Wichita Falls Reptile Rescue

This summer we attended the Henrietta Bike Safety Day and the Byers Bike Bash, to provide education on native reptiles and their conservation. We forgot to take pictures.

In 2007 we attended the Eco-Fair as representatives of both WFRR and the Horned Lizard Conservation Society. We answered many questions about the habits and conservation of Horned Lizards, and of their food sources and habitats in our area.

Another Marine punished over video

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25108189

The Associated Press

June 11, 2008, 9:07 PM PDT

HONOLULU — The Marine Corps says it is expelling one Marine and disciplining another for their roles in a video showing a Marine throwing a puppy off a cliff while on patrol in Iraq.
The 17-second video posted on YouTube.com drew sharp condemnation from animal rights groups when it came to light in March.
The clip shows two Marines joking before one hurls the puppy into a rocky gully. A yelping sound is heard as it flips through the air.
"That's mean. That's mean, Motari," an off-camera Marine is heard telling the Marine who tossed the black and white dog. The off-camera Marine snickered slightly afterward.
Lance Cpl. David Motari, assigned to the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment at Kaneohe Bay, is "being processed for separation" from the Marine Corps, the Marine Corps said in a news release. He also received unspecified "non-judicial punishment."
The Marine Corps didn't specify what role the 22-year-old Motari, from Monroe, Wash., played in the clip.
The Everett herald, has reported that the video led to death threats to Motari's family in his hometown northeast of Seattle. The newspaper said his mother declined comment Wednesday.
The video was viewed tens of thousands of times before YouTube.com took it down due to a violation of the site's terms of use.
"The actions seen in the Internet video are contrary to the high standards we expect of every Marine and will not be tolerated," Marine Corps Base Hawaii said in a news release. "The vast majority of Marines conduct their duties with honor and compassion that makes American people proud."
The second Marine, Sgt. Crismarvin Banez Encarnacion, also received unspecified "non-judicial" punishment.
Encarnacion is assigned to the Weapons and Field Training Battalion, Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego.
It wasn't clear what role Encarnacion played in the video. Marine Corps Base Hawaii declined to answer a telephone inquiry about its press release and directed all questions to be submitted by e-mail.
Marine Corps public affairs offices in Hawaii and San Diego didn't immediately return e-mail messages requesting clarification.
The Marine Corps said the Privacy Act prevented it from releasing details about the disciplinary measures the two men received.

State backs off on euthanasia for reptile pets...

http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_9219481

Monocled Cobras on the loose in Onslow County, N.C.

http://www.witntv.com/news/headlines/19186249.html

Six critically endangered Blue Iguanas killed in Grand Caymans

http://www.blueiguana.ky/news.htm

( These endangered animals were starting to make a comeback in recent years. The eldest among them, the matriarch of the group who was also killed, was 23 years old. The Igs which were killed or injured, represent 1/3 of the adult breeding population of the species. Grand Cayman is the only place in the world where these animals exist. Two of the females were gravid, and preparing to lay their eggs before being killed. What makes this more disheartening, is that these Iguanas were used to human visitors and caretakers, and trusted people. We hope the persons responsible are found, and regardless of their age, they receive the maximum possible imprisonment under Grand Cayman law. )  

Update: We have gotten word that one of the seriously injured has also passed away, raising the total to 7....

More information from Melissa Kaplan's blog

http://www.lizards-in-scarves.com/

Cocker Spaniel and Macaw parrot stranded on S. Pacific island when owner's sailboat shipwrecked after 3 months adrift at sea.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=2532

Some Petco stores to stop selling live animals?

We have gotten word lately that Petco stores nationwide are currently being evaluated until the end of the year, and many stores will soon not be selling live animals anymore ( other than fish ). This is great news as far as we are concerned. Apparently, in a bit of corporate propaganda spin, meant to spin the heads of stockholders no doubt, Petco is calling it "Right sizing" instead of "down-sizing". Matters not to us what they call it. They seem to be starting to realize that killing animals in the store cuts into too much of their profit margin, and the animals they ARE selling aren't making up the difference. In many cases sick or dead animals are returned for refunds as well. Many times the death of the animal is the fault of the ignorant buyer who wanted a pet on the cheap and didn't spring for basic equipment, or as is often the case, the animal was bought to be an experiment in responsibility for a child. But, far too often is the case that I can walk into that store and find a dead, dying, or sick animal that isn't being noticed by employees ( but that I can spot in seconds because I am paying attention ), or isn't getting the medical care it needs. It is my impression that the company tries to avoid shelling out for vet care to treat dying animals, seeing it only as loss of profit for an animal that might not make it to be sold eventually.  

