​We understand that sometimes things happen and suddenly it is no longer feasible to keep your pet. Before making the decision to surrender your pet, please consider all of your options. Contact us to discuss your specific situation. We may be able to help you solve the problem without you having to rehoming your pet.


Surrender Do’s and Don’ts
If you have to give up your pet, please do the right thing:

DON’T drop your pet off in the woods or countryside, assuming that it can take care of itself. Pets, especially exotic animals, lack the skills to survive on their own and may die of starvation, injury, or from predators and weather. Depending on where you live and the animal species, releasing it into the wild can also endanger the local ecosystem and could create issues with invasive species.

DON’T abandon your exotic animal in a house or apartment you are moving out of, thinking that someone will eventually find it. This often doesn't happen. Many pets die of dehydration, starvation, or extreme heat/cold exposure before anyone realizes the animal has been abandoned.
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DON'T contact us about your dog or cat. Unfortunately we do not have the space or resources to take in traditional pets. There are quite a few shelters and rescues in the area and we recommend contacting your local county shelter for additional assistance on rehoming your dog or cat.

DON’T give your pet away to a stranger without doing some leg work. Many owners give their unwanted animals away on online sites like Facebook and Craig's List. We recommend that you charge a rehoming fee and ask a lot of questions before rehoming to a stranger. You don’t know if that person is a responsible owner or has the knowledge or resources to properly care for your animal. Another major issue right now is people getting animals from online to use for profit, such as backyard breeding, "flipping" the animal, or selling it to research laboratories.

DON'T abandon your animal at a shelter/rescue without going thru the proper channels to surrender it. We have had animals left in cages in the middle of the night in shelter parking lots. This can be extremely dangerous for the animal as the weather/temperature can be deadly and predators such as fox, coyotes, and dogs can prey on your pet.

DO contact us first to determine whether we are able to take your animal. We may not have the space immediately to accept animal surrenders or we may not be able to accomodate the species you have.

DO call Exotic Edventures if you have exhausted all other possibilities.
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What Should I Expect When Surrendering?


  • To best assist you and your pet, we require that owners contact us to discuss their situation.
  • We DO NOT accept unscheduled visits to our facility! Please do not come to our location with your animal if you have not spoken to us and arranged an appointment.
  • We will conduct an interview via phone/email with the owner to gather all the information needed to determine whether we are able to take the animal and to get important history/background on the animal in the event that we do take the pet.
  • We will determine whether your animal is a good candidate for our Adoptable program or whether they should be placed in our sanctuary. We do have limited space in our sanctuary.
  •  We will not place an animal for adoption that is a danger to the community. These animals generally are placed in our sanctuary to live out their life in our care.
  • Owners are responsible for transporting their animal to us. We often will work with owners if there is a special circumstance preventing them from being able drive to our facility. With that being said, owners ultimately are responsible for getting their animal to us as we do have limits on time and resources when it comes to travel.
  • Once you have signed the release statement, you may not reclaim your pet, so please be sure that you have made the right decision for you and your pet.
  • You are welcome to call us to check on your pet’s status.​

Please Note:

Depending on the time of the year, the space at our facility, and the species of animal you have, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to take in your pet. Please contact us directly to further discuss the surrender process and your options in more detail.

**At this time, we are not able to take in iguanas and turtles due to space limitations and due to the sheer volume of requests that we receive about these specific species. You are encouraged to still contact us if you are trying to rehome one of these species. We would be happy to help network and to find a new home for your animal. We would just request that the owner "foster" the animal at their home until we can place the animal in a suitable new one. **​​