Every year many people receive critters as Christmas presents, some as a surprise. That is actually how Frog Beans began. We gifted Nathaniel a bearded dragon for Christmas and something clicked within him. Unfortunately not every critter will be met with such enthusiasm or receive the amount of love and care that Dr. Speedy Longbottom did. Many of the critters gifted as Christmas presents will end up in a shelter. Estimates say over 6 million animals enter into shelters every year around the US. While this is certainly not all from unwanted Christmas critters it certainly doesn’t help. The news gets even worse for our non-fury critters. Most shelters are not equipped to handle exotic critters and some will simply not take them, leaving critter caregivers little choice. Unfortunately some critter caregivers choose to literally throw their critter away, some toss enclosure and all. At Frog Beans we are hoping to change that by opening our doors to unwanted critters. We will discuss this in more detail later. For now let’s talk about those surprise critters and what you can do to prevent them from being thrown away.

A Tale of Little Jimmy’s New Critter

If you have done these things let’s talk about choosing the right pet for little Jimmy. We have discussed beginner pets in previous blogs and companion pieces, but we will briefly give some examples here. For a deeper dive see Critter Care: From Your First One and Beyond and Herp List. If little Jimmy has shown no interest in spiders or fish we can rule those out. Children will always let you know what they would like. Just watch them watching TV or walking through the zoo or pet store. This will tell you what they like and what they don’t like. For our example little Jimmy has shown that he finds lizards interesting. He especially likes the documentaries on Komodo dragons.

So if we hop on line we see that they are really expensive and require all sorts of licensing to own. He is not ready for that and we really only see him a few times a year so… maybe something close to a Komodo dragon. Some sort of monitor lizard, they come in smaller versions. After some quick research we find that monitors require a good bit of space and care. Our sister and her husband live in a small apartment with little Jimmy so that probably won’t work. Small lizards… geckoes? too sensitive for beginner, long tailed lizard? too fast for little Jimmy. How about a bearded dragon? They don’t require a ton of space and are okay with being handled.

After talking with our sister she says they could easily make the space in Jimmy’s room for a bearded dragon. Reading up on the environment you find the perfect enclosure (see choosing an enclosure for more information) and find a responsible breeder to purchase little Jimmy’s first critter.

That is how we all hope it goes, but that is not usually how it goes. People purchase on a whim because “it looks cool” or “this would freak him out”. These are the critters that die or are thrown out without thought to them being a living creature that, while most can’t feel love, can still feel scared or hungry. Some critters do survive. This may be a worse fate. Living in an unhealthy or wrong environment. Forced to go hungry for days before the wrong diet is tossed into the cage.

Don’t Be Afraid

We don’t say this to scare you away from buying a critter for yourself or someone else, but we do want everyone to understand that these critters, like the fury critters, need love and attention AND a clean place to live. Proper diet and proper environment are important and in some cases more important than for our fury critters. Know yourself (or whoever you are purchasing the critter for) and know the critter. Here are a few Dos and Don’ts to get you started:

• DO know your (or the recipients) limits and capabilities
• DON’T assume they (or you) will learn
• DO ask if it’s okay
• DON’T spring a new critter on anyone unless you are prepared to care for it
• DO know the critter you are buying
• DON’T buy because “it looks cool”
• DO the research to know the critter’s environment and needs
• DON’T assume they will be fine

We hope this helps to stem the flow of critters into the animal shelters and trash cans. If you find yourself as a recipient of a surprise critter and you can’t take care of it. Find a responsible way to give it away. Check with your local animal shelter before just dropping it off. There may be a safe place for exotic critters near your location.

If you love within 100 miles of Elizabethton, TN Frog Beans will be more than happy to come to your home and remove the critter for you or you can drop it off at our location. There is no shame in admitting you are not ready for a critter. All critters taken in by Frog Beans are responsibly re-homed to qualified homes so there is no doubt their new home is ready for them.

We also offer training on the proper care for critters if you would like to keep you new critter but find all of the tasks overwhelming. If you have any questions or want to speak further about giving your critter a new home reach out to us. You can send us an email at support@thefrogbeans.com or use the form below.