VA Reptile Rescue (VARR) Adoption Policies

    1. We will not adopt to minors. Adults - if you are applying for your child, please realize that we will be evaluating YOUR knowledge of the species during our phone interview. If you are not capable of caring for it yourself, we will not adopt to you.

 

   2. We reserve the right to refuse adoption to anyone. We are not a government agency, and can choose our adoptive homes by any means we decide to utilize.

 

   3. Adoption fees vary from animal to animal. There are no "standard" fees, although most animals will range in the $50-100 range. Our adoption fees will be based on many things: the retail value, the level of care it will need, vet treatment, and likelihood of finding a good home. Adoption fees are not final, and we can/will waive them if we deem it appropriate and necessary to placing the animal in the best home. In general, though - if you can't afford our minor adoption fee, it will certainly raise a question about your ability to care for the animal.

 

   4. Shipping is done when needed to place the animal in a great home, but it is done at the adopter's expense and risk. Currently FedEx overnight is the carrier we use for shipping. Please do not ask us to ship via carriers that do not knowingly transport reptiles.

 

   5. We will accept reptiles that we have the space and financial ability to help. If your animal is sick, we will either refuse it, or ask that you give a reasonable donation towards what the expected vet cost will be.  If your animal is large or aggressive, we may not have proper caging for it. Ask - we will try to help wherever necessary. Those animals we are not able to take in can be placed on our website, if you provide us with a photograph, and as much info as possible about it. We will then coordinate the adoption for you.

 

  6. Our animals are generally intended to be adopted for purposes of being companion animals, not commercial breeders. We realize, however, that some species are so threatened in their wild state that captive breeding is encouraged. Other species, however, we will have a strict "no-breeding" policy on. Those species include various large boids, crocodilians, iguanas, certain water turtle species, and some monitor species. Anyone who breeds these animals after adopting from VARR will be subject to lawsuit, and be liable for our costs in recovering the animal.

 

   7. We require a legal, binding contract upon the adoption of any animal. We strongly suggest reading a sample contract before applying so that you are not surprised by any of the clauses.

 

   8. VARR reserves the right to make other contractual agreements with adoptors, if the agreement is in the best interests of the animal and VARR. These agreements may be modifications of the existing adoption contract, or may be entirely different. VARR does not see this being a routine option, but we reserve this possibility for unforeseen situations which may make alternative placements legitimate and appropriate.

 

   9. Anyone found to have placed false or misleading information on an application will be red-flagged, and other reptile rescues will be notified of your dishonesty. We expect nothing but legitimate responses on our application.

 

10. We will adopt rodent-eating reptiles only to homes that feed pre-killed prey. If you are not intending to follow this policy, do not apply.

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