CamdeJong
Well-Known Member
On the 20[SUP]th[/SUP] of June I gave a classmate Sean a lift from Uni to a place he was staying for a few days while moving house. The tenant of the place was a fellow student who I’d been introduced to as a reptile keeper. I won’t mention his name at this point as the whole thing is a police matter but he’d told me he kept Jungle Carpets. He was otherwise very evasive about topics such as his keeping habits which I was told was very uncharacteristic of him as he usually bragged about his animals. Sean invited me into the place to see the animals as the owner was away for the entire Uni holidays (about 6 weeks) and Sean was concerned about their welfare.
The snakes were located in the garage, with some in an adjoined study. When I stepped into the garage I was overwhelmed by the stench of snake faeces and decay. Sean described the smell as the ‘Bowels of Hell’ and couldn’t stay inside for more than a few minutes. The first thing I noticed was the number of animals in the garage. There were at least 25 snakes, most in melamine cabinets and a few in click-clacks, all living in their own filth and old sheds. The only basic necessities they had were hides and water, with not all the bowls filled. None of the enclosures had substrate, heating, branches or rough shedding items. All of the snakes I could see were jungles, and those which weren’t hiding were emaciated and close enough to lifeless. They were ranging in size from hatchlings which were stunted and dying to large jungles of about 2m. There were also a number of coastal carpets which I suspect were wild. Some of these were around 3m in length and kept in large melamine enclosures, while 5 smaller coastals were in the adjoining office, in stacked click-clacks with holes in the lids which were rendered moot by the stacked arrangement, so were without any ventilation. I usually have a strong stomach but lifting those boxes apart unleashed a smell that literally had me gagging. Never in the history of suppressed Death Adder poo has there been a smell like this. The coastals were living in a mix of their own faeces and tipped over ‘water bowls’ and were close to starvation, with clearly retained sheds. At this point I had to put the lid down and walk away, I was on the verge of tears. In total I counted 46 pythons.
After regaining my composure I spoke to Sean about the situation. It became clear that the owner had left the snakes in no one’s care and had done nothing but filled up a few water bowls before leaving. How a person could stand in that room and look at those animals and do nothing is absolutely beyond me. At that point I decided to attend to those snakes which were in the most dire conditions before contacting the local Parks and Wildlife Service. Sean and I gathered the tools required to clean the enclosures and a few rodents for the most emaciated animals, as there were no cleaning supplies but paper towels and only a few bags of fuzzy rats, not suitable for the hatchies or the adult snakes. We then spent 3 days cleaning and feeding the animals and I separated the snakes that I suspected were wild from the others. I checked a lot of the snakes for signs of RI, stomatitis and mites but surprisingly few such signs were visible. After every day I went home, scrubbed myself with F10, washed my clothes and showered thoroughly before going near my animals for fear of contamination.
On Monday the 28[SUP]th[/SUP] of June I contacted Parks and Wildlife, although getting a hold of them was a struggle. I ended up calling my local ranger who found a number that wasn’t disconnected. I even tried RSPCA but they were uninterested, no doubt because the animals in question weren’t furry. The local Parks ranger instructed me to continue cleaning and that Friday I was called in to give a statement. Sean and I spent four hours conveying the story to Parks officers and I gave them dozens of photographs taken before cleaning the animals. We then went back to Uni and tried to cover the ground we’d lost in this endeavour, and spent an entire MONTH waiting for Parks and Wildlife to act, and they only acted after Sean sent them an email outlining our disappointment at the time it took to see action.
On the 26[SUP]th[/SUP] of July we were informed that officers entered the premises, took a few photographs and left again. I’ve also been told that a police officer who was present at the house is intending to ask me to continue caring for them. I find myself disheartened that after all the effort I put in and the time I sacrificed to help these animals, the authorities cannot act quickly or efficiently to save animals that are still in desperate need of veterinary care. I also find myself disgusted that I might be asked to care for them again. No doubt I would not be reimbursed for the effort I have put in and that I may yet continue to do, not to mention the strain I’ve put on my studies, and the fact that it is not my responsibility to have done anything in the first place. The owner has not yet returned from his holiday and every day I wonder how many of them are still alive.
