in the same position as me. I'm really worried what I'm going to do.
“The reptile business is in turmoil. I've been told that reptile food - rats and mice - has to be imported from Europe, but that rats are no longer available because the USA is buying all the rats from Europe.
“But I cannot understand why the food cannot be produced in our country or somewhere else.”
Paul Skinner, the owner of Norwich Reptile Company in City View Road, Hellesdon, admitted there was a shortage of specific sizes in frozen rats and mice, but he said there was always an alternative.
He said: “There are people who produce reptile food in this country, but not the quantity that is required. That's why it has to be imported from Europe. It also may have something to do with getter a better deal in Europe and it being cheaper.
“I have heard that a lot of European stocks are going to the States, but I don't know if that's true or not.”
A commercial source, who did not wish to be named, added: “I would not say the situation was that bad at the moment, and I've seen it worse.
“There's always a shortage at some point for one reason or another, because these are obviously not manufactured items. Early in the year when a lot of babies are born, there's a high demand for smaller food, so there's less to go round.”
There are estimated to be more than 60m rats in the UK, about one for every person.

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