Junkyard
Generally Running Circles
200 reptiles abandoned in Hesperia
Comments 8 | Recommend 11
“This is the absolutely the biggest reptile rescue I’ve ever done by far.” Joel Almquist, owner Forever Wild Exotic Animal Sanctuary.
BROOKE EDWARDS Staff Writer
February 6, 2008 - 3:34PM
HESPERIA — More than 200 reptiles worth an estimated $90,000 were found abandoned in a freezing, filthy room attached to a garage in Hesperia. Most were alive, though weak. Some had died from the cold or dehydration, including two gila monsters.
“This is absolutely the biggest reptile rescue I’ve ever done by far,” said Joel Almquist, owner of the non-profit Forever Wild Exotic Animal Sanctuary in Phelan.
Almquist took control of roughly 197 snakes and lizards. Hesperia Animal Control is holding 13 tortoises also found at the site.
Though the investigation by Hesperia Code Enforcement and Animal Control is still underway, Almquist suspects the reptiles may be the latest victims of the foreclosure epidemic sweeping across the High Desert.
“I’ve been getting a lot of calls like that lately,” he said.
Not long ago, a real estate agent called Almquist after finding six potbellied pigs abandoned at a foreclosed property. He took them in on his 9-acre lot and has since found homes for them all, minus one female named Sophie. Almquist said she moved herself to his neighbors’ yard, who gladly took her in. He guesses Sophie was tired of looking at the tigers that are also housed in his sanctuary.
The same thing happened with six sickly thoroughbred horses that a man brought by a few months back.
Almquist said the horses’ owner asked, “Do you want to use these for food for your tigers?”
He took the animals in, nursed them back to health and found them homes.
Almquist has also gotten calls from Norco Animal Control asking him to take an African Serval Cat, and Fish and Game about an alligator found in a foreclosed home in Fontana.
Each time, Almquist said, “I’m glad to do it, but I hope I don’t have to do it again.”
In this latest case, officers served a warrant last Wednesday to the abandoned reptile home, located in the 7000 block of Cottonwood, following a tip from a neighbor.
The neighbor told officers the resident had been gone for a month and a half, Almquist said. He believes it was much longer, describing the room as an absolute mess with spider webs and trash everywhere. There were tortoises lying all over the cold concrete floor of the house, which he said registered 30 degrees.
“It would take six months for it to look like that.”
Two gila monsters and a dozen or so snakes were dead when the officers arrived, including a 6-foot snake that Almquist estimates had been dead for four months.
Luckily, he said, the owner left during the cold season while the snakes were hibernating and can go for three or four months without food, or it might have been much worse.
Still, Almquist said that a few animals were so thin and sickly that it was more humane to put them down.
Around 75 of the rescues were corn snakes in every color imaginable, Almquist said. There were also Mexican black king snakes, California king snakes, bull snakes and one venomous coral snake, among others. The most valuable reptiles saved were four or so albino rosy boas worth $1,000 to $1,500 each.
Almquist said most of the animals are doing well now, though some still need special care. He said many had hundreds and hundreds of mites, which could kill them if not treated.
A few are still having shedding problems from the dehydration. Almquist said two of his reptile volunteers have put in 40 hours in the last few days, soaking the snakes in warm water and gently pulling their dry skin away.
Almquist hopes to keep a few of the snakes, including the rosy boas and two albino gopher snakes. He plans to use them for reptile talks he gives at local schools. He will try to find homes for the rest.
The owner of the reptiles faces several possible charges if found.
Under California law, abandoning a pet is a crime punishable by a fine of up to $500. The owner also needed a Fish and Game license to hold many of the reptiles he had. He could also face felony charges for collecting the gila monsters and coral snake, which are listed as endangered and protected in several states.
Comments 8 | Recommend 11
“This is the absolutely the biggest reptile rescue I’ve ever done by far.” Joel Almquist, owner Forever Wild Exotic Animal Sanctuary.
BROOKE EDWARDS Staff Writer
February 6, 2008 - 3:34PM
HESPERIA — More than 200 reptiles worth an estimated $90,000 were found abandoned in a freezing, filthy room attached to a garage in Hesperia. Most were alive, though weak. Some had died from the cold or dehydration, including two gila monsters.
“This is absolutely the biggest reptile rescue I’ve ever done by far,” said Joel Almquist, owner of the non-profit Forever Wild Exotic Animal Sanctuary in Phelan.
Almquist took control of roughly 197 snakes and lizards. Hesperia Animal Control is holding 13 tortoises also found at the site.
Though the investigation by Hesperia Code Enforcement and Animal Control is still underway, Almquist suspects the reptiles may be the latest victims of the foreclosure epidemic sweeping across the High Desert.
“I’ve been getting a lot of calls like that lately,” he said.
Not long ago, a real estate agent called Almquist after finding six potbellied pigs abandoned at a foreclosed property. He took them in on his 9-acre lot and has since found homes for them all, minus one female named Sophie. Almquist said she moved herself to his neighbors’ yard, who gladly took her in. He guesses Sophie was tired of looking at the tigers that are also housed in his sanctuary.
The same thing happened with six sickly thoroughbred horses that a man brought by a few months back.
Almquist said the horses’ owner asked, “Do you want to use these for food for your tigers?”
He took the animals in, nursed them back to health and found them homes.
Almquist has also gotten calls from Norco Animal Control asking him to take an African Serval Cat, and Fish and Game about an alligator found in a foreclosed home in Fontana.
Each time, Almquist said, “I’m glad to do it, but I hope I don’t have to do it again.”
In this latest case, officers served a warrant last Wednesday to the abandoned reptile home, located in the 7000 block of Cottonwood, following a tip from a neighbor.
The neighbor told officers the resident had been gone for a month and a half, Almquist said. He believes it was much longer, describing the room as an absolute mess with spider webs and trash everywhere. There were tortoises lying all over the cold concrete floor of the house, which he said registered 30 degrees.
“It would take six months for it to look like that.”
Two gila monsters and a dozen or so snakes were dead when the officers arrived, including a 6-foot snake that Almquist estimates had been dead for four months.
Luckily, he said, the owner left during the cold season while the snakes were hibernating and can go for three or four months without food, or it might have been much worse.
Still, Almquist said that a few animals were so thin and sickly that it was more humane to put them down.
Around 75 of the rescues were corn snakes in every color imaginable, Almquist said. There were also Mexican black king snakes, California king snakes, bull snakes and one venomous coral snake, among others. The most valuable reptiles saved were four or so albino rosy boas worth $1,000 to $1,500 each.
Almquist said most of the animals are doing well now, though some still need special care. He said many had hundreds and hundreds of mites, which could kill them if not treated.
A few are still having shedding problems from the dehydration. Almquist said two of his reptile volunteers have put in 40 hours in the last few days, soaking the snakes in warm water and gently pulling their dry skin away.
Almquist hopes to keep a few of the snakes, including the rosy boas and two albino gopher snakes. He plans to use them for reptile talks he gives at local schools. He will try to find homes for the rest.
The owner of the reptiles faces several possible charges if found.
Under California law, abandoning a pet is a crime punishable by a fine of up to $500. The owner also needed a Fish and Game license to hold many of the reptiles he had. He could also face felony charges for collecting the gila monsters and coral snake, which are listed as endangered and protected in several states.
