Animals are handed over in boxes in front of the facility: Munich station before collapse - "can no longer sleep"

Created: 2022-11-02 10:33 p.m

Because of rising energy costs, many people are giving up their exotic pets to animal shelters and sanctuaries.

© Felix Hörhager/dpa +++ dpa picture radio +++

Geckos, snakes, reptiles of all kinds: More and more people are bringing their animals to the reptile sanctuary in Munich.

The increased energy prices are probably one of the reasons.

Munich - From a corner of its terrarium, a reticulated python carefully observes what is happening in the reptile sanctuary in Munich.

Again and again the black tongue shoots out of the mouth of the three meter long constrictor.

A few weeks ago, the animal was simply parked in a box in front of an animal shelter, explains the veterinarian and head of the station, Markus Baur.

"The reticulated python tends to be rather unfriendly, these are impulsive snakes," he says.

The manager of the animal shelter, who found the box in front of the door, was lucky - "he could have killed her".

Munich: people give up their reptiles in the sanctuary – because of the energy costs?

Exotic animals like these have been released more often lately - after all, the reptile sanctuary in Munich is only one of the few contact points in southern Bavaria.

But why are pet owners putting out more and more geckos, snakes and other reptiles?

Markus Baur, who has been working in the sanctuary for over 30 years, blames the rising energy costs.

"The reticulated python, for example, is tropical, it comes from Southeast Asia and therefore needs a permanent climate that is at least similar to a rainforest," says the 55-year-old.

The temperature must not fall below 25 degrees – otherwise the snake will get sick.

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Geckos, snakes and co.: Munich residents give away animals - "We're jam-packed"

But first you have to be able to afford such heating costs, says Markus Baur.

"If the electricity price rises to 50 cents per kilowatt hour, the UV lighting alone will cost around 230 euros a year when keeping a bearded dragon," calculates Patrick Boncourt, reptile expert at the German Animal Welfare Association.

With the costs for food, visits to the vet, the operation of day lights and other electrical equipment, a lizard quickly incurred costs of between 500 and 800 euros a year.

Since animal shelters often cannot take care of exotic animals, many of them end up in sanctuaries, says Markus Baur.

And so the station in Munich is already struggling with space problems: "We're jam-packed." Every day, a dozen emails and calls come in from owners who want to give up their animals.

Reptile sanctuary in Munich: the animal shelter can hardly accept any more animals

Two released leopard geckos recently arrived at the station, one of which, a "Lemon Frost", is worth hundreds of euros because of its yellow-bred color.

But the terrariums in the sanctuary filled with turtles, lizards and snakes also have to be heated and illuminated.

Baur thinks it is unlikely that they will be able to cope with the high energy costs this winter.

"We can't sleep anymore because we don't know how we're going to finance it." According to Katharina Lameter from the animal welfare organization ProWildlife, the energy crisis only exacerbates a problem that has existed for a long time: "Many exotic animals are not kept according to their needs." Now many owners are faced with the dilemma of not being able to meet the standards at home,

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At ProWildlife you can see the failure on the part of politics.

The animal protection organization has therefore been calling for a so-called positive list for Germany for some time.

"It would specify which animal species are suitable as pets and may continue to be traded and kept," says Lameter.

In addition, animal owners should be required to demonstrate the necessary specialist knowledge before purchasing their animals.

The veterinarian Markus Baur also sees the well-being of exotic animals more at risk than ever in the coming winter months.

"It's going to be a huge animal welfare problem," he says.

In winter, many a pet owner might have the idea of ​​hanging an energy-saving lamp on the exotic pet and only letting it burn for a few hours: "The animals will die from it."