Rehome Pets
Check the legal position first
Do this before you advertise. Many tortoises and a number of other reptiles are CITES-listed and cannot be transferred legally without the right documentation. Separately, some jurisdictions license, restrict or prohibit particular species — venomous animals, large constrictors, and certain monitors and crocodilians are commonly covered, and the rules vary by country, state and sometimes city. Confirm what applies to your species and your location, and to the adopter's location if they are not local.
If your animal came with paperwork, find it now. If it is a tortoise, in particular, assume documentation is required until you have established otherwise.
Preparing your reptile
- Identify the species precisely. Not "python" but "royal python"; not "tortoise" but "Hermann's tortoise". Care requirements differ enormously and adopters search by species.
- Write down the husbandry you are running: basking temperature, cool-end temperature, night-time temperature, humidity, UVB type and age of the bulb, substrate, enclosure dimensions.
- Write down the feeding regime: what, what size, how often, when it last ate, and whether it takes frozen-thawed or live.
- Note the shed and, where relevant, brumation history.
- Disclose any health issues — retained sheds, respiratory signs, metabolic bone disease, mouth rot, previous burns. An exotics vet check is worth it for any animal you are unsure about.
- Note temperament: whether it tolerates handling, is defensive, or is best left alone.
Writing the listing
- Photograph in good light against a plain background, and include a clear shot of the whole animal plus the current enclosure.
- State species, morph if relevant, age, sex if known, and current size — plus expected adult size, which is the single most useful figure you can give.
- List the full husbandry parameters. Serious keepers screen on this, and it filters out everyone else.
- Say what is included: enclosure, heating, thermostat, UVB, decor.
- Disclose health and temperament issues plainly.
- Give the reason you are rehoming — "outgrew the space" is a completely respectable answer.
List your reptile
Reach keepers who search by species, and check their husbandry before you agree anything.
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Screening keepers
Reptile keeping is the easiest area to screen, because competence is measurable. Ask for numbers and see whether they come back immediately and correctly:
- What basking and cool-end temperatures would you run, and what night-time drop?
- What are you measuring temperature with, and where? (A digital probe at animal level; a stick-on dial is a bad sign.)
- Is your heat source thermostatted? Which type of thermostat?
- What UVB would you provide, and how often would you change the bulb?
- What humidity, and how would you maintain it?
- What size enclosure do you have now, and what will you move to at adult size?
- What would you feed, what size prey, and how often?
- Which exotics vet would you use?
- What reptiles have you kept, and what happened to them?
- Do you have other reptiles, and how would you quarantine this one?
The quarantine question is a good shortcut. Any experienced keeper immediately says they would quarantine a new animal separately for a period before mixing it near an existing collection. Someone who has never heard of quarantine has not kept reptiles seriously.
Warning signs: a heat mat proposed as the only heat source for a basking species, no UVB for a species that needs it, no thermostat, an enclosure sized for the animal now rather than at adulthood, no exotics vet, wanting the animal as a gift or for a child, interest in it as a feeder or breeding stock, or pressure to hand over the same day. Also be wary of anyone collecting multiple animals cheaply.
Should the setup go with the animal?
Where you can, yes. Reptile housing is expensive and species-specific, and sending the vivarium, thermostat, heating and UVB means the animal arrives into correct conditions immediately instead of waiting while the new keeper sources equipment. It also removes the most common failure mode in reptile rehoming, which is an animal sitting in an unheated tub for a fortnight.
If you are keeping the setup, ask the adopter to confirm their enclosure is already built, running and holding the right temperatures before you agree a handover date. Asking for a photograph of it is entirely reasonable and most good keepers will offer one unprompted.
Transporting a reptile
- Use a secure, ventilated container — a cloth snake bag inside a solid box for snakes, a ventilated tub with a non-slip base for lizards — placed inside an insulated box.
- Temperature is the whole problem. Reptiles cannot thermoregulate in a carrier, so a cold car in winter or a hot one in summer is genuinely dangerous. In cold weather use a heat pack with a barrier so the animal cannot touch it directly; in hot weather never leave the box in a parked car.
- Do not feed immediately before transport — a recently fed snake may regurgitate.
- Keep the journey short and the box dark and still.
- Send the written husbandry sheet, the feeding record, and any paperwork.
- Advise the new keeper not to handle the animal for at least a week, and not to be alarmed if it refuses food for a while — a settling-in fast is normal in many species, though prolonged refusal warrants a vet.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to rehome a reptile?
Common species such as corn snakes, leopard geckos and bearded dragons usually find keepers within a few weeks. Large constrictors, monitors, iguanas and tortoises take much longer — often months — because the housing required is substantial and the pool of capable keepers is small.
Should the vivarium go with the reptile?
Ideally yes. Reptile housing is expensive and species-specific, and sending the setup means the animal arrives at correct temperatures on day one. If you keep it, confirm the adopter already has a correctly sized and heated enclosure running before handover.
Do I need paperwork to rehome a reptile?
Sometimes. Many tortoises and some other species are CITES-listed and require documentation to transfer legally. Some jurisdictions also license or prohibit particular species, including venomous animals and large constrictors. Check what applies to your species and location before advertising.
How do I check an adopter knows reptile husbandry?
Ask for the specific numbers: basking temperature, cool-end temperature, night-time drop, humidity, UVB type and bulb replacement interval. A capable keeper answers immediately and correctly. Vagueness, or a heat mat offered as the sole heat source for a basking species, means they are not ready.
How should a reptile be transported?
In a secure, ventilated container inside an insulated box, kept within the species' safe temperature range throughout. Keep journeys short, avoid feeding immediately beforehand, and in cold weather use a heat pack with a barrier so the animal cannot contact it directly.
