INTELLIGENCER JOURNAL (Lancaster, Pennsylvania) 05 January 05 See ya later, alligator - Reptile found in city headed for better home (Carla Di Fonzo)
Lancaster County, PA: This orphan's story has a lot of bite.
On Nov. 24, Lancaster city police officers entered a home in 900 block of North Plum Street to check on the welfare of its occupant.
Once inside, they found the resident dead of a drug overdose.
As they gave the place a routine once-over, they entered a bathroom. And that's where they found Chopper, a baby alligator, flopping around in the bathtub.
Unsure of what to do with such an exotic animal, the police called Lancaster County Humane League, which dispatched one of its reptile aficionados, Matt Royer, to the scene.
The 23-year-old full-time Humane League employee said the situation was odd, but he was excited to see the baby gator.
"It was very healthy and alert when I got there," he said. "It wasn't too hard to take hold of it. Someone had already taped its jaw shut."
Royer said Chopper is an American alligator, a species found most commonly in Florida's major river drainage basins and large lakes.
"They typically grow 11 to 17 feet long," he said. "But since Chopper's young, he's only 3 feet long."
Royer has taken care of the young alligator since then, though he vowed to find a suitable home for the reptile. It was a vow that proved hard to fulfill.
"We thought it could go to Florida, originally," said Megan Gallagher Clark, the League's education director. "Then the problem of transporting the gator to a habitat came up, and we all started talking about it.
"Apparently, they're expensive to ship," she said.
As it turns out, it's also difficult to find a shipping company willing to transport the unusual cargo.
"We couldn't find anyone to ship it to Florida," Royer said. "I have a permit that gives me permission to do it, but no one will take the gator."
So he called a place he visited as a boy, Clyde Peeling's Reptiland in Allenwood.
"I'm going to drive Chopper to Reptiland with my dad this Friday," Royer said. "It shouldn't be a problem. I'm going to put Chopper in a plastic tub, probably from Wal-Mart."
Royer said he's going to miss the animal. And though he's been referring to the gator as a "he," Royer said he's not really sure if it's a male or a female.
"I named the gator Chopper for obvious reasons," he said. "Though for a while I was going to name it Audrey, after that man-eating plant in 'Little Shop of Horrors,' because all it does is eat, eat, eat."
Experienced handlers are able to insert their fingers into a vent in the animal's belly - called a cloaca - and feel for the sex organ. If one is inexperienced, it's difficult to tell the difference between a male and a female.
"I decided to leave that to the experts," Royer said.
But Royer, who has kept exotic pets for years, knew exactly where to go for a hungry gator's needs.
"There's a local fish store that has things for exotic animals," he said. "I was thinking of feeding Chopper chicken, but someone at the store talked me out of it because there's a chance of contaminating the tank water with salmonella. So I've been giving him refrigerated mice."
No one knows where the previous owner could have purchased Chopper, although Royer suggested the gator could have been bought at a reptile show.
"They have one every year in Lititz," he said. "You can buy anything there, like baby gators, cobras and rattlesnakes. Of course, just because they sell them doesn't mean all people should own them."
Pennsylvania law permits the private ownership of exotic animals as long as they are obtained from a lawful source. However, the holder must first secure a permit from the state and is prohibited from releasing the animal into the wild.
Royer said he's enjoyed taking care of Chopper but is glad the animal is going to a suitable home.
"He'll be happy at Reptiland. The people there are just great," he said. "Chopper never really gave me a lot of problems, though he did nick me once, but it wasn't a big deal."
Royer currently owns a ball python, a dog and a tarantula and said he loves all animals, big and small.
"When I got the call about the alligator, I was like, 'No way! You're lying!'
"I've been waiting for something like Chopper to turn up in Lancaster for years," he said. "I'm glad I got to be the one to take care of it."
Reptile found in city headed for better home