Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This was inspired by an earlier post:

I looked up some statistics to help our
much maligned reptile friends. Here is what I found:

1999 - 75,000 emergency room visits caused by horse related
injuries. 15,000 of these were children. (From the
National Childrens' Center for Rual and Agricultural
Health and Safety website.)

1978-1999 - 85 horse related deaths in North Carolina alone.
(From Dr. D.B.Hammett, MD of the American Medical
Equestrian Assoc.)

1978 - 1998 Dogs killed 300 Americans.
(From the Center for Disease Control website: www.cdc.gov.)

1994 - 800,000 emergency room visits caused by dogs.
(Same as above.)

Please use these and other true stats to defend the
RESPONSIBLE keeping of herptiles.

I'd hate to see this used to outlaw any breed of dog.

I also have mixed feelings about the general public keeping
crocdilians and venomous snakes. Few people who purchase a small
croc are capable or willing to care for it as an adult. It
will be released and threaten responsible keepers when the
public goes nuts.

I once agreed that a person should have the right to keep hot
(venomous) snakes. I did not care if a keeper got bitten.
That is a risk you take. Then a few years ago a MORON let
his cobra out in the yard for some sun and it took off.
(Who could have seen that coming?) It was found several weeks
later in a school!!!!! Talk about threatening responsible
keepers. And this was all in Mass. where the herp laws
are already foolishly strict.

Maybe there could be a process where a person proves that they
are competant and able to care for difficult animals, such as
crocs, cobras and rottwielers. These are not bad animals but
most people should not own them.

I'm sure I mcheesed off some folks.

Thank you,

Brian

As I have said in a previous post, it is the humans who cause 99% of the problems with their pets. I agree that some permitting/licensing for people who keep dangerous pets should be in place. If you apply for a game farm or fur farm license in Wisconsin you have to have the right caging, buildings, fencing, etc., in place for the animals you wish to keep. These facilities are inspected and licenses issued/denied/ revoked as the DNR sees fit. Irresponsible pet owners give reptiles a bad name. The general public seems to view reptiles as a threat and run screaming if they see one. It seems silly to us, but not to them. Any reptile problem will be blown completely out of proportion to appease the public's concern over these "dangerous" animals. It is my personal opinion that owning any pet can be dangerous. Most have teeth and the ability to bite, so should we ban all pets? I don't think that is the answer. I found your stats very interesting. Are there stats on injuries caused by reptile ownership? I would think those types of injuries would only be reported if caused by venomous snakes, large constrictors or a member of the alligator/crock/caimen group. It is a given that if you own venomous snakes, it is not "if" you will get bitten, it is "when". There really are no good answers here, but we need to stick together and as a group continue to be responsible and educate those we meet about our reptiles. I frequently take mine along to pet stores and usually manage to even get the squeemish moms to pet mine before I leave. It makes a good impression and helps to alleviate fear.

Pam

Great insights and commentary Pam! As I stated in a post below regarding this topic, educating the general public is key!
One mentioned that education is not as important as the advocacy role. Now how can those advocate on an issue they are not educated on? Hmmm, that seems like suicide and create more harm than good. Education needs to come first as your analogy of taking your reps with you to the petstore. People may be squeemish (sp.) at first and then that is rapidly turned into amazement. This was the response I received when I took the critters to Shaylin's 3rd grade class this past spring. Or should I say the herps were the one's receiving the amazing acclimations!

Take care Pam and happy 4th!

Greg

I sure therre are many more stats online and in print. But it
was a BEAUTIFUL day and I couldn't look out the window any
longer. I was kinda hoping that others would dig a bit and
find some more nuggets.

Thank you,

Brian

Hi Brian and thanks for researching the stats! Those wishing to outlaw or ban reptiles most likely will come across with percentages (i.e., 1 in 10 lizards causes injury; versus 1 in 30 dogs). This hopefully will not bias the reptiles as pets!
Those figures were hypothetical and those opposed to us keeping reptiles will utilized research in a biased manner and this is what we all must be aware of and prepared to discredit such aspects.

I completely agree, that certain pets need a permit to be housed as a pet. Along with this permit brings about the owner's experience, potential harm to others, housing provided and security measures taken to prevent escape, etc. We do not own venomous critters, nor would, or crocs either. This is a choice we wish not to practice for our safety and that of others. Accidents do occur as you noted in the cobra incident. There does need to be regulations for certain herps. The main issue is to examine it on a species case basis and not ban all lizards/herps.......that would be just idiotic and heartbroken!

Greg

If you take a cobra outside to 'get sun' and it gets away, that is not an accident. (Cobras do not need sun. Cobras also are too smart to stay in the yard). That's being dumb. But we shouldn't take everyone's privleges away because some people abuse them. That's not how America should run things.
I know a lady who lost a finger due to a cat bite. If it would have been a copperhead, she would have been on the national news.
There are probably thousands of people in the venomous community, and all those people plus all the wild venomous snakes in the US add up to an average of 2 deaths a year. More people are killed by vending machines.

Nice followup to the other legislation rant. I am also from MA, and remember the cobra incident. It took place in Stoneham. And yes, the juvenile cobra was found roughly 8 weeks after it had disappeared, as you pointed out, in an elementary school. The local news played the story for what is was worth. I also recall that the individual that owned the animal did not have a permit, and claimed complete ignorance to the fact that there was any law preventing him from owning such animals - which was probably true. Most folks have no idea that many exotics are restricted. This of course, once again does not help responsible herp owners.

How is your tegu btw bast? The weather during the day recently has been a bit more cooperative, but still a bit cool at night.