Photo: AOL.com
One thing that ties all these stories together is that they are pet stories. They show that reptiles are loved parts of a family, something we already know! Each time we take the illusion away that reptiles are scary, we make headway in every single legal battle and we create allies.

We are still trying to figure out exactly how the tortoise got into the trash, but it is amazing how many people came together to help get Zuma, the 90-year-old pet tortoise, home and safe!

Staff immediately stepped in, tracking the location of the truck likely carrying the much-loved tortoise.
Joiner rushed to the waste center, and, with the help of city workers, sorted through the roughly 1,000 bags in the truck's bin using thermal imaging camera.

You can see the rest of the story, including a video at aol.com.




Pet fashion shows are nothing new! My own dogs were the Master of Ceremonies at one in my town in fact, but none of my reptiles have ever been in one. I know Tom Crutchfield has more lizard costumes than some people have dog clothes, so it comes as no surprise to me that a pet Bearded Dragon took the championship! Logan West and his pet Bearded Dragon took the youth division with this awesome team costume. For the full story and to see all the fashionable pets, pop over to Seguingazette.com. Photo: seguingazette.com




"Clear the shelter" adoption events are very common! It brings a ton of people into their local humane society to look at a new pet. They are warm and fuzzy stories that always give you those feels inside, you know the warm and fuzzies? Yeah... However when was the last time you heard someone squeal about their new pet iguana adopted at a "clear the shelter" event? That stops now, here is your warm and fuzzy good feeling ending.

After learning about Clear the Shelters in an email from the Washington Humane Society-Washington Animal Rescue League, Henderson-O'Keefe decided go to the shelter in advance Thursday with Peirman and her daughter, Eldie, 12, to look around.
That's when Peirman met Charizard, an iguana named after a Pokemon character.
"He really responded to the iguana," Henderson-O'Keefe said.
Peirman scratched Charizard's neck to remove a layer of skin she was shedding, and Henderson-O'Keefe said when her son picked up Charizard, the iguana crawled onto his shoulder.

The story is well worth making it a part of your pick-me-up today. To read the full article and see the video, head on over to NBCWashington.com.

You never forget your first reptile show but sometimes it hard to recapture that moment of awe. In 1998, I walked into the gym at Northeastern Illinois University to experience my first Reptile Fest and I as in awe. So many reptiles I had never seen in person, but more importantly, so many people who loved reptiles, just like me! I only owned a few lizards at the time and was a few years into my own Iguana Rescue. I was as green as I could be as a herper, but I could talk freely on my iguanas. When I started exhibiting the following year, I started as one of many in the Iguana Squad and eventually took over the role of managing the Iguana display.

Reptile Fest has been happening in Chicago for over 20 years. Every spring families plan their trips to "the city" around the date. The most magical thing about Reptile Fest, however, is the exhibitors. They are not doing it to make money, in fact, many people give up a lot of money to make their displays more amazing or even to get a hotel near the venue to volunteer. Sure, there is a free t-shirt and free lunch each day for exhibitors, but the reason they are there is to educate people. From a 6-year-old girl and her display on corn snakes all the way people who have been keeping reptiles for more than 40 years, these are the exhibitors. You can find a child talking to you about their pet bearded dragon right next to a display of Spilotes pullatus. There are no animal sales at all. Hosted by the Chicago Herpetological Society, the sole focus is on education and you will see more than 100 species of reptiles and amphibians. The event is also very hands on, so it is a guarantee that you will touch something if you want. Visitors to the event get to see the native reptiles and learn the difference between a cottonmouth or copperhead and the much confused Nerodia and fox snakes to learn the difference. To me, however, on my first visit, the thing that impacted me most was the love these people had for their pets. It still moves me to this day.

Looking back, two animals caught me that day and have never ever let go. I pet my very first alligator that day, Bubba the Alligator owned by Jim Nesci. This was the original Bubba, all of at least 6 foot sitting calming on a table for people to touch. I was nervous. I mean it was a HUGE alligator and his mouth wasn't restrained in any way AT ALL! Those who have had the pleasure of meeting both Bubba's knows the feeling. The other was a snake, but not just any snake. These sausage-like red beasts that are known for their nasty disposition because most were wild caught were called Blood Pythons. But more importantly than that, it was meeting the owner of these snakes. The owner was an older woman. I mean she was ancient, but then I was still young enough to think 40 was ancient. But she was, a woman and that was something very odd to me and all empowering. I wonder if meeting Joan Moore that day helped inspire me looking into story women and their evolving roles in herpetology.

The chills I had this year walking into Reptile Fest reminded me of a few things. It reminded me of how much I have learned and most of it could be attributed to the people in that room. But as I was finishing up my shift at the photo booth in the Alligator corner and heading over to relieve Rich Crowley at his Short-tailed python display (including a beautiful bright red Blood Python), I realized how much my first visit changed me forever. The two animals I walked away from that very first day just so happened to me the two species I worked with in 2016, but this time no hesitation or nerves. It is just what I do.

Hands-on, in-person education is the key to demystifying reptiles. If you have the chance to be part of an event like the CHS Reptile Fest, get involved! Taking the fear out of reptiles and challenging the stereotypes that involve both reptiles and their owners is one of the best ways to stop legislation against ownership. It is time to unplug from the web and get out there in person! Congratulations to the Chicago Herpetological Society on yet another amazing and wonderfully successful event!

