Blep

Don’t buy from this guy. Not only does he keep his animals in Brian Barczyk style barren racks, but he’s a trump & confederate flag supporter, and racist, sexist, homophobic, and transphobic to boot. I don’t know the name of his snake breeding business but if you see anyone selling reptiles by the name of Ryan E. Beatty, don’t buy from them. Don’t support him. He has plenty more posts showcasing his bigotry up publicly on his facebook.

We can’t tolerate bigotry in the herp community, or anywhere else.

“"A dog can teach you unconditional love.  If you can have that in your life, things won’t be too bad."  When we rescued Maya 11 years ago, she instantly became a big member of our family.  From hikes to digging holes on the beach to lazy couch days, Maya has been the best companion we could have had.  She has been there for us, nursing us back to health when we’re sick, being our constant source of unconditional love, our therapist and best friend.    

She is a puppy at heart, but unfortunately, her playfulness has resulted in a lot of pain.  Last week, during the snowstorm, while frolicking in the snow, she slipped a disc in her neck.  This resulted in severe pain, loss of feeling in first one and then all four of her legs and a need for specialized  surgery from a Neurological Surgeon on her spinal chord.  As she has always been there for us, we looked in her beautiful, warm brown eyes and promised we would always be there for her.  In our visit yesterday to the animal hospital, we told her that she would get better, but that promise has come with some very high costs.  With Mom as a teacher and her two siblings in college, it would not be easy to raise the $10,000 and counting for the hospital stay, IV medication, MRI, X-Rays, Blood Work and the 4 hour surgery we needed to keep our promise.”

This is the standard of keeping ball pythons. Its the most common technique, and it IS widly spread.

We can do better than this. This kind of stuff doesnt allow for a range of natural behaviors. It makes us look like animal abusers. Yes, the animals survive, but they cannot thrive in this setting. There’s literally not enough room for even one of them to stretch all the way out.

We can do better. We have to do better because this isn’t good for the animals health wise, or even mentally. It also gives HSUS and PETA more grounds to ban reptiles as pets.

Enrichment provides animals with an outlet for natural behaviors and promotes healthy animals. There are tons of studies on the benefits of enrichment- it’s not an extra step- it’s necessary for the good of the animal and is part of proper husbandry.

Dont be like this picture; dare to do more.

Other species, like carpet pythons, I really don’t like tubs for. Using carpets as an example, those guys are active and move a lot and will make full use of the space provided to them. Balls really won’t.

Rack systems like the one in the picture are popular because they save money, time and space for the keeper when compared to setting them all up in fully furnished vivariums or large tubs. Giving them more space would address the concerns with them sitting in ammonia… If an animal does not have the ability to move away from its own waste that should be alarm bells that the enclosure is definatly not big enough (Though I know snakes love to sit ontop of it for no reason sometimes but at least they should have the option to be sensible). 

But  the issue is not JUST space because ball pythons are such a shy secretive species giving them more space also means they need proportionally more hides and visual barriers ect to feel secure… just scaling this tub up and saying “ta da- now you have more space” won’t work. So if you have a larger number of snakes…. That just starts to add up to a LOT of cleaning, a lot of space required and a large expense. 

The ball python industry wants to hold on to the outdated opinion that ball pythons “are scared of space, never move, and thrive in tiny barren tubs - Just add water!” because it’s how they turn profits… They also promote it to new people getting in to the hobby because otherwise that would be admitting they are not doing the best they can… This is also why its not something thats disscussed rationally in facebook groups either. It angers/upsets people that are in too deep to change their ways without going to huge extra costs or dramatically reducing the numbers of animals they have to make room for fewer better enclosures… So they would rather deny any is wrong to avoid that .. The argument also gets wrapped up with irrelavent details or oversimplified to “tanks vs tubs”… or “vivs vs tubs”.. or “naturalistic  looking vs non naturalistic looking”… 

At the end of the day this is an issue about good husbandy, good enclosure design and good animal welfare..which is not always cheap, nor is it always good for “productivity”. The truth of it is that there is NO scientific studies confirming that small barren tubs allow snakes to thrive and PLENTY of evidence that environmental enrichment is beneficial for their welfare. Restricting stimuli captive animals are exposed to is not good for their physical and psychological well-being and can negativly impact behavioural expression,neural development, learning ability, activity levels and even lead to chornic stress, immunosuppression and thus increased disease susceptibility. 

