Reptile & Amphibian Forums

We are stuffed to the rafters with crocodilians and have pretty much exhausted the places that exhibit them. We are now faced with the prospect of allowing private citizens to adopt them. Our standards have usually been not to adopt out to the public simply because we would end up with the animal back in our hands before long. Given our current situation we have no real choice but to give it a try, or give the naimals to places that will slaughter them for their meat and hides.

Was wonder what requirements other rescues have on private adoptions for their animals. Would greatly appreciate the help.
Michigan Crocodilian Rescue

>>Was wonder what requirements other rescues have on private adoptions for their animals. Would greatly appreciate the help.
>>Michigan Crocodilian Rescue

Well I do NOT adopt crocodilians to the public. They go from me to a person that I privatly contacted you about. But my general adoption requirements are

Over 18
No breeding allowed for 90% of animals I get
Enclosure already to go (unless one comes with the animal)
Basic working knowledge of animal they are adopting
Prefer home owners, but will adopt to renters with landlord approval
Check area laws to make sure they are allowed the animal
require animal is returned to me in case they can not keep it for any reason
I do home visits where i meet all family members
I do follow-up visits
I require both an adoption application and adoption contract
Depending on animal there may be some more specific requirements as well.

I also make sure they have a vet, and if they dont I supply them with info on a good one in their area.

Hope all this helps.
WI-NIAD Small Scale Reptile Rescue
-----
Cindy
PHFaust

Email Cindy

Land of the Outcasts!

We have the same philosphy as you about adopting crocodilians to the general public. It just seems contrary to what our true intentions are, and that's to help the animals.

We use a waiting list to take in crocodilians so that we do not overcrowd ourselves. We can only take what we can handle at any given time. As they leave individually, we take in another to take the place.

Finding appropriate homes for them is difficult to say the least. We have a strict no shipping policy, but have been known to ship crocodilians when we can place them for legitimate educational and display purposes because there are so few willing to take them.

We also have an agreement with a wildlife refuge in the everglades. They have 1200 acres of contained space they purchased with a grant from Exxon. They take in bears, tigers, lions, gators, etc.

Essentially, they get to go home and live in their natural environment without being released into the wild. I hesitate to divulge my contact information for this refuge online... they would get flooded with crocodilians and then there wouldn't be room for ours to go there any more! Perhaps contact me off line and I can point you in the right direction.

As an alternative, just look around for places down south that specialize in gator rescue. There are some, and they don't advertise. Florida laws also make it a pain in the rear to import gators into the state, so you have to take that into consideration as well.

I sincerely hope you don't have to resort to adopting crocodilians to the general public. The fact that they were so easily obtained to begin with is what put them in the situations they are in.

Arrowhead Reptile Rescue

A vet reference is usually required for adoption. Even if the person has never had a reptile, and their vet doesn't see reptiles, I ask for a vet reference, then call to see if the dog, cat, rabbit, ect., (if this is what a person has or has had in the past) is UTD (up to date) on shots, if the animals come in for annual check-ups, ect.

In-area home checks would be a must for crocodilians, I would think. For homes outside of your area, perhaps you could find other rescues or herp societies willing to do home checks?

Do you ever consider euthanasia? When a traditional companion animal shelter is full, they euthanize the least adoptable first. It's hard to think about, but in some cases euthanasia is a far better alternative than the "homes" that some of the animlas were living in.

Katrina

Just to add to this, I have had people apply that had no vet, but were willing to contact reptile vets near them and pick one out before they adopted. I call the vets to confirm this, and was pleasantly surprised to find that the adopters had indeed lined up a vet for a future turtle.

Katrina

My mom runs a horse adoption, and to prevent people from "adopting" the horses cheap and selling them to slaughter, she has a contract.
Roughly, it states that the animal may never be sold, traded, or given away. Once adopted, if the people no longer can care for the animal, it must be placed back with us.
We are free to inspect the location that will house the horse, and pop in for visits. Depending on the needs of the horse (which are determined by us, the Vet, and person who gave the horse to be adopted, the adopter may be limited on what they can do with it. For example, if it has bad legs, we may say it can not be jumped, or ridden hard.
Some may not be ridable at all. If the contract is broken, the horse is returned to us, and the adoption fee not refunded.
If that animal is just not working out, they can switch with another adoption horse better suited to them. Another rescue like us had someone break a contract by selling the horse... they then owed the Rescue the horses value (adoption fees are between $500-$900). In that case, the horse was worth $25,000.
Since horses are sometimes worth more to the meat market that the adoption fees some places charge, its important to have that contract.
We also must know that adopters are able to care for the animal. If they are new to horses, we offer a "beginner class" on basic horse husbandry, and work closely with them. Some horses have special needs that we feel does not allow them to be adopted out, so they stay with us.
But I think if you set it up where the animal can not be sold, and must come back to you, you should be successful. Just be sure to really look at who gets your animals, and always do follow-ups! If the adopter is too far from you to check up on them yourself, ask a local rescue or Herp Society if they can help.

Well, my adoption app is on my website, and I'm pretty picky about placing large boids. Since crocs are illegal in VA, I rarely have to deal with them, but I did when I was in NH. I have placed certain crocodilians with private individuals, but it was not without a lot of checking up on them, etc.

I do know of another place that might be able to help you. Contact me privately.

-----
Bonnie Keller
VA Reptile Rescue
www.vareptilerescue.org