Response From A Fellow Canadian - Some Suggestions

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Posted by Candy on March 05, 2001 at 08:55:43:

In Reply to: mouthrot in petstore? (please help asap) posted by Crystal W on March 03, 2001 at 11:46:47:

Crystal,

I was absolutely mortified when I read about this poor iguana. It sickens me to death and I only wish I was online this weekend to hear about it earlier.

We were actually involved in a seizure of a reptile in pretty horrific shape over the weekend with animal control so I can give you a bit of insight as to what you can do about this:

1. File a complaint with the store. See if you can get more people in there to complain about it. Often times, people feel that their voice is not enough, or that nothing will change. Trust me, with a little bit of extra effort a world of change can come about.

2. Contact your local animal control officers as well. In some jurisdictions, this is a separate entity from the SPCA and humane society, but the more people you involve, the better. They too will have some more ideas on what you can do.

3. Definitely contact your local SPCA. They are the pros at this - be sure they are aware of the proper husbandry techniques for iguanas and what the problem is, how it could have been caused and the possible solutions.

4. Another more drastic alternative, is to contact Crime Stoppers to file a complaint with the police about this if you feel this is definitely a case of animal abuse. They often work with animal control, spaca's and humane societies in cases like this. They have the authority to press charges if need be and can seize the reptile and put in a place where it can get the proper care.

Have you contacted the Alberta Herp Society - as they may have some ideas too.

I know all too well the feelings you are experiencing right now and the urge to rescue him and I will do what I can to help out. But it is extremely important that as many people as possible know about this and express their concern. Too often, people keep quiet and this cruelty continues on.

I know a lot of people will not agree with all of these suggestions, I do not like having to follow them through myself from time to time. But if all else has failed, drastic measures sometimes must be taken. Fingers are crossed that the store is receptive to you and are willing to make the necessary changes and help get this poor iguana back on its feet.

The key though is not to approach the store as an emotional wreck as they often do not respond to this. You must go in well informed and professinal - at least that is what we have discovered around here. File a complaint and let them know that you will be following up on this - that you want to be kept posted. Talk to the people in the reptile department, the head of the store and go directly to the head of the chain itself.

And trust me, by taking the first step to coming to this forum and letting everyone know about this, shows that you truly care about this reptile :) Just because you cannot take it in, does not meant that you do not care. IF only there were more people like yourself willing to do whatever they could in their power to help, a lot more lives could be save :)

Good luck and let us know how it goes or if there is anything further that I/we can do to help out.

Candy

Fingers are crossed that somehow, this little guy and the rest of them will get the care, attention and homes that they need and deserve. Hopefully another incident like this can be prevented. It is one thing to clean up messes, but it would be better if they never happened.

Reptile Rescue

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: Crystal, : I was absolutely mortified when I read about this poor iguana. It sickens me to death and I only wish I was online this weekend to hear about it earlier. : We were actually involved in a seizure of a reptile in pretty horrific shape over the weekend with animal control so I can give you a bit of insight as to what you can do about this: : 1. File a complaint with the store. See if you can get more people in there to complain about it. Often times, people feel that their voice is not enough, or that nothing will change. Trust me, with a little bit of extra effort a world of change can come about. : 2. Contact your local animal control officers as well. In some jurisdictions, this is a separate entity from the SPCA and humane society, but the more people you involve, the better. They too will have some more ideas on what you can do. : 3. Definitely contact your local SPCA. They are the pros at this - be sure they are aware of the proper husbandry techniques for iguanas and what the problem is, how it could have been caused and the possible solutions. : 4. Another more drastic alternative, is to contact Crime Stoppers to file a complaint with the police about this if you feel this is definitely a case of animal abuse. They often work with animal control, spaca's and humane societies in cases like this. They have the authority to press charges if need be and can seize the reptile and put in a place where it can get the proper care. : Have you contacted the Alberta Herp Society - as they may have some ideas too. : I know all too well the feelings you are experiencing right now and the urge to rescue him and I will do what I can to help out. But it is extremely important that as many people as possible know about this and express their concern. Too often, people keep quiet and this cruelty continues on. : I know a lot of people will not agree with all of these suggestions, I do not like having to follow them through myself from time to time. But if all else has failed, drastic measures sometimes must be taken. Fingers are crossed that the store is receptive to you and are willing to make the necessary changes and help get this poor iguana back on its feet. : The key though is not to approach the store as an emotional wreck as they often do not respond to this. You must go in well informed and professinal - at least that is what we have discovered around here. File a complaint and let them know that you will be following up on this - that you want to be kept posted. Talk to the people in the reptile department, the head of the store and go directly to the head of the chain itself. : And trust me, by taking the first step to coming to this forum and letting everyone know about this, shows that you truly care about this reptile :) Just because you cannot take it in, does not meant that you do not care. IF only there were more people like yourself willing to do whatever they could in their power to help, a lot more lives could be save :) : Good luck and let us know how it goes or if there is anything further that I/we can do to help out. : Candy : Fingers are crossed that somehow, this little guy and the rest of them will get the care, attention and homes that they need and deserve. Hopefully another incident like this can be prevented. It is one thing to clean up messes, but it would be better if they never happened.

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