Ball pythons are victims of their own hardiness and adaptability…they may not show stress or appear to suffer when kept like this as much as a more active colubrid might…. But that still doesn’t make it an acceptable standard. They still eat, shed, poop and breed, which is all well and good, but not necessarily an indicator of good welfare.

It also sets a worrying trend for how the hobby itself measures and assesses reptile welfare and quality of life…. Already the model of  “ if it eats, poops, sheds and breeds then its thriving” has spread and is applied to keeping other more active species… I’ve seen arboreal asian colubrids in the same 6″ high tubs with no climbing stuff, even etbs, gtps, atbs, kept in similar barren set ups…..retics and other large constrictors in boxes they can not even stretch out half their length in ect ect…unless they drop dead or rub their faces off in stress the individual animal or even the whole species, will get the stamp of approval for “doing fine in a tub!”.  

This is not how animal welfare scientistis assess welfare. And as @wheremyscalesslither  mentioned when our hobby is under attack from animal rights groups we have GOT to do better… and promote husbandry based on science. 

TL: DR,  You said you made the effort to provide some enrichment yourself. Rest assured it is not just for you, and will absolutley benefit your animals! If you are interested to read more about it I also have an article on it here 

This is not really what I would consider common practice. I’ve never seen animals kept like this in real life. On the Internet, sure, I’ve seen all kinds of disturbing pictures like this. This image appears, to me, to be 2 adult animals in what I would consider to be a hatchling tub. This clearly isn’t proper practice. There isn’t enough space for one adult animal let alone 2. I’m not denying that this is wrong, it is wrong and I’m not denying that animals are kept like this somewhere. But to generalize and say this is common practice is a misstep. I make a point of visiting other breeders facilities if they’ll have me and I try to keep myself a familiar face in my local community. I’ve visited upwards of 30 other breeders and not once have I ever seen an animal kept in a rack system like this one. Maybe I’m just lucky, maybe my part of town just has good people in it, or maybe only the people taking proper care of their animals allow other breeders to visit, but I’ve never seen it.

Now I keep my animals in a rack system, I have for years. I’ve had fewer illnesses, shedding problems, injuries, and other issues in racks then I had when I was keeping everyone in tanks. I custom make my racks to fit tubs larger then the most commonly used tubs in the industry, and I make sure my animals have what they need. Each tub has a water bowl, 2 hides (one on the hotspot, one on the cool side), a piece of grapevine or deadwood, a flat stone, and cypress mulch bedding. I spot clean my tubs everyday and mist twice a day. I do a full clean every month. My snake room is temperature and humidity controlled. My animals are healthy, happy, and comfortable in their environment.

Here’s the studies:

1- “Survey of the status and management of the Royal Python (Python regius) in Ghana” 2- “Food resource partitioning of a community of snakes in a swamp rainforest of south-eastern Nigeria” 3- “Why do males and females of Python regius differ in parasite load” 4- “Sexual size dimorphism and natural history traits are correlated with intersexual dietary divergence in royal pythons (python regius) from the rainforests of southeastern Nigeria” 5- “Species trade and conservation: Snake trade and conservation management (Serpentes.spp.) An assessment of the impact of the pet trade on five CITES-Appendix II case studies”

The three ball pythons I have utilize all of their space at night. All of it. And they climb all over the things I provide every night.

Would anyone in this thread argue that a house is a “natural” habitat for a human? However is it less stressful than living in an open field?

When an animal is brought into captivity and protected from natural dangers it’s behavior changes. Where most people err in judgment is anthropomorphizing animals. Each animal is different and would require individual habitat needs. This is an unrealistic burden on the trade and would prevent many people from seeing these creatures beyond Hollywood renditions.

Do the dog owners reading this provide live prey for their dogs to hunt, as wolves would? Most must answer no, In fact if that activity was performed it would be criminal in the U.S.

As soon add I read “this is the standard…” I LMAO. The image portrayed is not the standard, except in instances of rehabilitation and a few extenuating breeding events.

