Reptile Rescue

            Easter has come and gone and in a matter of weeks, if not days, that “cute” bunny rabbit or baby chick you got the kids will begin to be a burden.  There are no returns at pet shops so where will you turn for help in getting your “pet” a new home? You can turn to Reptile Rescue, a service operated out of the Narberth Animal Hospital,

815 Montgomery Avenue

, in Narberth by Kennel Manager and Technician Della Crockett. I know the animal hospital is in Montgomery County and I’m writing for the Delaware County Daily Times but Reptile Rescue serves the entire Region. Back in the day Town Criers served a useful function of disseminating news about the community.  These days flyers posted on bank and supermarket bulletin boards and taped to store windows serve a similar purpose.  This is how I learned about Reptile Rescue. 

Ms. Crockett says too many families acquire pets that they should not, like ferrets and iguanas and pythons and boas and alligators and even bunny rabbits and baby chicks. After the exotic allure of these “pets” wears off, it’s Reptile Rescue to the rescue.  You can reach Ms. Crockett at 267-252-3266.  She’s worked at the animal hospital for 18 years and came up with the idea of finding new homes for exotic pets about two years ago after getting many requests for assistance.  She either keeps a donated animal at the hospital for a time to check its health out or takes it home after determining that it is fit for adoption.  She screens potential adopters to make sure they are serious about acquiring a different sort of pet. She does not handle venomous snakes telling owners to contact the SPCA or the zoo.

Some owners grow tired of their “pets” after the pets start to grow larger than originally expected. “Red-eared sliders are popular turtles,” Ms. Crockett says, “that start out as big as a dime or a quarter but can over time grow to be eight or nine pounds.”  There have been cases where Ms. Crockett has been unable to find a new home for an exotic animal and that’s where he son Eric comes in.  He attends Philadelphia’s W.B. Saul Agricultural School in East Falls and that’s where some of the “pets” have found a new home.

            Most importantly Ms. Crockett advises that you do your homework before acquiring exotic animals. She recalled an owner of a docile bearded iguana who put it in a tank with a larger, more aggressive Savannah Monitor, a cousin of a Komodo Dragon, only to discover the next morning that the bearded iguana was gone.