Many of the employees at that store are resistant to taking simple basic steps they could take to help these animals. Just the other day I spotted that the Ball Pythons had mites crawling all over them. The female employee in charge of that section that night was not even interested in my simple suggestion that the snakes could be helped and comforted tremendously until they went to see a vet, if they would just rinse them under running tap water, and give them a dish of water to soak in. I have found this particular employee, a fish specialist, to be quite dismissive and rude when I have pointed out the animals they are killing in the past. If I continue to get the same response, I won't have any objection to publishing her name so that others know who in Petco does not put "animals first". Most Petco employees won't wipe their behinds unless corporate tells them when, and how. These animals supposedly had their habitat cleaned out on Sun., and the employee doing clean outs did not notice. These adult mites do not just appear in 3 days time. They were there on Sun., and someone wasn't paying attention. I wasn't evening handling these snakes, I was just walking by, and I saw this. Why can't they?!! 

If you really care about getting a quality reptile pet, that has been taken care of by someone who cares about what they sell, then personally seek out a breeder and talk to others who take pride in their animals. Or better yet, seek out a shelter or rescue group and take in an unwanted reptile that needs a home. You aren't going to get a healthy and quality animal from somewhere like Petco, where chances are you are waited on by a minimum wage moron, who knows nothing about the animal, and could care less about anything except what he or she is doing after work. Big chain stores like Petco and Petsmart, are where breeders dump their rejects and subpar animals with genetics they don't want to keep. They keep the good stuff to breed themselves, or sell at shows, or on their own websites where they can bring more money for them. They don't give the good stuff to Petco and Petsmart.  

It appears that we have won a small victory for the conditions Bearded Dragons were being kept in at the local Petco. For almost a year now, we have been telling management and employees responsible for the reptiles, that these Bearded Dragons were being kept at improperly low habitat temps ( 84-86F ), insufficient UVB exposure, and that the prey size was improperly large. Both medium/large crickets and mealworms were being offered to these babies, when proper size should be no more than 1/2 to 2/3 the length and width of the head of the animal. Excessive mealworms and large crickets are responsible for gastrointestinal impaction and enteritis in babies, and this can result in death. Many of these small baby Beardies were not eating at all; but, starving to death right in the cages because their food was too large to eat. Nobody at the store who had the authority to do anything about this ever would...even after being informed numerous times by this rescue. Their corporate red tape makes them unweildy and incapable of caring for the animals they sell properly. The policies either bind the hands of any employee who cares, with the threat of termination for going against policy; or, they result in many employees just not caring anymore at all. Three times this past summer, I walked in to the store to find a dead Bearded Dragon lying emaciated in the tank for all the world to see. Yet, these animals are supposed to be checked on by "specialists" every hour. Add to this the inadequate habitat temps, which don't allow for a properly working digestive and immune system response in the temperature dependent reptile, and the lack of proper UVB, and you have a situation where many of these poor dragons are dying before they are even sold, or they are so sick that it is obvious they need to see a vet.

It would seem obvious that any business that is trying not to lose money by killing "merchadise", might see the advantage in just concentrating on the simple steps that would prevent this, and save the company much lost revenue to vet fees. For the moment, it seems that a policy change has come down which requires any Beardie that is not appearing to be doing well, be pulled to the back and given time under the better clamp basking light and UVB light, and that smaller offered prey size be observed. Of course, it would be better if Petco just put in the proper basking and UVB lights in the floor habitats to prevent this to begin with...and learned how to order a better variety of the smaller cricket sizes that smaller and younger reptiles require. There is no excuse why they can't do this, as there are plenty of suppliers selling pinhead size crickets online. They sell too many reptiles up there ( such as baby geckos, anoles, and dragons )which require a size of cricket that they don't even have available!

The next issue to address with them is this constant use of  the shellfish derived "Calci-sand" substrate, which is a strict "No-No" to anyone with a clue about properly caring for baby Bearded Dragons and other lizards. They sell it, and for that reason it is pushed heavily, eventhough it is responsible for many fatal cases of impaction in reptiles every year.

For more information, see: www.Beardeddragon.org         

Does eBay support the torture of live animals? We thought that buying and selling of live animals was prohibited on eBay...I guess only unless you are in China. eBay, like many other companies, is continuing to show that they will do anything for a fast buck. Google actually helps the communist Chinese government censor it's own people, and spy on their online activities. These disgraceful businesses want that Chinese market share so bad, that they will do anything, or overlook anything. We support the current seller boycott of eBay.  

