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Melissa Kaplan's
Herp Care Collection
Last update January 1, 2014

Herp Societies and Rescues

 

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Pet Fostering Organizations for Military Pets
When members of the military are deployed overseas, they cannot take their pets with them. Sometimes they have family who can take care of their pets for the year (or longer) that they will be gone, but sometimes they don't. The following organizations may be able to help find foster homes for cats, dogs, and other species of pets for the duration of the servicemember's deployment.

Guardian Angel for Soldier's Pet Dogs & Cats
Military Pets Foster Project All species
Operation Noble Foster Cats

For exotics, don't forget to check with the local pet interest groups, like herp societies, and vets who treat exotics, for leads on possible foster homes.

Herp Societies & Herp Rescues
If you have already read the information below, you can skip the text and go to the listings.

The majority of herp societies are volunteer organizations, started and continued by people interested in herp natural history, keeping and breeding. Many of them are incorporated as nonprofits, with the board of directors serving without remuneration, with funding to keep the organizations going coming from memberships, donations, raffles, tee-shirt and book sales.

The addresses for these organizations may be someone's home or place of business. Rarely does such an organization actually have an office, with full time staff where people looking for information can just drop in or voicemail you can leave a message on at 3 A.M.

If fact, since you may be calling someone at their home or place of business, call during normal business hours and the very early evening, not in the early morning or mid-late evening. Please don't give these generous individuals any reason to regret that they have volunteered to help the organization.

Some herp societies have members or committees who do herp rescues and adoptions. The cost of doing the rescue, rehab, maintaining and feeding the animals before they are rehomed is usually borne by those individuals doing all the work. In only a few cases do the herp societies fund their committee's rescue/rehab work.

Being a nonprofit doesn't turn on any magic or automatic source of funding. It just means that it might be a little easier to get people to make donations, as the donations will be tax deductible. Memberships in such organizations are not completely deductible, not if members receives goods and services (such as newsletters) in return for their membership fee.

If you are looking for a society or rescue in order to find someone to pay for the veterinary care your pet's needs, it is unlikely to happen. If you are looking for a group of people who are interested in herps, and would like to attend meetings to hear interesting speakers, learn through reading the newsletters, go on field trips with experienced herpers, and just generally share your joy and wonder at living with herps (and invertebrates, as many herpers do), then join a society or two.

If you are looking to find a new home for a reptile or amphibian, or would like to adopt one, or would like to volunteer to help those doing rescue and rehab, then contact a reptile rescue and herp society.

Many rescues and herp societies participate in community events by doing educational outreach, setting up booths at Earth Day and other such events. If you'd like to help them with these efforts, most groups are always interested in more such volunteers.


A Note On Rescues
Not all rescues do a good job... A few, unfortunately, are people who are more into collecting animals by whatever means they can than someone who has invested time and resources in getting the training they need to become knowledgeable about the health and care requirements of the animals they take in--and to properly finance their rescue efforts.

Others start off doing a good job, but become overwhelmed by the number of people who contact them. They feel that they can't say no to any herp in need, even when they start having trouble taking care of the ones already under their care. In short, they can't just say, "No." In some instances, these well-meaning individuals become animal hoarders. Hoarding animals is now considered a mental health issue as well as an animal welfare and public health issue. Rescuers are subject to burnout, as well. For more information, and a cautionary tale to those doing rescue, please read my article, Burnout: When Rescuers Need Rescuing.

People and circumstances change. Check out the rescues first before turning your pet over to them.

Finally, if you are looking to get another pet--of any species--please consider adopting one from a rescue. These are animals who desperately need caring homes in which to spend the rest of their lives. This goes especially for socially dynamic animals like green iguanas. Even if they were not tamed or cared for properly by their former owners, that doesn't mean that they cannot be by someone who is knowledgeable and patient. As an example of how a bad situation can be made good, please read Zilla's story.

