I woke up early and loaded my alligator supplies in the car. Not knowing the size and knowing only that there were two, I packed my supplies for big guys, just in case. It was a way to almost guarantee that they would be small. My fellow rescuers know what I mean. Tossed the 6 foot gator tube in the car and the 4 foot foot lockers as well. I grabbed a few emergency supplies, sprayed myself down heavily with provent-a-mite and headed off. 

We met with the police for our escort and a very tired crew who had already spent 1 day removing over 25 neglected dogs from the home the day before. In the home we climbed to the attic after pausing to count the birds on the second floor and it was an amazing sight. There were so many animals, everywhere, of every type. All the reptile enclosures were caked with feces so it took a bit to focus on what was inside, the first animal I saw was a raccoon in a cage! As I stepped up to the first reptile cage to look closer inside, to my left I heard the clucking of chickens. I glanced over and realized there were two freaking chicken coops. I looked at my friend from the shelter and simply said "this bleep is bleeping nuts". His reply was "Wait til you see the goat". Ya'll, he led me to a room that was about 6 x 8. Inside this room with no light, a half door and an amazingly intact window is an honest to goodness goat, 4 ducks and 1 turkey. They are living in the attic of a house smack dab in the middle of the city. 
I began looking at each cage. They were filthy. Ambient room temp is about mid-50's cages are maybe in the 60's with high spots in the 70s for all species. Some have heat, some just have fluorescent tubes. None have UV in any way. The glass is cakes with feces on all cages. If there is water in any cages, it is filled with poo. Layers upon layers of shed as well as long deceased and desiccated uneaten feeders littered tanks with snakes along with their waste. I took video, made notes, gave directions for housing, and promised to supply food for the animals. When I got home, I started to write up a formal statement of the housing cage by cage describing the health status of each animal. This wasn't the worst case of neglect for reptiles I have seen, it was just the most bizarre. The animals were rough, some worse than others. There was a gecko, I really could not ID. It was a weird brownish grey color. When I saw it the next day at the shelter, it was a Grandis and clearly one. Sadly it was one of the ones that did not make it. We were lucky in that the owner instantly surrendered custody. I had partner organizations ready to take on the animals for me so I could focus on the investigation end of things. This also helped get the animals into an adoption pool out of the area where the neglect happened. The wonderful partner organizations did their magic and almost everyone survived. To this day, some animals are still in rehabilitation because reptiles take that much longer to recover. 

Earlier this year, there was a spark of light. This person was initially refusing a plea deal. He was charged with 2 felonies and 11 misdemeanors. The felonies were neglect resulting in the death of an animal, one of which was a reptile. My report was a large part of the criminal complaint. I was asked to be an expert witness for the defense. Animal abuse cases often do not make it past the plea bargain phase. They are not really a priority. Animal abuse cases built around reptiles rarely even make it to charges. People are not sympathetic to reptiles. There are people who do not believe that reptiles have the ability to feel pain. I learned that a plea deal was accepted days before I was to testify. We have been waiting for the sentencing to learn what the full results of the plea deal was. 

This week sentencing happened. The owner was sentenced to 6 days, but was granted time served and he is not allowed to own animals other than the 4 he was allowed to keep after the confiscation for 1 year. 

Only 6 days? Really? We did all this, why?  Will we be back in 4 years?  Was it worth it?

I 'spose if I were to find a silver lining it would be this. We have a sheltering system that respects reptiles here in Wisconsin. We have a sheltering system that will not kill them upon intake and feels their lives matter. We have a solid network of ethical rescues that work together. And we have the support to make sure that people give a hoot about not neglecting reptiles as much as they would not neglecting a dog or cat. As I enter my 30th year of rescue, I can definitely take that as a small win. 


Phelsuma Grandis at the scene, photo by author


An example of one of the cleaner cages, photo by author


I was not lying about the goat, image by author