Three weeks ago, during a period of warm weather, a Drumcondra resident noticed a corn snake hiding in the wheelie bin in their back garden.
They reported the incident, and the reptile was brought to a new home at the foothills of the Dublin mountains. He is now residing with the Dublin Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (DSPCA).
Thankfully for the snake, who staff named Stephen after a DSPCA maintenance man, the shelter recently opened its small animal and exotics house. It will be capable of holding lizards, geckos, bearded dragons and most exotic creatures short of chameleons and venomous snakes.
Two families have already shown a strong interest in taking Stephen home. Caroline Mothersill, the manager of the new facility, says there is a growing demand in Ireland for unusual pets. She herself has three snakes – the most affectionate being an African house snake.
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“They have got their own personalities,” Ms Mothersill says. “If I take them out the others might want to explore the room. He’ll sit in your arms or in your pocket. He’ll actually lick my face. He’ll sit wrapped around my hands if I’m watching TV or something.”
Adoptions of small and exotic animals from the charity have risen by 55.5 per cent in the last 12 months, but instances of pet abandonment mean there is a long waiting list for some seeking a new home.
Brienne, a terrapin turtle in the facility, was found in a pond in St Anne’s Park, Clontarf, where she would have been unlikely to survive the winter. It is not known how Stephen ended up in Drumcondra, but the weather probably contributed to him being found.
“Whether they escape or whether they’re dumped or released, they will hide away for a number of weeks, maybe even months,” Ms Mothersill says of snakes. “Then they get very dehydrated and on a really hot day they have to come out into the open trying to find water.”
Exotic animals are often abandoned by owners who were not prepared for the reality of caring for them. “Sometimes they’re left behind when people are renting and then move away,” she says. “They just leave the animal there. If they were bought for the kids and the kids are now bored and they’ve nowhere to put it, or they can’t sell them or nobody wants them, they’ll often just let them out. That’s just the easiest thing for them to do unfortunately.”
Part of the problem might be in how people view exotics. Some owners do not classify them as pets at all.
“Reptiles are sentient beings as well, and they’re kind of not seen as that,” Ms Mothersill says. “A lot of people that keep reptiles will say ‘it’s my hobby’.”
With that said, snakes and turtles are not as demanding or hands-on as some more traditional household pets. If they are comfortable and have appropriate facilities the relationship between pet and owner can be more visual. For Ms Mothersill, that is a big part of the appeal.
“I have a very busy life,” she says. “I’m not at home for a rabbit or a cat or a dog. Reptiles – they don’t care if you’re there or you’re not. They just want to be fed, have the right temperatures and have their nice big enclosures. They’re not as demanding.”
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