Rescue, rehabilitation, placement
how to surrender and what do we accept
We accept any unrestricted species of reptile, amphibian, and aquatic life. We accept arthropods, however we do not accept highly venomous species. Our process is very straight-forward, just one custody transfer form and you’re done! We do not require your animals enclosure and equipment, however, it is greatly appreciated as a donation towards our programs.
Please call or email ahead to ensure we have the capacity to take in your reptile.
In an emergency situation please simply bring in your animal, we would rather work to find a solution here than have it go into the wild or into a bad situation.
red-eared sliders
We are thrilled to share that we have been permitted to take in red eared slider turtles (and certain other species of pond sliders)! This makes us one of two facilities in the state with this type of permitting. We are excited to work with the state to provide Vermonters a solution and resource to rehome their turtles too. Please NEVER release your turtles, they are an invasive species within the state and it’s illegal (not to mention unethical). Please always contact us, the state, or Pick & Shovel in Newport (the other facility with this license).
our process
Our R.R.P. (Rescue, Rehabilitation, Placement) process is very straightforward and detailed below.
Step 1: Rescue
The first step in our process is the actual rescue of an animal in need. This can take various forms, from surrenders dropped off at our door, traveling to pickup an animal in need, or taking in animals from other facilities throughout New England that may not have the resources to take care of the animal in question.
Step 2: Rehabilitation
This is potentially the most important step, during this phase we take the animal in need and place them into our quarantine system where we then do health evaluations over the span of several weeks. Depending on the needs of the animal this may be a very quick process or it could take months with lots of veterinary work.
Step 3: Placement
Once the animal is healthy we then work to find placement for them. In many cases we place them into our Fins & Scales exhibit where they stay in our care for the duration of the rest of their lives. In some rarer cases we keep them permanently in our private section (typically this only happens if they have ongoing medical needs and wouldn’t do well in our educational exhibit). The lastly the other common option is that we find adopters to take them in through our adoption program - see details at the bottom of the page on how to adopt!
Adoption
Interested in adoption? Please stop by in store to meet our available animals and talk to our staff about filling out an adoption application!