All the other posts I read here shows snakes in a general light. Each snake is it’s own creature. My boa is least stressed(actual perceivable muscle tesion in her body) when she can watch tv from her hide. Does this mean all snakes must be able to watch t.v. from their hide?

If any keeper keeps all their snakes in this manner that is wrong, but of all the breeders I see/follow online this not like anything I have ever seen, Dave the extenuating circumstances I mentioned above.

In the United States this is not an extenuating circumstance in ball python keeping. I didnt take one image out of context and run with it. This is how 80% or more of ball pythons are kept. I am VERY active in the ball python industry, and have been for the last several years. Dont disillusion yourself. This is a HUGE problem.

Whats more is pet owners are looking to breeders for information on how to care for ball pythons and theyre greeted with these tubs and insistence that THIS is the best way to keep these animals. Ive seen many pet owners go from large enclosures that maybe didnt have exactly the right temperatures be told its “too hard” to maintain temps and hunidity and to put them in empty tubs.

I actually admin for a facebook group that has over 13,000 people that has a good mix of pet breeders and keepers. Just from a few posts yesterday ive screenshotted this morning, this is what I have found:

Please take note of the post dates. They were all posted by entirely different people yesterday.

If that’s not enough, here’s more:

Do you need some from other facebook groups as well? I have those too

I apologize for not getting the time stamps on all of those. I had to make the decision on whether to include the time stamp ot the whole image.

While we are at it we can take a look at some other reptile groups as well!! Lets see here…

Oh, and in case anyone still doubts the severity of this situation… Heres a thread I found of people proudly showing off their racks. Granted it is from last year. i tried to find the one that was posted two days ago but facebooks search function doesnt work well on my phone so im sorry for the oldness.

While we are at it we can also tall about how it’s also a problem in other snake communities:

@herp-hoarder your assertion here;

“When an animal is brought into captivity and protected from natural dangers its behaviour changes”

Is an awful oversimplification. Firstly, snakes are not domesticated, ( making your comparison to people living in homes or pet owners not hunting their dogs to feed them completely irrelevant, but even so I will point out people WALK their dogs or train them or provide them with mental stimulation that caters for those instincts which will vary depending on breed ect. Nobody would consider locking a dog in one room with a water bowl to be good practice!!)

Animals are hardwired to perform natural behaviours linked to their survival, these are intrinsically rewarding for them regardless of their necessity in captivity. These instincts DO NOT go away Eg) Some animals often still choose to actively forage even if an “easy” option of a bowl full of food is provided (called contra-freeeloading), indicating they find the act of foraging and performing that routine of behaviours that have evolved as essential parts of there survival more rewarding than simply EATING.

The ability to perform natural behaviours is extremely important for animal welfare and allowing for it in captivity shouldn’t be viewed as an “ unrealistic burden on the trade”.

In fact most “ behavioural changes in captivity” develop because there is an element of natural behaviour which the animal cannot express for some reason, sometimes this can manifest as obvious stereotypical behaviours….Sometimes these changes are subtle and hard to asses without structured behavioural analysis.

The field of welfare science in reptiles specifically is new but thankfully growing. But we KNOW enrichment benefits reptiles and even fish.

And its not based on anthropomorphism it’s based on actual differences in brain development, learning ability and resistance to stress, better activity levels, better muscle tone, better immune function….better standards of welfare. And the hobby is resistant to those ideas because they only operate on the completely unscientific basis that “ if it eats, sheds, poops and breeds its thriving” hence the above pictures are not only normal and widespread but considered by many to be gold standard!

Petco is now advertising for betta soroties and will have a tank devoted to female bettas. This highly debated housing and treatment of female splendens is, in my opinion, unethical and abusive.

I ask of you guys to not lash out, and protest petco. Instead inform and teach people the proper treatment of bettas and explain that sororities are a very stressful environment and usually end with the death of many fish.

“Naturalistic” alternatives to a sand substrate!

The clay is mixed with water and made into a “mud paste” kind of texture. You then quickly mold it to make caves or holes, and as it dries it hardens. Little to no loose parts! Digging reptiles like monitors can tunnel through it as well.

I’ve never used it, but as far as I can tell it’s safe!

