CENTERVILLE, Utah, Aug. 2, 2016 (Gephardt Daily) — Utah Reptile Rescue has lost its home — displacing more than 300 animals, including snakes, turtles, alligators, lizards, and non-reptiles including rats, exotic birds and ferrets.
Reptile Rescue founder and operator Jim Dix said he has long had a contentious relationship with the city of Centerville, which has ordinances against dangerous animals in residential areas.
But in mid-July, Dix said, he was served with a notice telling him the animals would be confiscated if he did not move them away. And at about the same time, Dix’s landlady informed him she would need to sell the house to avoid foreclosure.
Both entities told him to have the animals out by Wednesday, a deadline Dix hopes to meet.
“Today was all the 10-gallon tanks of snakes and about 25 geckos, and about 60 20-gallon tanks of snakes,” Dix told Gephardt Daily on Tuesday. “And we rescue tortoises and box turtles, and we have about 150 water turtles.
“We’ve got more big exotics tomorrow, with lizards and gators, a couple cages with cockatoos in them, rat cages …”
The animals will find a temporary home at a warehouse Davis County will allow Dix to use while he makes other arrangements, he said.
One of Dix’s volunteers has set up a GoFundMe page with an appeal for financial help:
“James has been running a reptile rescue for most of his life. He takes in reptiles, amphibians, and other unwanted and possibly illegal animals. Over the years the rescue has been needing to relocate a ton due to landlords, city restrictions and fund problems.
“Without the help of the community (again) these beautiful, precious animals could be in danger. Please help James keep these animals healthy, sheltered, and safe.
“The city now is giving him a very short time (will be given in the next couple days) to relocate all the animals before they are confiscated.
“Not only would James and the volunteers be very thankful for the help, but so will all the animals that are in need of the shelter and care James provides.
With any questions about this situation — James will be willing to answer at 801-860-2497. Any help is appreciated.”
The page, set up 12 days ago, had drawn $495 in donations as of early Tuesday evening.
Dix said he grew up with an affinity for reptiles, which aren’t cute and seemed to need an advocate.
“They aren’t cuddly like a little dog, but they still have a right to live,” he said. “People put them in bad positions, and it’s not the animals’ fault.”
Dix said he began to rescue reptiles to keep them from being put down in shelters, or dying from inadequate care by someone who didn’t understand their needs. Some tropical snakes, if kept at the wrong temperature, will eat food and be unable to metabolize it, then become ill or die from the rotted flesh in their stomachs, Dix said.
Dix feeds the animals with money that is donated, or funds he raises by showing the animals at fairs or commercial events. Dix said he recently argued at the Centerville City Council that taking his animals would be taking his livelihood, akin to taking a plumber’s wrenches.
Dix said he also has trained law enforcement officials in the correct handling of animals that might otherwise be dangerous to them. Sometimes he donates his time, other times a small fee or expenses are paid.
Dix said he may be most proud of his work with at-risk young people, teaching them to care for reptiles and giving them a hobby that may keep them from other, more dangerous pursuits.
Then there’s the ongoing rescues Dix handles, taking in illegal pets, poisonous snakes that threaten the public, and animals that lose their homes due to a variety of circumstances.
“I’ve pulled 57 rattlesnakes out of the city this year,” he said, referring to Salt Lake City. “I’ve rescued 41 gators in three years. I’ve probably rescued 150 animals in seven months.
Gephardt Daily readers first met Dix in April, when we wrote about his rescue of seven snakes and other assorted pets left homeless by a house fire.
He took in seven snakes, including two albino Burmese pythons, each about 8 feet long; a blood python; a motley boa; an albino boa; and a red tail boa with its mouth burned, he said. He also took in two Savannah monitors that seem to be OK, Dix said.
“That’s not a lot of snakes,” Dix said at the time. “Some hobbyists have as many as 100. The animals are legal and are sold in pet stores.”
Dix’s ultimate dream is to open an educational facility that would display reptiles and teach the public to appreciate them. He would like to spread the word to the general public and to children and school groups, he said.
But his more immediate need is to find and fund a smaller place in which he can continue his current work.
“I’ve done this myself for 19 years,” Dix said. “Now I am asking for help.”
Hello. This is a comment for the reptile rescue. I they should talk to salt lake city about using the old children’s museum building to create a reptile house. When it was being used for the children’s museum, they had free rent. It is a historical building and should be used for something, but instead it lies empty. If they could get funding to repair the bulding, I think it would be an awesome new place for people to go, and a great home for all those animals.