Just a Little Rant...

As a rescuer for the reptile rescue, and a volunteer at an animal shelter, I have heard every excuse under the sun for people surrendering their animals. Sometimes, the people have valid reasons and I will never fault a person who is forced to give up an animal for reasons beyond their control and my heart breaks for the pain they must be suffering.

But, I am beyond tired of all the Craig's List ads I have been seeing where people "don't have time for their -fill in reptile here-" so they are rehoming it for usually an insane fee. 

Most reptiles don't require a lot of handling; it's one of the benefits of owning them. How do people not find 20-30 minutes each day, or even every other day, to take a snake out and let it curl around their bodies or explore a safe space?

I work full-time, am taking classes towards my MBA, volunteer at the animal rescue, see my friends & family on a somewhat regular basis, and I still magically find the time to make sure all of my animals are fed, all their cages kept clean, give them some outside-of-tank-time, and even managed to squeeze in additional moments with Katara who currently needs to be syringe fed and given almost daily soaks.

It's not easy. I miss some sleep here and there. I might have to skip out on a night out from time to time. These are my animals. I took them in and I can bother to take the time out of my schedule to meet their limited requirements.

Please, if you are thinking of getting a pet take the time to research what they need and ensure you can fit them into your lifestyle so someone like me doesn't have to take over your responsibility.

Busy Weekend and an even Busier Week Ahead

This weekend, reptile wise, consisted of getting Katara acquainted with her new harness, bringing her to two separate Petcos for their Reptile Rally only to find out neither were participating (she still got a lot of attention and behaved perfectly), and set up Fuego's adult tank after going to Ikea and two different Home Depots for supplies. I was worried he would react badly to the move, as he can be a little emotional, but he seemed ecstatic with all the extra space and wasted no time head bobbing at his plant background, exploring every decoration with some licks, and tried out all the different perches available. Glad I made the switch now instead of waiting.

Truthfully, the change though planned for a bit happened this weekend specifically as I am getting my first rescue tomorrow, a leopard gecko, and I needed Fuego's baby cage to house the new little guy affectionately named Vader by my boyfriend. The gecko is a bit thin but otherwise appears in decent health so plan to get a fecal done if anything appears abnormal, fatten him up, judge his attitude (seems like a sweetheart), and get him adopted. For those considering getting a reptile, leopard geckos are great "beginner" pets not requiring much space and easy feeding and heating needs. Happy to provide any information for anyone considering adoption.

Also stumbled across a free bearded dragon on Craig's List and am picking him up Wednesday to temporarily foster until I can get him to another rescuer in my group. He's a big boy being housed in a slightly too small tank with incorrect substrate and not proper lighting. Luckily he seems healthy regardless and he should find a home soon as he's young, chubby, and according to his current owner very friendly. To repeat from above, bearded dragons aren't exactly "beginner" reptiles but aren't too difficult to keep as long as you do some research. Prefer to get him in a permanent home sooner than later so please contact me at fireflymusings@gmail.com if you have an interest in adopting or doing foster work.

Of course, plan to document and take pictures of both rescues to illustrate their progress and hopefully be able to post about their fantastic new homes when the days arrive.

Craig's List Fury

I have a very bad habit of browsing the "Pet" section of Craig's List because, well, I'm a masochist and I enjoy seeing all these poor animals that need homes that I don't have the space to rescue. While partaking in this activity last night I ran across a posting for a 4 foot long corn snake with "everything needed" included. This "everything" included a 10 gallon tank and lights that the snake doesn't need at all and ones that probably disrupt proper sleep patterns. 

I emailed the poster and fairly nicely told them that a 20 gallon tank is the bare minimum for an adult corn snake and that I hope they told the new owner to upgrade the enclosure as keeping a snake that large in that small of a tank is bordering on cruelty. To say they didn't take my advice well is putting it lightly.

His response included threatening physical harm if I ever showed up at his house (let me mention that I never said anything remotely close to going to meet him) and accusing me of having no life/being a loser. While I'm certainly not the coolest kid on the block it only takes 2 minutes for me to shoot over an email so not sure why that qualifies me as not having a life. Anyway.

I did send another email back, well worded and very polite, telling him that threats are not appropriate and that animal cruelty is not something to take lightly. I am awaiting a curse filled response but also tried to talk him down on price as this poor girl deserves a proper enclosure and not a tiny tank with nothing to climb on and improper lighting.

I am such a bleeding heart for these creatures.