Inset Photo: Cindy with one of the many people who wanted to get up close and personal with an American Alligator. Maybe one day, this little girl will be inspired to save a species!

For the past 2 weeks Milwaukee WI has been under siege with a rumored lion running wild on the streets. As yet only one video has emerged of the lion that is plausible and the media and police blotter are reporting different things. Adult female African lion, Juvenile male African Lion, adult Mountain Lion, some even report cubs being present.

You might be asking yourself, as a reptile keeper, who cares about a stupid lion! What does this have to do with me? When regulation rears it’s head reptiles are usually lumped in with big cats and primates, and Wisconsin is one of the few states that does not currently have extensive exotics legislation at the state level. That is for now.


The Humane Society of the United States working with politicians are crafting legislation soon that will likely parallel the strict regulations introduced in Ohio after the Zanesville tragedy.

According to Wisconsin State Sen. Van Wanggaard in an interview with WISN Milwaukee:

“This bill would codify exotic animals as being something that would not be allowed to be owned in personal residential areas,” Wanggaard said.
...

He said that people who currently own exotic animals will be grandfathered in until the animal dies, but they would have to register the pet and get a permit.


Of course to really push the law, they need the lion and that will means more than a grainy video. The Milwaukee Police Department however is running the search and with other more pressing priorities, most Milwaukeeans doubt they have the ability to actually capture a lion, if it really exists.

Supporters of the bill, including Van Wanggaard, are hopeful they will have the law in place by the end of the year. Reptile keepers however are preparing for a long battle.

Inset photo is of Gypsy, an adult female lioness under the care of Forever Wild Animal Sanctuary in California.

Reptile rescues need the community's support now more than ever. With the recent addition of the the reticulated python and all species of anaconda to the injurious species list, rescues will lose a large adoption and placement pool.

I have operated my rescue for 21 years now, and for much of that time I have relied on my friends to the south to assist when I had giant species. Depending on what I have in the rescue at any given time, I may need to call upon my Illinois friends to take even a large boa constrictor. Thankfully, I still have that outlet for boas, but at the end of our 30-day grace period, I will lose that ability with retics and all anacondas. Crossing state lines with those species will no longer be legal, and working with my partners in Illinois would make me an instant felon. I am not alone in this; there are rescues across the country that will need assistance from our community.

As the community rallies behind USARK in the upcoming battle to remove these species from the list, it would be wonderful if those of you who have the ability to own one of the restricted species would take this moment and reach out.

Contact your local herp society, which undoubtably runs a rescue program, as well as local reptile rescues to let them know you are willing to help.

Need help locating a rescue near you? Please post in the comments or check out our rescue listing located here.

Contrary to popular beliefs, the most common reptile in rescue is not a giant. I see and receive requests to surrender more water turtles, primarily red eared sliders, than any other reptile. In fact, in one week I will get more requests to surrender sliders than I have received to surrender Burmese pythons in the entire existence of my rescue.

With Christmas around the corner, I am cringing. The wildly popular Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movie will lead to a lot of impulse slider purchases. They are small, cute and cheap, and available at almost every pet store. They also live a long time, take a lot of care to set up properly and while the animal itself is inexpensive, a good set-up is not.

I have no problem with gifting a pet, but slider acquisitions are often made on impulse. Research will be minimal and the care sheets that are handed out are less than wonderful. The animals will come from a big box chain, and the likelihood that they have a chance to talk to an actual reptile person will be minimal.

The end result will sadly be people who talk about how horrible reptile pets are. This takes more than a blog post to fix. Reach out to friends who may be thinking of getting their very own "hero in a half-shell" for their children. Let them know the real commitment that a water turtle will take, and let us hope they do not follow the historical trend of movie impulse purchases.

There's nothing like really bad science and equally bad reality TV to make problems for reptile rescuers.

Discovery Channel, in their brilliant glory, ran a farce of a documentary last weekend where a man got into a snake proof suit, slathered himself in pigs blood and then pretended like he was going to be "Eaten Alive" to boost their ratings. Unfortunately, it's created a big headache for reptile resue groups like mine.

My first call was to find out if anacondas are able to live in Wisconsin. The answer is no. Despite the fact that we have a lot of rivers and swamps, as the caller pointed out to me, the temperatures are far too cold for an anaconda to survive. I mean seriously, it is 22 degrees outside right now.

Three emails followed that asking about anacondas. All three inquired as to if anacondas could really eat people and if they do all the time. It was about this time my head started to hurt and that is when I logged onto Facebook and realized that "Eaten Alive" had aired the previous night.

Several emails followed, all asking a variety of questions about large species of snakes and their deadliness to humans. By the end of Monday night, I had a pre-typed email as a response and was several beers into my 12-pack.

A call this morning also induced severe head pain (no, it wasn't a hangover!), but thankfully I was able to talk the person down and into keeping their pet. The caller had a ball python and wanted to surrender it because they ate meat. Not the snake, mind you, but the pet owner!

They were concerned because the "scientist" who appeared on the show used pig's blood, and since they eat meat, their snake would become dangerous. Thankfully, I was able to explain the reality of snake ownership and also touch on cleanliness issues relating to owning any pet. Monty still has a home tonight and the owner no longer fears her pet.

While the show claimed it was aimed at educating about conservation, it merely introduced a new level of fear for those who live among reptiles. It is time that the media on all levels let go of the hype and stick to the facts.

Photo provided with permission by Mike Pingleton