So I hate to do this but I really need some help. I’ve been having health issues since I moved over 1000 miles away from home and an 18+ hour drive and I currently barely have enough food to last me the next 3 weeks, just due to bills I will not have any money. If anyone would like to donate to my paypal here I would 100% appreciate it. Basically I’ve been in so much pain that I can barely move, as someone who suffers from a chronic pain issue I’m struggling to cope with it, and I’m having an incredibly hard time breathing to the point I cant walk all the way up the stairs in my apartment building and need to stop and sit for a min. The doctors in the ER really had no clue whats going on and basically who knows whats happening. I’m still working and going to school full time because my housing could fall through if I don’t do it and I need a place to sleep at night.

So I hate to do this but I really need some help. I’ve been having health issues since I moved over 1000 miles away from home and an 18+ hour drive and I currently barely have enough food to last me the next 3 weeks, just due to bills I will not have any money. If anyone would like to donate to my paypal here I would 100% appreciate it. Basically I’ve been in so much pain that I can barely move, as someone who suffers from a chronic pain issue I’m struggling to cope with it, and I’m having an incredibly hard time breathing to the point I cant walk all the way up the stairs in my apartment building and need to stop and sit for a min. The doctors in the ER really had no clue whats going on and basically who knows whats happening. I’m still working and going to school full time because my housing could fall through if I don’t do it and I need a place to sleep at night.

WARNING!!!!!!! Poor care and pictures up ahead! I’m posting this to help boost awareness of this poor snake and the neglectful care he and other animals have probably endured

Original post can be found here by Sara Fisher

“So this is completely heartbreaking but it needs to be broadcasted.

I was in the Petco at 3525 W Victory Blvd in Burbank, CA to get some hoppers and bedding for my hognose. I looked up and saw an “assorted ball python” for sale for $90. This is what I saw.

Upon my immediate horror and fight to hold back tears, I asked a Petco employee named Gordon to let me hold the snake. I found it quite ironic that he asked me to use hand sanitizer yet couldn’t seem to make eye contact with me when asking questions about this snake’s condition. There was a water dish in the tank with less than half an inch of water in it, one hide and no basking spot. I asked how often this snake was misted, given it is in awful shedding condition, and he told me “once a week”. There were also crickets in the terrarium..I really hope that wasn’t what this snake was fed.

I asked him to put the snake back and he walked away with no further comment. I deliberated a bit since this heavily breathing, malnourished, INCREDIBLY dehydrated snake was probably a week away from death. So I adopted the snake.

He came back with an adoption sheet and said “I assume you’re over 18 haha” and “congrats” then left. He did not ask for my ID. I went up to the register and asked if I could get the snake for free or a heavy discount given its condition and was told no. There was already a 25% discount on “all ball pythons”. I should have really pushed more for it being free or at least half off but I was afraid they would just confiscate the snake and put it in the “back” and leave it there.

https://www.facebook.com/ServaDERP/videos/10214224869162424/

I took a video of the lil guy once I got back into my car. I immediately shared this on my Twitter account and Petco responded almost instantly saying that “Animal care is our top priority, Sara. Please DM your phone number and store location so we can look into this and follow up with you directly. Thank you.”  We exchanged information in direct message, which I have also posted.

They have promised me phone calls with their escalation department when the situation has updates. I will be contacting the store directly with updates if I do not hear anything within a week and I will also be contacting the local news to get this piece of shit store shut down. I have also been told by several Petco employees/managers that Petco takes HR cases seriously and sends representatives to said locations to get changes enacted. I have also demanded a refund for the amount I have paid for the snake since the employee who sold me it flat out denied my request regardless of the snake’s condition…gotta love capitalist ignorance.

I know there are concerns about this situation with “well you paid for the snake, so you’re ultimately supporting the corrupt business/ more snakes will just replace this one” or “yeah well you should have known this already since it’s the company rep”. There are good Petco stores. There are good, healthy animals sold at those Petco stores.  This location is not one of them. This terrible reputation SHOULD NOT HAPPEN IN THE FIRST PLACE!!! This location has terrible management and unintelligible employees that are willingly and dismissively selling sick and malnourished animals without any sort of suggestion of care or even any sort of personable care from the employees. This snake would have died if left alone, or even worse would probably have been thrown out into a dumpster alive or left to rot with no consequence instead of being surrendered. I want to bring awareness to this location and other cruel chain stores to ultimately hope to end the sale of live reptiles in chain stores.

