Join us on Channel 2 Action News WSB in Atlanta Monday April 28th at 5:00pm.
Learn how we ended up with the yellow anaconda and the gaboon viper pictured below.

            My love for snakes started when I was a kid. Though I didn't know much about them, I was fascinated! As I got older and more knowledgeable, I talked my parents into letting me have a pet snake. I started with a garter snake and a black rat snake. Later, I ended up with a couple of boa constrictors that were given to me by a couple who grew bored with them. That passion for snakes that I had as a kid has turned into what is now Southeastern Reptile Rescue. After several years of dealing with nuisance, unwanted and/or neglected reptiles I've come to realize how many people have snakes that probably shouldn't. The majority of people that I encounter, keep their animals as they should and have proper husbandry techniques. But, there is a small minority of reptile enthusiasts out there that give other reptile owners very bad reputations. Private reptile owners who do not deal with the public on a regular basis in regards to snakes and snake rescue may find it hard to understand why someone would want to ban certain reptiles. I know I did. But, after finding red tail boas in parking lots, reticulated pythons in barns, ball pythons in flower gardens, Burmese pythons crossing the road and four foot monitor lizards under storage sheds, I see where the reptile hating world is coming from. I definitely condone private ownership. I want kids just like I was to be able to have a pet snake or lizard. This is one reason I do hundreds of hours each year of public education about reptiles. The problem with private ownership of reptiles in Georgia is the private reptile owners themselves. Those of us who are responsible keepers need to spend our time educating everyone around us, especially, the new to the hobby crowd. Each time a snake escapes from its incompetent owner's garage, it creates more fear of an already hated animal that pushes us closer to reptile restricted legislation. If reptile breeders, dealers and pet shop owners would ask simple questions and use a small amount of common sense before making a sale of a 24" Burmese python to a fourteen year old kid, many of these problems would be easily avoided. Many people that love snakes spend countless hours trying to figure out how to make money doing what they love. This often turns them into reptile dealers who overtime will sell any snake to any person with enough money to keep them in business. This is the very thing that may eventually eliminate private ownership of reptiles.
            I was recently contacted by WSB channel 2, which is a news station in Atlanta. They said they were doing a story on illegal reptiles and wanted to know if they could interview me. I was very hesitant at first and even consulted a couple of well known reptile experts that I hold great respect for. As one of them said, "Jason, if you don't help them with their story then someone else will. That person may do more harm than good", I decided to go forward with the interview. The reporter and camera crew arrived at our residence where we took them to our reptile building. They wanted to see all the snakes that had been held illegally by Georgia residents and were incidentally turned over to us either by the state or the owners. I showed several snakes and were asked several pointed questions about private ownership and current reptile laws in Georgia that I tried to answer as best I could. After the interview and filming were complete, the reporter said she was planning on ordering a couple of snakes to document the procedure and wanted to know if the snakes could be turned over to our organization after filming was completed. She said they planned to order a gaboon viper and an anaconda, which they did and they are now living comfortably in our facility. The gaboon viper is of course illegal to own in Georgia without proper permits, which we do have. The anaconda is legal to own without restrictions - for now. I hope this will be a wake up call to all reptile owners in Georgia as well as other states. We need to stop focusing on making a buck and focus on the animals that we fell in love with!

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