I’ve added photos of some of the animals, including 5 young jungles which were housed in one enclosure. I find it reprehensible not only that someone can keep snakes in these conditions but that the relevant authority can be so ambivalent and slow to act.
Thanks for reading,
Cam
By the way, I'm having internet troubles and probably won't be on until tomorrow. Cheers.
The snakes were located in the garage, with some in an adjoined study. When I stepped into the garage I was overwhelmed by the stench of snake faeces and decay. Sean described the smell as the ‘Bowels of Hell’ and couldn’t stay inside for more than a few minutes. The first thing I noticed was the number of animals in the garage. There were at least 25 snakes, most in melamine cabinets and a few in click-clacks, all living in their own filth and old sheds. The only basic necessities they had were hides and water, with not all the bowls filled. None of the enclosures had substrate, heating, branches or rough shedding items. All of the snakes I could see were jungles, and those which weren’t hiding were emaciated and close enough to lifeless. They were ranging in size from hatchlings which were stunted and dying to large jungles of about 2m. There were also a number of coastal carpets which I suspect were wild. Some of these were around 3m in length and kept in large melamine enclosures, while 5 smaller coastals were in the adjoining office, in stacked click-clacks with holes in the lids which were rendered moot by the stacked arrangement, so were without any ventilation. I usually have a strong stomach but lifting those boxes apart unleashed a smell that literally had me gagging. Never in the history of suppressed Death Adder poo has there been a smell like this. The coastals were living in a mix of their own faeces and tipped over ‘water bowls’ and were close to starvation, with clearly retained sheds. At this point I had to put the lid down and walk away, I was on the verge of tears. In total I counted 46 pythons.
After regaining my composure I spoke to Sean about the situation. It became clear that the owner had left the snakes in no one’s care and had done nothing but filled up a few water bowls before leaving. How a person could stand in that room and look at those animals and do nothing is absolutely beyond me. At that point I decided to attend to those snakes which were in the most dire conditions before contacting the local Parks and Wildlife Service. Sean and I gathered the tools required to clean the enclosures and a few rodents for the most emaciated animals, as there were no cleaning supplies but paper towels and only a few bags of fuzzy rats, not suitable for the hatchies or the adult snakes. We then spent 3 days cleaning and feeding the animals and I separated the snakes that I suspected were wild from the others. I checked a lot of the snakes for signs of RI, stomatitis and mites but surprisingly few such signs were visible. After every day I went home, scrubbed myself with F10, washed my clothes and showered thoroughly before going near my animals for fear of contamination.
On Monday the 28[SUP]th[/SUP] of June I contacted Parks and Wildlife, although getting a hold of them was a struggle. I ended up calling my local ranger who found a number that wasn’t disconnected. I even tried RSPCA but they were uninterested, no doubt because the animals in question weren’t furry. The local Parks ranger instructed me to continue cleaning and that Friday I was called in to give a statement. Sean and I spent four hours conveying the story to Parks officers and I gave them dozens of photographs taken before cleaning the animals. We then went back to Uni and tried to cover the ground we’d lost in this endeavour, and spent an entire MONTH waiting for Parks and Wildlife to act, and they only acted after Sean sent them an email outlining our disappointment at the time it took to see action.
On the 26[SUP]th[/SUP] of July we were informed that officers entered the premises, took a few photographs and left again. I’ve also been told that a police officer who was present at the house is intending to ask me to continue caring for them. I find myself disheartened that after all the effort I put in and the time I sacrificed to help these animals, the authorities cannot act quickly or efficiently to save animals that are still in desperate need of veterinary care. I also find myself disgusted that I might be asked to care for them again. No doubt I would not be reimbursed for the effort I have put in and that I may yet continue to do, not to mention the strain I’ve put on my studies, and the fact that it is not my responsibility to have done anything in the first place. The owner has not yet returned from his holiday and every day I wonder how many of them are still alive.
I’ve added photos of some of the animals, including 5 young jungles which were housed in one enclosure. I find it reprehensible not only that someone can keep snakes in these conditions but that the relevant authority can be so ambivalent and slow to act.
Thanks for reading,
Cam
By the way, I'm having internet troubles and probably won't be on until tomorrow. Cheers.
