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The Lost Reptiles Home.
The lost reptile’s home is a non-profit shelter run in the east by Black Snake Productions and in the west by Victorian reptiles. The shelters take in lost pet reptiles, un-wanted reptiles, dumped reptiles and reptiles that have been displaced from their natural habitat and cannot be returned. We house, feed and look after these animals until the original owner can be found (if there is one) or a suitable home is found for them.
We take in a large number of different reptiles at all times of the year and travel all over the state to retrieve and rescue them. Some of the types of reptiles that come in are pythons, tree snakes, turtles, dragons, skinks to large monitor’s, this means that we have to be prepared to take in all different types of reptiles with different needs at any given time.
If you see a lost reptile, know of someone with an un-wanted pet reptile, an injured
reptile or a reptile that looks like it may be out of place where it is then please contact us at any time.
Tips for Reptile owners:
- Microchip your pet reptile, we scan all reptiles that come in when they get a vet check.
- Never leave pet reptiles unattended when giving then sun basking sessions, reptiles are very quick when they need to be and very good at hiding and often will be gone if you’re not keeping an eye on them.
- Make sure your enclosure is escape proof; old or loose air vents and sliding doors are the most common cause of escape. Always double or triple check you have closed and latched the enclosure.
- If you have lost a pet reptile check the surrounding areas very thoroughly; under couches, in and behind book shelves, behind the TV e.c.t. Also re-check the enclosure as reptiles may find small gaps in cage furniture to hide in or even in the lighting fixtures.
- Drop leaflets in the surrounding houses notifying them that you have lost your friendly pet reptile and they should contact you if they see it.
- If you have not found the reptile within 12 hours please notify us, we will take down your details and the species lost and let you know immediately if we do find it. You can also check the Aussie Python Forum as we post lost reptiles up there every week.
How do you know if it's a wild animal or a lost pet?
Once we arrive to pick up the reptile we then try and use a bit of detective work to figure out if it is a lost pet, a displaced reptile or even a naturally occurring reptile from that area. Most of the time this is very easy as all pythons, most dragons and a lot of other reptiles are not native to the Melbourne area, if the reptile is very docile, is not native to the region and is in very good condition then it is assumed to be an escaped or dumped pet. Most situations make it very obvious such as a tree snake in a box of banana’s in a supermarket is a displaced reptile while a turtle crossing a road near a water way with a mossy shell is generally a local wild animal. About 5% of the cases we get can be tricky to try and uncover the origin and history of the reptile but in the end we always do what’s best for the individual animal.
What happens to the lost reptiles once it goes to the Lost Reptile’s Home?
Depending on if the animal is displaced, lost, dumped or handed in greatly influences what happens to the individual reptile. All reptiles are vet checked on arrival to check for microchips and for a health evaluation, they are then housed appropriately. Lost pet reptiles are cared for, housed and fed for two months during which we make every endeavor to try and find its owner (such as letter drops, posts on the net and notifying local vets). If after two months we cannot find the owners the reptile is either donated (at the discretion of the shelter) to schools, other education facility’s, Zoo’s Victoria, The Victorian Herpetological society or some private parties who can care for the animal properly, any other reptiles will be sold on public forums to help cover the costs of housing, travel, food, heating and other costs. |
