From the chat box on reptiles and other wildlife you have raised, rescued.
Exotics you've owned, care of snakes, other reptiles
- Thread starter Tropicalbri's
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For all you snake, lizard, croc and other exotic lovers. Share your stories here.
Regalis
Notable member
Oh man, can I just go through the ones I've NOT worked with, owned, etc? Lol.
If it's available in the pet market and reptilian or arachnid, I've most likely dealt with it.
Non reptilian is a bit shorter. Fox. Chins. Hedgies. Birds (never again). Then the typical small ones like mice, rats, sugar gliders, etc.
If it's available in the pet market and reptilian or arachnid, I've most likely dealt with it.
Non reptilian is a bit shorter. Fox. Chins. Hedgies. Birds (never again). Then the typical small ones like mice, rats, sugar gliders, etc.
You have dealt with a lot more than me.
I worked with marine mammal conservancy. That is where I got bit by a pilot whale.
Work as volunteer with US Fish and Wildlife so we get exposure to alligator relocation, injured marine birds, coons, snakes deer, etc.
I worked with marine mammal conservancy. That is where I got bit by a pilot whale.
Work as volunteer with US Fish and Wildlife so we get exposure to alligator relocation, injured marine birds, coons, snakes deer, etc.
I had a pair of sugar gliders, night was pretty active. Lol
We had some idiot that raised exotics in Grassy Key release a bunch of Gambian Pouch rats.
Regalis
Notable member
Marine is the one I'm totally inexperienced with. I mean yeah, we did saltwater tanks. But not quite the same. I've never even SEEN a whale. Or dolphin. Or big shark.
I DID get bit by some striped fish in Bermuda, though! Lol. Man was that a whole new experience for someone who's only been in freshwater. I remember turning my head and having this giant grouper like 12 inches from my face. I never knew I could back peddle so fast in water! Lol.
Working in a shop dedicated to exotics is the only reason I got to own/work with so many species. There wasn't much we didn't get in. Venomous snakes were one of the few no good in the store. But I had personal venomous.
And of ALL of them? The damn fox caused me the most physical damage. But he was cute. And stinky.
I DID get bit by some striped fish in Bermuda, though! Lol. Man was that a whole new experience for someone who's only been in freshwater. I remember turning my head and having this giant grouper like 12 inches from my face. I never knew I could back peddle so fast in water! Lol.
Working in a shop dedicated to exotics is the only reason I got to own/work with so many species. There wasn't much we didn't get in. Venomous snakes were one of the few no good in the store. But I had personal venomous.
And of ALL of them? The damn fox caused me the most physical damage. But he was cute. And stinky.
Should have read as released the pouch rats.
The idea of a rat being almost as big as my cat is a bit out there.
Regalis
Notable member
Yeah, most exotics can't survive our winter. So issues like that are not a big deal.
You should see the size of some feeder rats though! The one supplier turned out huuuge females. Several were easily 3-4 pounds. But still not quite the same. I think I only ever really got to interact with one huge rat thing. Forget the name. South American. Get huge. Like, large dog huge. Anacondas eat them.
If I had had the money and space, I probably would have gotten one. But alas, such was the case for a lot of exotic mammals. There's a couple medium sized exotic cats I could be talked into quite easily. I was really eyeing a Siberian lynx, but they get up to 100 pounds and hubs said no lol
You should see the size of some feeder rats though! The one supplier turned out huuuge females. Several were easily 3-4 pounds. But still not quite the same. I think I only ever really got to interact with one huge rat thing. Forget the name. South American. Get huge. Like, large dog huge. Anacondas eat them.
If I had had the money and space, I probably would have gotten one. But alas, such was the case for a lot of exotic mammals. There's a couple medium sized exotic cats I could be talked into quite easily. I was really eyeing a Siberian lynx, but they get up to 100 pounds and hubs said no lol
The bite from the whale was a total shock. About 17 had beached themselves on the Content Keys. We relocated them to an area that we could test, feed and care for them. As most improved we moved them again to a swimming hole with deeper water protected on 3 sides by land and ran a boom on the unprotected side to keep the sharks out. I was working that night as a safety diver and had fully inflated BC. One broke loose and grabbed me by the thigh and dove down about 10' then released. Damn scared the crap out of me. Had to get out of the water and check myself for blood. I still have that wet suit with that whales teeth marks in it. It just barely broke the skin but I was bruised from hip to knee from the bite pressure. One of the pros said it was a love bite. Ha....love me less please!!lol
One vet I worked for did the exotic large cats and I got to assist him on those calls. I LOVE the large cats. They are so beautiful.