 

Important Notes
When it comes to trying to find a rescue or society who will take iguanas, be forewarned that iguanas are still the most dumped reptile in the US and increasingly in other countries. Many rescues and societies simply have no room for any more, or the person(s) who kept the iguanas until they could be rehomed burned out. The same is true for trying to find organizations who can take in giant boids and tortoises.

If you have an iguana you need to place because it is not tame, you will have much better luck learning to work with the iguana properly and keeping it than you will have in finding a good home for it. Contact the societies, rescues and vets in your area to find people experienced in taming iguanas and contact these individuals, paying them if necessary, to come and work with you and your iguana.

If you have an iguana you need to place because it is sick and you can't afford the vet bills, work on finding ways to borrow the money and work out payment arrangements with your vet...or consider having the iguana humanely euthanized if there is no way and no one who can take it on.

If more people took responsibility for the animals they get, shelters and rescues for all animals would be far less overcrowded and financially strapped, and there would be room for those animals from people who really have absolutely no choice and no way out of being forced to rehome their pets.

Not Just Herps
Why do you want to get rid of your pet? Is it because someone in the family is allergic to it? Or has it just become inconveniet? Keeping in mind that the majority of pet species are sentient, intelligent enough to learn your routines as well as their own, recognize people, have specific likes and dislikes, and get highly stressed when there are any major changes in their lives and yours, please make sure that you aren't like any of the people discussed in Pet Dumpers' Litany of Lame Excuses. If you aren't giving more thought to getting a pet than you are to getting a car, you shouldn't have pets.

 

Society/Rescues Listings
If any of the entries in the following lists is not highlighted, it means that there I have no society or rescue information for them, but I do have veterinarian entries for them, which you will find in my Herp Veterinarians section. If the entry is in italics, it means I have nothing for them.
Sometimes people move and so have different contact information, or they otherwise become unreachable. If you find that the information here has become out of date, please let me know what the situation is that you found, and be sure to include the organization name and the state they are in, and any updated information you may have obtained.

Canada
United Kingdom
United States
Other Countries

CyberAdoption Sites - All Countries
Additional Herp Society & Association Resources

 

United States

AL

ID

MT

RI

AK

IL

NC

SC

AR

IN

ND

SD

AZ

KS

NE

TN

CA

KY

NH

TX

CO

LA

NJ

UT

CT

MA

NM

VA

DC

MD

NY

VT

DE

ME

NV

WA

FL

MI

OH

WI

GA

MN

OK

WV

HI

MO

OR

WY

IA

MS

PA

 

 

Canada

Alberta

Manitoba Ontario Saskatchewan

New Brunswick

Newfoundland

Prince Edward Isl.

 

British Columbia

Nova Scotia

Québec

 

For additional Canadian listings, see Tricia Power's Canadian Herp Societies site.

 

United Kingdom

England

 

Northern Ireland  
Wales  

 

Other Countries

Africa

Hong Kong

New Zealand

Argentina

India

Romania

Australia

Ireland

Russia

Austria

Israel

Slovenia

Belgium

Italy

South Africa

Brazil

Japan

Spain

Denmark

Luxembourg

Sweden

Finland

Malta

Thailand

France

Mexico

Venezuela

Germany

Netherlands

 

 

Additional Resources

National/International Societies
Google > Biology > Associations

Other Herp Society/Rescue Listings
Kingsnake.com
National Reptile Foundation
NRAAC
VAHerp Society Rescue Directory

Other Useful Information
Adoption Application and Contract Forms - for use by rescues
Can't find a herp society/rescue in your area?
Specialty Societies
Starting a Herp Rescue
Starting a Herp Society

The Grim Reality: Unwanted Reptiles
Venomous Snake Relocators

Need Liability Insurance for Your Rescue?
Please note: I am in no way affiliated with Animal Welfare Organization Insurance Program (AWOIP)

If you have been looking for liability insurance for your herp rescue education program and volunteers, but have not been able to afford the quotes you've obtained from other brokers and insurers, check out AWOIP. I heard about them on the Reptile Rescue Alliance's Reptile Rescue Network email list.

 

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