The cost of owning illegal reptiles in British Columbia

Ugh. Yes hot training 101 says that I should have antivenom for any hot in ones care. However I would point out that logic thinking 101 says that you can only purchase antivenom for an animal that you know you will have. The concept is that these are seized animals. Perhaps in some alternative (Tom Cruise) reality, people can tell me that on such and such a day, there will be a house fire and you will find copperheads, or that next wednesday a crack head who traded some of his stash for a gaboon viper. Sadly that is not the way reality works. Please by all means move up here and apply for your Controlled alien species rescue permit. I would love the competition..... Oh wait, I am the only one stupid enough to have applied for such a permit.....

lol! I'm sorry if it seems I'm giving you a hard time. It's just my opinion and I don't pretend to know all the technicalities that go on behind the scenes of owning a veterinary hospital and rescue. I respect what your doing for the community. I just had to voice my opinion.

I don't take offense. It is hard for people to understand why veterinarians cost as much as they do. I spent the last 4 years charging $10 a day because I wanted the opportunity for people who had lost their snakes an opportunity to try and get them back. I even dropped the price to $5 a day so that one individual would be able to afford that. But after being in limbo for 6 months, and they were not able to afford the $2000 bill (2 snakes). Unfortunately it took another 4 months to find a suitable home in Ontario.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toront...kids-1.2618312

In the last 6 weeks I have recieved 3 burmese, 1 retic, a asiatic water monitor and a spectacled caiman. A little overwhelming for a facility that is really set up to handle ball pythons and bearded dragons.

In the last three years I have dealt with three hot cases, 1 was a 17 year old who wanted to give up his snake, and the other were two being kept in small aquariums with rocks to keep the cages secure. I have two kids, not really my job to deal with hots, and not something I want to do, but if forced to take that kind of risk (yes I am aware that the risks are minimal, but if something goes wrong the costs are extreme), then the person putting me at risk should be financially responsible.

I couple of other reasons the cost is so high. I operate a very busy practice, so the only time I can go to clean cages, treat animals and change water dishes is at the end of the day, so overtime for both me and my tech. Plus I don't want to work with hots (other then my very cute and adorable gila monster and any phylobates bicolor that show up, hey you and I know they are harmless but the BC government not so much), how much do you charge to do things you dont want to do?

Originally Posted by RDLinATL

yes i find it comical that your organization would recieve the money instead of the facility actually doing the care in the first place. they should have any antivenom for the hot if they are willing to take care of it. thats hot training 101. ajd to lucille i also believe they are entilted to compensation but 6000 a month is ridiculous. please pay me 6000 a month per snake and i will gladly quit my job and take care of them all and find them new homes. after 4 days of pay with these snakes you should afford all safety equipment necessary to care for them (which the offsite facility should have anyways). that includes locking sturdy cages, hooks, tubes and even specfic antivenom (not crofab). i respect what your doing and your entitled to money to care for them but 6000 a month is ridiculous.

With all the waste in cities,states,and federal governments,I'm surprised you have time to come on this thread and complain.

These fees are excessive, especially for snakes. When we receive illegal animals, we usually are able to bill about $8-10 a day (varies by city and here it must be approved by a judge, typically) plus any actual costs. We are not vets so that cost would be added. The idea that boarding fees for low maintenance animals (snakes) which are fed weekly and cleaned as needed, should parallel cats or dogs is ridiculous. Of course, the simple fact is that these criminals rarely pay anyway. If the cost is intended to discourage illegal ownership, t won't. Nothing wrong with making a profit. Question - do you only board seized animals or do you take voluntary boarders (client going on vacation for instance) and if you do, what do you charge.

Perhaps, but you are not paying to have a veterinarian clean cages and feed (yes, 13 years of education means that I can demand a per hour wage greater then $10hr). You are not taking into account that a quarter of my facility is shut down to its normal purpose aka boarding dogs and cats ($40 per day and $20 per day respectively). No body wants their cat fluffy boarded next to an 11 ft retic. I broke down my costs in the above posts, if your costs are less then you are entitled to charge what ever you want, but these animals are taking up a good chunk of my clinic space and my time. Again, by all means move up here and start a CAS rescue facility if you think you can make a living at it (you can't). Again no offence intended but these are the costs.

To be clear, you are certainly entitled to your business model, as are we. But you have a "captive" clientele with these illegals. Nobody discussed a rate of $10 per hour, but you could certainly hire someone to clean cages and spend your time doing actual vet work,, commensurate with your experience to maximize your cash flow. Most snakes will take 15 minutes daily and an hour once a week. That's 2.5 hours. For a 6' snake that works out to $84 per hour. Certainly in line with what a vet charges, based on a 30 minute, $40-50 office consult. But it is work your STAFF can do, in between playing with puppies which they don't get paid for. Do you have staff that cares for other animals? Also, what do you do with big snakes after 6 months? And, again, do you do voluntary reptile boarding and what are your rates.

Originally Posted by K9dr

Perhaps, but you are not paying to have a veterinarian clean cages and feed (yes, 13 years of education means that I can demand a per hour wage greater then $10hr). You are not taking into account that a quarter of my facility is shut down to its normal purpose aka boarding dogs and cats ($40 per day and $20 per day respectively). No body wants their cat fluffy boarded next to an 11 ft retic. I broke down my costs in the above posts, if your costs are less then you are entitled to charge what ever you want, but these animals are taking up a good chunk of my clinic space and my time. Again, by all means move up here and start a CAS rescue facility if you think you can make a living at it (you can't). Again no offence intended but these are the costs.

Dr. Walton,

You seem to be continuing to explain your charges. Part of the charges seem to be overhead, part are for your skills and experience, part is for risk, part is for the paperwork I'm sure comes with the territory of seized animals, part is for profit, and we all need to make a living.
As the charges are for illegal animals, most of the readers here will hopefully not have to retrieve and pay for seized illegal critters.

If someone can do better, they can open a place across the street from you. It is very rare here (or anywhere) that anyone agrees with anything 100%, I hope you are not expecting that.

Guys - look I understand why you think these prices are outrageous so lets break it down into the simpliest terms.

• I am a operating veterinary clinic
• my entire boarding facility has been shut down to accomodate these animals
• The only person legally allowed to handle these animals is me - a licensed veterinarian
• The fees are only charged for the time that they are in Ministrty of the Environments care ~1 month
• The animals then spend 3-10 months in my care with no funding support before rehoming is available

So for every day that is paid, I pay 3-10 days out of my own pocket, so yeah, the rates are high.

I agree with Lucille, if you guys think there is a potential business to be made please by all means come here and set up a business. I would LOVE the competition.

As for what we do with them after their time is up....

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toront...kids-1.2618312

This article should be entitled " the cost of fascism on exotic pet owners"