Regalis
Notable member
Oh man. That would be terrifying. I don't know if I'd be convinced to go back in the water with them after that. Lovebite or not 
I want one of the big cats. I really do. Butttt, I have to move first. This town is nutty about exotics. For the longest time the ordinance read "no carnivorous fish" bahaha. I know what they were intending, but a damn neon tetra is "carnivorous", most fish are!
One of our sister stores had ring-tailed leemers. They were owned by the "store" and not for sale, though. I wanted so baddly to transfer until I actually got a chance to work with them once. Cute. But not so fun to go in the cage with! They're really big trouble makers. One will distract while the other tries to get out or steal things. Too smart!
I want one of the big cats. I really do. Butttt, I have to move first. This town is nutty about exotics. For the longest time the ordinance read "no carnivorous fish" bahaha. I know what they were intending, but a damn neon tetra is "carnivorous", most fish are!
One of our sister stores had ring-tailed leemers. They were owned by the "store" and not for sale, though. I wanted so baddly to transfer until I actually got a chance to work with them once. Cute. But not so fun to go in the cage with! They're really big trouble makers. One will distract while the other tries to get out or steal things. Too smart!
Primates are something a lot of people would like to have and I am here to tell you that is a very bad idea.
They are demanding, temperamental, unpredictable, nasty and destructive!
We had two in the practice when I lived overseas.
They are demanding, temperamental, unpredictable, nasty and destructive!
We had two in the practice when I lived overseas.
Regalis
Notable member
Yup. We could have sold primates if we really wanted, but knew better. One day working with them was enough for me. They are reallyyyyy smart. And I've always kept my hair really long. I learned instantly that long hair with them is just horrible. They're worse than babies and have stronger grips! I ended up wrapping it up into a bun and putting a hoodie on. They still tried!
And that was the part of retail I hated. You knew that most customers were not equipped to care for the animals properly. Turtles can't live in fish bowls. Snakes and lizards don't "grow to the size of their tanks". You HAVE to feed species appropriate diets. Some animals will NEVER readily take pre-killed food. And yet, they'd still want the animal.
One of the funniest, and stupidest, was a male exotic dancer. He wanted a big snake to perform with ..... Guy was flipping terrified. And had a miniature poodle, in a purse, that he took everywhere. He wanted a snake that "wouldn't try to eat it". Uhm. Yeah, we can't make that promise, buddy. I refused the sale. Someone else conducted it. Snake came back like a week later. We had to go get it from his car, because he wouldn't touch it or it's cage. Complete dehydrated. He "didn't know snakes needed water ....". I lost it. Ended up having to take the snake home and rehab it. He apparently didn't know they also require HEAT. The sheer stupidity was just too much sometimes. We always warned customers when live feeding to monitor the prey. Yet we got numerous snakes come in that had been chewed on by the rat. One was missing huge chunks of skin and tissue along the spine. It took 6 months to "heal". Then once healed, what do you do with it?! No one wants to buy a scarred up snake. So I got stuck keeping it.
And that was the part of retail I hated. You knew that most customers were not equipped to care for the animals properly. Turtles can't live in fish bowls. Snakes and lizards don't "grow to the size of their tanks". You HAVE to feed species appropriate diets. Some animals will NEVER readily take pre-killed food. And yet, they'd still want the animal.
One of the funniest, and stupidest, was a male exotic dancer. He wanted a big snake to perform with ..... Guy was flipping terrified. And had a miniature poodle, in a purse, that he took everywhere. He wanted a snake that "wouldn't try to eat it". Uhm. Yeah, we can't make that promise, buddy. I refused the sale. Someone else conducted it. Snake came back like a week later. We had to go get it from his car, because he wouldn't touch it or it's cage. Complete dehydrated. He "didn't know snakes needed water ....". I lost it. Ended up having to take the snake home and rehab it. He apparently didn't know they also require HEAT. The sheer stupidity was just too much sometimes. We always warned customers when live feeding to monitor the prey. Yet we got numerous snakes come in that had been chewed on by the rat. One was missing huge chunks of skin and tissue along the spine. It took 6 months to "heal". Then once healed, what do you do with it?! No one wants to buy a scarred up snake. So I got stuck keeping it.