"eBay condones torture of animals by permitting sellers on it's China eBay site to actively trade in the sale of live animals. This is NOT buying and selling of nice little pets folks.. it's about beating dogs and cats, many times skinning them while still alive."  

http://base.google.com/base/a/3414735/D11203656584304871067

( While the loss of any of these animals in a death as horrible as a fire is very sad; particularly mournful is the death of the Galapagos tortoises. These big and gentle creatures are the most long lived on earth, living more than 150 years in some cases. In 2006, Harriet, the Galapogos tortoise residing at Steve Irwin's Australia zoo; died of natural causes. Her history can be traced with some reliability to the early 1800s, hatching before the Civil War. It is believed that Harriet was orginally kept as a specimen by Darwin himself, making her over 175 years old at the time of her death. )

Loss of animals felt by owner

JAMES GIBBARD / Tulsa World

By JEFF BILLINGTON World Staff Writer

Nearly 100 creatures, including two tigers, died in the fire near Adair.

ADAIR — After nearly 100 animals died in a fire at an exotic animal refuge in Mayes County on Thursday, the owner is left feeling as if he has lost part of his family. Joe Estes, owner of Safari Joe’s Exotic Wildlife Refuge, said dozens of animals were killed in the fire, which started about 3:45 p.m. Thursday in one of his barns. Safari Joe’s, located on 200 acres about three miles north of Adair on U.S. 69, is a sanctuary for unwanted, abused and neglected exotic animals, including tigers, lions, alligators and wolves.

"I’ve been crying all morning," he said. "I’ve gotten calls from children who have visited, asking if an animal they know was killed in the fire or just checking on the animals.When I have to tell them that a particular animal was killed, both of us are crying. I am just sick about it."

The animals were in a 70-by- 200-foot barn and included monkeys, birds and reptiles. Two of Estes’ white tigers were injured, and one, Sierra, died early Friday of burns and possible smoke inhalation. The female tiger was 4 years old, Estes said. Another tiger also died.

"Charlie, the male white tiger, has burns on him, but he seems to be doing OK. I think he realizes Sierra’s gone, and I think he’s pretty sad," he said. Estes was able to rescue several animals, including tigers, alligators, bears, lions, wolves and birds.

"I’ve got quite a few of the birds in the house right now, and we’ve got the wolves in a horse trailer until we can get them to a warmer spot," he said.

Two Galapagos tortoises, valued in excess of $250,000 each, were among the animals killed, said Kristine Sexter, a member of the animal sanctuary’s advisory board.

"These were his family and his friends. Joe lived for these animals," Sexter said.

Adair Fire Chief Tim Littleford said the cause of the fire is still under investigation but that it might have been caused accidentally by a heat source in the barn."He had heaters and heat lamps on his reptiles, and we’re kind of leaning in that direction right now, but we’re not really sure just yet of the exact cause," Littleford said.

Estes said, "We think it has to be electrical, because it took off so fast. It’s amazing that in such a short time, so much has been lost." He said he tried to put out the fire with a water hose but that the smoke and flames were so bad that he couldn’t see anything. He tried crawling on his knees, gathering as many of the animals as he could, but it was not enough, Estes said.

"Knowing that your animals are in there and you can’t do anything about it — it just makes you sick," he said. "You hear sounds and everything, and you’re not able to do anything about it. You see flames over your head and smoke everywhere, but you can’t save the animals. It was just crazy."

It took about 30 firefighters from Adair, Pryor, Big Cabin and Osage to extinguish the fire, which was under control in about 20 minutes, Adair Assistant Fire Chief Craig Cooper said.

Estes said it may take a year or longer to get back on his feet after the fire, since the refuge is a not-for-profit 501-C3 organization and he did not have insurance. "We don’t really know how much financially we’ve lost just yet, because we not only lost the animals, but medical supplies and a large amount of exotic animal feed," he said.

Estes said he started his sanctuary for exotic animals in 1997 but got his first tiger in 1993. He owned exotic wildlife refuges in Skiatook, Broken Arrow and Sapulpa before opening the Adair location in 2003.

"All you do is just pick yourself up and go on. You have to go on," he said.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Among the animals that were killed Thursday in a fire at Safari Joe’s Exotic Wildlife Refuge:

Monkeys ......... 10

Hedgehog ...........1

Skunk .................1

Angora rabbits ...3

Alligators ...........3

Tortoises ............3

Leopard tortoises ............3

Snakes ............ 30 (Burmese pythons,corn, milk, California King snakes)

Big birds ......... 10 (macaws, cockatoos, amazons)

Tigers .................2

A fund has been established at Arvest Bank to help with Safari Joe’s Exotic Wildlife Refuge. Donations may be made at any Arvest location to the Safari Joe’s fund, Acct. No. 35366706.

• UNDERSTANDING REPTILE LIGHTING SYSTEMS http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/lighting.html

...check back soon for updates...

If there is a reptile related event you would like to see listed,
please use the 'contact us' link to have it added.

The events listed are not endorsed by, sponsored by, or affiliated in any way
with our rescue or its members unless otherwise stated.
As always, you should use common sense and good judgement
when attending these or any other events.