I am going to be putting this ad in a few local papers in spring and summer and am wondering what people think of it.

Wanted: non-venomous Snakes

Hello, I am an experienced snake keeper and am offering to take any non-venomous snakes that anybody has if they can no longer take care of them or no longer want them. Species and size does not matter and I can pick them up nearly anytime during the week or weekend.

Please note that releasing non-native snakes into the wild is illegal and they will not survive threw the cold winters. So if you have a snake that you can no longer care for or no longer want, please contact me and I will come and pick it up asap.

so, whats everybody think of it?
anything that should be removed, added, or reworded?

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i'd be better off opening my own small zoo.

How is size and species not important. Lets say that you get a call for an extremely large african rock python that someone is trying desperately to get rid of. Do you have the proper enclosure and set up for it, do you have the experience to deal with an animal that is not known for their charming personality, and has the ability to kill you.
How about the burmese python, do you have setup for that, or the reticulated python?
I see you have a ball python and a corn snake,, those are a far cry from the big snakes,, including your common boas.
I have been doing rescue for many years and that still does not qualify me to take on some of the larger snakes.
I am not trying to rain on your parade,, I think you have excellent intentions, but good intentions get people killed, when they dont have the proper experience, and the proper habitat.
Me, personally, I would have a hard time believing that you could take on any and all unwanted snakes and provide them PROPER care and proper housing at the same time.
Big snakes are a completely different story than the little ones.

Your heart is in the right place though,, try doing small scale rescue for a while and see how that goes,, you will in the end find out it is very costly, so make sure you have the finances to back that up.

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I have sucker tattood on my forehead

I agree with Nichole. The wording of this ad opens the door for you to be deluged with very large and aggressive "problem" animals. Also very ill ones. Do you have the facilities to house and care for them? The finances to deal with veterinary care? Because I can assure you that many will be in sad shape!

What exactly do you have in mind to do with all these animals?

I see similar ads all the time and the first thought that runs through my mind is this is either some kid who just wants freebies or it is someone who is trying to get animals to resale.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

good point. the last thing I would need is to put out the ad and the next day have somebody call me up with a vicious 15ft yellow anaconda. I don't expect that there would be a sudden flood of people asking me to take there snakes, or even as many as one a week, but I can't assume that it couldn't happen either. being unprepared would be the worst thing.

will edit it to specify snakes that don't get over 5ft, which will mainly limit it to what I have experience with already. as for the caging issue, i've never had problems getting aquariums that could be used for smaller snakes (at one point I had around a dozen, and only had to pay for 2 of them). as for larger enclosures or more space saving things, I have no problems building them out of plywood and plexi (for example, this behemoth of a viv that I built from scratch).

I've also been making up plans for some larger modular plywood tanks. one is a stack of two 2ftx8ftx1f tanks that can be divided up into 2x2x1ft tanks. another is an entertainment center/viv combination that will consist of a 2ftx2ftx6ft enclosure (for my salcutta in the winter time), along with several 10 or 20 gallon sized enclosures.

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i'd be better off opening my own small zoo.

One thing you have to remember is,, once you take these animals, they are yours,, they then become YOUR responsibility,, even if they came with all these health issues that you did not cause, once they are in your home it is legally and morally your responsibility to provide the proper medical attention.
Once the word gets out that you take all snakes and such, it will not be long before animal control is knocking on your door,, and you had then better be prepared to show proof of adequate housing, and proof of veterinary care.

My advice to you would be to find a herp vet (a good one) and ask what the fees are for some of your normal routine things that have to be done, for the type of animals that you will probably get dumped on you. For instance it will cost you anywhere fron 35-50 dollars just to walk in the door, a fecal is 20- 35 dollars, a reptile panel is anywhere from 95-125 dollars, and we are not even talking meds yet if they need it. Now that is just the normal business hour prices.
After hours I pay 125.00 now to just walk in the door to the emergency clinic, so if you get an animal after hours and it is in need of attention right then,, you are easily looking at a bill ranging from 350.00 on up. Financial stability is a definate must for the kind of services you are offering in the add.

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I have sucker tattood on my forehead

oops, was typing that while you replied merlin.

as for what to do with them, I've loved snakes and other reptiles all my life. my goal is to prevent them from being released into the wild or killed/neglected. mainly to provide a good life for them.

while I do want to do it to get more snakes, I feel that it would be better to get one that somebody no longer wants instead of buying one from a pet shop. that way the adopted snake can move on to a good home and continue to live a life in a household that welcomes it instead of one that ignores it or neglects it.

as for the finance issue, no clue yet.
While going into business breeding snakes did cross my mind, its not actually something that I'm aiming to do.
so maybe will put this whole idea off until financial stuff is figured out better.

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i'd be better off opening my own small zoo.

You might put that info into the ad as well.Good idea!

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

thanks for all the tips and info guys. I will put this whole thing off until I'm good and ready for it all.
am glad I posted here about it. you guys probably just kept me from making a big mistake.

hmm...anything else that I should know about and plan for or research?
well, besides looking into and learning all about various snake illnesses and learning about snakes i'm not yet familiar with.

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i'd be better off opening my own small zoo.

All I can say is I agree wholeheartedly with Nicole and Merlin. Think about what you are asking for. I have many rescue animals and I have never advertised, nor even actually claimed to be a rescue. They come, I fix, then I usually keep, as no one else wants the poor babies that are now missing tails, feet, etc.... or the horses who cannot be rode as they are asthmatic or have been in accidents before they came to me. The vet bills are high, but I love the rotten little monsters. If you really decide to do some rescue, I'm not sure a blanket add in the paper is a good idea, you could end up with some crazies. Start with talking to the vet you would be using. See if they are open to helping you out. They may let people know who wish to get rid of the ball python they didn't realize could live for 30 years or more. Also pet stores. Most do not like to take back in grown or problem animals, as they can bring diseases in the store did not have already. My IRN (a bird) was one that the people decided after a year and a half they no longer wanted. They felt the store should take it back. Store policy is they will advertise it for you, but not take it back. They could not sell him to a different home, so needless to say he found a loving home here with us, and is very spoiled. Think very hard about it, lots of money, space and responsibility involved.

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Kat

Aside from the very valid points the others have brought up, here's a little technical advice from a grammar/punctuation/spelling nazi. I'm sorry.

"threw" should be "through." If you need to save letter space, the acceptable abbreviation is "thru." (Although, it personally annoys me to no end.)

Also, you should probably keep "winter" singular. "...they will not survive through the cold winter." Making it plural suggests that they would survive at least one winter.

I'd make the next sentence a new paragraph and delete the "so," as well.

"ASAP" should always be uppercase, because it is taken from the first letters of the words "As Soon As Possible."

Hope that helps a little. Sorry about this. Never ask for editing advise around me!

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"Let's eat, Grandpa!"
"Let's eat Grandpa!"

Punctuation. It saves lives.