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"Do You See The Difference"
Grey Rat Snake
One of the most difficult things about keeping reptiles is understanding when they are ill. When you show both eyes, side by side, it's easy to see the difference. Unfortunately, the people who owned this snake didn't notice. They said since you can't see both eyes at the same time, they didn't notice. This snake had an infection in its head, which unfortunately, killed it shortly after these photos were taken. |
"Why Proper Care is Important"
Boa Constrictor
This Boa constrictor was owned by someone who either didn't pay attention to it or didn't care a great deal about it. The injury you see is from the snake rubbing its nose on the screen top that was placed on top of its cage. It actually wore away part of it's face! Snakes may do this when they are hungry or uncomfortable. The snake was then given away to someone who took it to a veterinarian that was not familiar with reptiles. He didn't understand that this injury was badly infected and needed more care than a similar problem in a dog or cat. So, by the time this snake got to me it was quite a mess!
What you're looking at in this photo is a good looking face compared to what it looked like when I got him.
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"Wrong Place, Wrong Time!"
Box Turtle
This is Crash, a wonderful Box Turtle that had a very unfortunate encounter with a car. Box turtles are land tutles with home ranges that they wander around in their whole lives. When people construct homes or stores or roads, this confuses the turtle and forces it into dangerous situations, like crossing roads. This old girl walked out onto a highway and got her shell smashed, a foot crushed and internal organs damaged. It took us two years to get her healthy!! So much of the shell was destroyed that it was impossible to release her back into the wild. So, she has become an educational animal to teach people about what can happen when people invade wild areas with our buildings, roads and cars.
We hold a reptile rehabilitator license which allows us to legally care for injured and sick
reptiles. Sometimes people will try to help the turtle by keeping it but they often feed and care for it incorrectly. Having a license is important. Imagine going to an unlicensed doctor!!
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