Pace resident Carmen Swafford was shocked and saddened to hear that dozens of reptiles were either killed or injured in a case of animal cruelty discovered over the weekend in Milton.
"You've got to take care of them if you are going to have them," said Swafford, a licensed reptile breeder who has six snakes and several turtles. "I take care of them just like they are my children. When they need food and water, I give it to them."
Craig Thomas Zoodsma, 50, of Milton, was arrested Saturday and charged with 35 felony and 41 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty after investigators found 34 dead snakes, one dead bearded dragon lizard and two dead red-eared slider turtles in a camper he owned.
Zoodsma also had 35 snakes, three lizards, three turtles, three cats and two dogs that survived. The cats and dogs were taken to the county animal shelter, while the reptiles -- many of which are malnourished, dehydrated and have infections -- are being nursed back to health at The Zoo Northwest Florida.
"Most of the snakes are eating and moving around," said Natalie Akin, spokeswoman for The Zoo. "They're doing much better."
The Zoo has received $300 in cash and in-kind donations to help cover the $10,000 in expenses expected to be incurred for food, staff, equipment and medicine to help bring the reptiles back to health.
With a bond of $55,000, Zoodsma was still at the Santa Rosa County Jail on Tuesday afternoon.
Harmon Massey, who heads the State Attorney's Office in Milton, hadn't yet seen the case file Tuesday and wouldn't comment on what type of sentence the conviction on those charges might bring.
According to information from several local pet stores and the Internet, the surviving animals could be worth as much as $8,000 on the retail market. The lot's single albino ball python could fetch as much as $3,000.
Zoodsma told investigators he had been aware of the dead animals -- the carcasses of which littered the unventilated camper -- for about two weeks, but hadn't had time to do anything about it.
Nancy Slay, a co-owner of Original Aquatic Pets in Pace, said it takes a lot longer than two weeks for large snakes to die of hunger or thirst.
"Many of them can live for six months to a year without eating," Slay said. "They probably couldn't go longer than a couple months without water. They need moisture to shed (as well as to drink)."
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