That was my biggest complaint!! People don't know before they buy.
Different snakes have different requirements in terms of humidity, environment, heat etc.
I change the water daily!
As far as rats biting and killing snakes, it amazed me at the number of people that did not know you can't just throw a rat in with the snake and leave it because if the snake isn't hungry, it won't eat it.
Just that one thing alone tells me they are not educated enough to own a snake!!
Different snakes have different requirements in terms of humidity, environment, heat etc.
I change the water daily!
As far as rats biting and killing snakes, it amazed me at the number of people that did not know you can't just throw a rat in with the snake and leave it because if the snake isn't hungry, it won't eat it.
Just that one thing alone tells me they are not educated enough to own a snake!!
I built this condo for his snake a couple years ago. It's about 6' tall and 52" wide. She seems content with it.
Regalis
Notable member
And it's such a common mentality too! "But won't the snake defend it's self". NO! And even IF they would, why would you do that?! It's one thing to feed live, because some just require it, it's a totally other thing to think it's "cool" or whatever and want to witness unnecessary carnage.
I hate feeder mice. They are some evil little beings. But, I don't want to watch them suffer unnecessarily either! We had a system for pre-killing that made it quick and painless for the feeder and not subject it to substances that could harm the snake. I hated doing it, but it had to be done. People would ENJOY watching me kill. Totally creepy. And people would get mad if we wanted them to feed pre-killed to a proven eater. Like, wtf?!
"Cage aggression" was also a common topic of dispute. If you feed your snake in it's living space, it will get to the point where it strikes when you open the cage. Snakes are pretty darn smart in some ways. But nah, we never knew wtf we were talking about. We just lived, breathed and worked these animals 24/7.
And that's why I quit. I got so sick of seeing mistreated animals. I kept getting in trouble for refusing sales. It just wasnt worth the crappy pay. I loved the animals. If I could have worked with just the animals and no customers, I'd have been fine lol. And the store started cutting corners. I think the straw that broke the camel's back was when I got let go early for refusing to sell a commonly aggressive tarantula to someone who has never owned one and wanted "the biggest, meanest one". Nope. Go away. And no, I won't sell you a death stalker, either! Gah!
I hate feeder mice. They are some evil little beings. But, I don't want to watch them suffer unnecessarily either! We had a system for pre-killing that made it quick and painless for the feeder and not subject it to substances that could harm the snake. I hated doing it, but it had to be done. People would ENJOY watching me kill. Totally creepy. And people would get mad if we wanted them to feed pre-killed to a proven eater. Like, wtf?!
"Cage aggression" was also a common topic of dispute. If you feed your snake in it's living space, it will get to the point where it strikes when you open the cage. Snakes are pretty darn smart in some ways. But nah, we never knew wtf we were talking about. We just lived, breathed and worked these animals 24/7.
And that's why I quit. I got so sick of seeing mistreated animals. I kept getting in trouble for refusing sales. It just wasnt worth the crappy pay. I loved the animals. If I could have worked with just the animals and no customers, I'd have been fine lol. And the store started cutting corners. I think the straw that broke the camel's back was when I got let go early for refusing to sell a commonly aggressive tarantula to someone who has never owned one and wanted "the biggest, meanest one". Nope. Go away. And no, I won't sell you a death stalker, either! Gah!
Regalis
Notable member
That is awesome! We had a bunch of huuuuge tanks we used. And totes. I wish I could have built enclosures like that for everybody, but with the constant rotation of rescues and rehabs it was totally impractical.
I understand that. He had her in a 40L aquarium and I just didn't like the set up. But then again he only has the one snake and she is a Ball.
That's the one thing I dislike about pet stores, they sell to whomever has the money. No home check or references to see if you are qualified to properly care for an animal before selling it to you.
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