I have documented my entire experience and do not take animal cruelty lightheartedly, especially when a company is responsible for hiring employees with no training on how to care for live animals of the exotic nature. It absolutely sickens me that there is no certification process for caring for animals in a pet store, yet apparently Petco also holds a policy that states that employees are LEGALLY not allowed to offer animals extra aid without a vet consultation…so admittedly hiring employees that do not know what they are doing. I am absolutely appalled and I am going to do my best to fight against abusive Petco/chain pet store locations such as this one.

I am also going to do my best to nurse this little guy to good health and will possibly be looking for a forever home once he’s ready…but for now, his name is Crumples and he lives on my bookshelf.

HURRICANE HARVEY IS NOW A CATEGORY THREE HURRICANE.

fellow texans: this is serious. if you’re in an area where you were told to evacuate, YOU NEED TO EVACUATE.

Here are some resources from the Texas Democrats website:

Please only call 911 for immediate medical, fire or police emergencies.

Call 311 to report flooding or debris in streets.

Resources for Hurricane Harvey

Visit Hurricanes.govfor the latest on the storm.

Visit www.ready.gov or www.listo.gov (español) for tips on how to prepare for and stay safe during hurricanes and flooding.

Visit the FEMA Social Hub for updates from official emergency management social media accounts.

Download the FEMA Mobile App to receive alerts from the National Weather Service, get safety and survival tips, customize your emergency checklist, find your local shelter, and upload your disaster photos to help first responders.

Report debris or flooding

Call 311 from your phone to report debris or flooding

Power outages

Stay away from downed power lines

Report downed power lines by calling 311

Food safety after power outages

http://www.foodsafety.gov/keep/charts/refridg_food.html

Your food should be safe as long as power is out no more than 4 hours

Keep the door closed as much as possible

Discard any perishable food (such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and leftovers) that have been above 40 degrees F for over 2 hours

Social Media Accounts

Legal hotline

@fema

@femaregion6

FEMA on Facebook

The State Bar of Texas has established a legal hotline at 1 (800) 504-7030 to help people find answers to basic legal questions and connect them with local legal aid providers.

Monetary donations and volunteering

Red Cross – Coastal Bend

I’d advise creating a Twitter account if you don’t already have one, and following these accounts as well:

NWSHouston

Texas Tribune list of journalists covering Harvey

NBC News

Houston Chronical

NWS

Houston Police Chief Acevedo

Texas Department of Transportation

Texas Tribune

ABC13 Houston

Some tips for those staying home to weather the storm [note: not everyone can afford to leave, or has anywhere to go to escape the storm. not everyone who stays lacks common sense, they just don’t have the funds, the transportation [disabled, no car, etc.], or family + friends to go anywhere else]:

Take a shower now, then fill your tub with water. You might need that water later to flush your toilet.

Make sure you’ve got an axe or something like it, because if you live in a low-lying area and the flood waters get into your house, you might end up needing to bust a hole in your roof to get out.

DO NOT SWIM IN FLOOD WATER. Flood waters carry sewage, diseases, toxins, and things like water moccasins, brown recluse spiders, floating ant beds, and more. It is not a pool.

Make sure you have extra batteries to power all of the things. Radios, flashlights, etc.

Make sure all of your devices are charged, and purchase charger packs if possible. There’s a high chance that we all lose power, and it could be out for weeks. Make sure your devices are able to last you for as long as possible.

Make sure you’ve filled your gas tank.

If you live in a low-lying area, make sure all important things like legal documents, photographs, and electronics are up high. If you live in a two story, go ahead and put them up there.

Don’t wait to evacuate until the last minute. If they say you need to leave, then LEAVE. If they haven’t, decide RIGHT NOW whether to stay or not. You don’t want to be caught out in the streets when they start to flood. Because they WILL flood.

A lot of hurricane/tropical storm/flash flood-related deaths happen after the storm has passed. People try to venture out into the waters and end up drowning. Make sure you have everything you need so you don’t have to leave your house for a few days. It will NOT be safe.