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We’re Southern Ontario Exotics

Since 2020, we have been able to step up and rescue over 100's of animals ranging from emergency rescues, to surrenders for our community and we wouldn't change it for the world!!! 
There have been many rescues, from situations ranging from 1 animal needing help, to over 100's at one time!!  Each animal has their own story, and we wanted to share a few of them with you!! Keep your eye out, as we add more rescues to our family, their stories will continue fo grow! 

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Leo and the 24 Leopard Geckos

In October 2020 we took in 25 sick and malnourished leopard geckos, our first large rescue! To our knowledge, we were only suppose to take in 14 healthy leopard geckos from an owner moving. However, we were quite shocked to learn it was a back yard breeding operation gone wrong!! Instead of 14, there was 25! Instead of healthy, we unfortunately had some come in on the verge of death. One of the malnourished leopard geckos, happens to be "Leo" The leopard gecko who is still apart of our rescue in 2022. These Leo's were kept in inadequate bin systems, with 3, 4 and sometimes even 5 to a bin. Unfortunately, most had Enigma Syndrome. What is Enigma Syndrome you may be asking yourself? Well...

This is where things can get a little scientific, so try and follow along the best you can! In every Leopard gecko cell, there are 19 pairs of chromosomes. That means that every leopard gecko would have two copies of each gene, called alleles. A single copy of the enigma gene can cause symptoms of it, symptoms including; 

star gazing, head tilting, inability to catch prey, death rolls, seizures and circling. 


 Those with that gene are either heterozygous or homozygous dominant.


 For example; E being enigma. EE and Ee are affected or you could say has enigma Syndrome.


 Homozygous recessives, or ee, are 100% normal and will not have enigma and therefore cannot pass the enigma trait on. Most leopard geckos that are enigma are Heterozygous, or Ee, because gecko’s that are EE are completely enigma and lethal, to the point most are miscarriages.


What causes Enigma Syndrome in Leopard Geckos? Faulty genetics, and you probably guessed it... Irresponsible breeding.


With the help from our amazing and advanced Fosters, and the help from our partnered Rescues, all the Leopard Geckos with Enigma Syndrome found permanent homes that could forever provide the extra care they need! 


The rest stayed in our care for a few months, getting the little extra TLC they needed before moving on to only the most perfect homes! 


However... One little Leo decided to stay back, and his name just happens to be, Leo! 


Leo was the oldest of the 25, that made him slower, and it was harder for him to see. This all affected his hunting ability, and when neglected in a bin with 4-5 others, his caused him to slowly starve, being dominated by the other males in the bin. When Leo came to us, we prepared our selves for his passing because his prognosis just didn't look good... 


However, like all solitary animals like Leopard Geckos, they should not be cohabbitated. Once Leo was given a proper tank, proper temps, and the comfort of his own home with no other threatening smells.. He began to eat, and with that, he began to flourish. Seeing Leo go from lethargic, to slowly trying to hunt meant the world to us. And it was with that, we decided to make sure this old boy thrived in a Retirement home, by becoming a sanctuary for him. 


R.I.P Nova❤️

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Toothless the Bearded Dragon

In December 2020, we took in our feisty Toothless! Toothless was being cobabitated with another bearded dragon, and for solitary animals like most reptiles including bearded dragons, this was a big no. Toothless was attacked, and as a result lost all but one hand, and half of his tail. Unfortunately, this still wasnt enough for him to be removed from the tank. When reptiles are cohabbed together, most of the time, one will resource guard, eating all the food and soaking up all the heat/uva/uvb. This was exactly the case with Toothless. When lethargic and barely able to lift his head, his owner than started looking for a new home for him, and that's when somebody from our amazing community brought him to our attention. When Toothless first came in, he was covered in feces, smelt horrible, was skin and bones, and very very scared. His first bath showed how clogged his pores were, and the stuck sperm plugs that we quickly dealt with. Once back in his tank to settle in for his first night, you could already tell he was a lot more comfortable. Toothless needed to be on a feeding schedule, or else he could over gorge himself. He was HUNGRY. Most of the rescues that come into our care are not fed a proper diet, watching them taste things for the first time is one of our favorite things! You could tell Toothless had be neglected of a proper diet, and any form of hydration, as he was so dehydrated the bags under his eyes were sagging. With love, proper husbandry, the right diet, we were able to get Toothless feeling much better again! However, the trauma of Toothless's previous home hasn't left him, and at times he can get nervous/defensive. He cannot see even a empty tank, without getting very upset. For this reason, Toothless, like many others, have become apart of Southern Ontario Exotics Sanctuary, that way we can ensure he is getting the extra TLC his nubbs need, especially when shedding, and that way we can work on handling while making sure he is still comfortable!

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Over 100 rat rescue!!

June 29th 2021, we got a 911 call about... RATS!! There were domesticated rats running around outside, even tiny pinkies!! Within half an hour of the call, we were there on scene with a team, a truck, and some equipment! However, when we arrived we found out there were over 100 rats needing to be rescued, and now some had managed to escape the cage, and the house! They were now breeding outside, and dropping babies everywhere! Our team had to gather up babies from outside before it started to rain too much, while the others went to start buying out stores for their live humane rat traps! Getting the rats out, was a 5 day mission!! None stop going back and forth to transfer those caught in the live traps! In the now July heat, we couldn't leave them in the traps! Day and night, we took more and more rats in!! Finally, we had them. With the help from our amazing fosters, our partnered rescues, and our local humane societies we were able to take in over 100 rats. Most of the rats were pregnant, resulting in litters 8-10 between each one. Babies once weaned needed to be separated male and female, to avoid any more accidental pregnancies! Above was our best Mama, Rosaline. She was young, but once her babies were born she was an amazing gentle mother! Unfortunately, not all were fit to be parents, especially when coming from a cramped environment and bred to mom. One of the moms ended up rejecting her litter of 9, and we had to step in for feedings and stimulations every 1.5 hours for all 9 babies. Fortunately, we were able to find homes for all the rats, once we treated them for mites and Respiratory infections! 

Zeus the Bearded Dragon

Zeus came into our care March 7th 2021. Zeus was one of the worst Bearded Dragon cases we've ever seen, but he was also one of the sweetest right from the beginning. When we picked Zeus up, we noticed he wouldn't stay still, and not in your average way. Once we arrived back, and was able to examine him, we found one of the many issues. Mites. Zeus was covered in mites, in his eyes, the folds around his eyes, around his nose, half buried into his scales, it was awful, and we can't even begin to imagine how uncomfortable he was. Zeus also had layers of stuck stud.. And we are talking, worse than ever imagined. It was the worst case of stuck shed we have ever seen on a reptile!! Thankfully, we were able to help Zeus fully recover! when he first came to us he was too malnourished to eat, but after almost a week of syringe feeding, he started eating like a champ!!  After Zeus made a full recovery and had spent a few months in our care, he moved on to the most loving home with Nicole and Logan, where he is still living out his remaining years. 

Nugget the Crested Gecko 

Nugget came to us at less than 2 grams September 2020. He was surrendered to us because he was unable to climb, and wouldn't eat. Unfortunately, his husbandry was completely wrong, and because he didn't have proper humidity levels, he was unable to shed. This caused his hands to form into gloves and he wasn't able to use them, like pictured in the photo above. He also had shed going from his lower back go his back legs, slowly cutting off circulation. Nugget was barely able to move, but after we carefully removed his stuck shed with qtips, tiny soaks, warm water, and fixed all his husbandry, he felt better again! Husbandry plays a huge roll on the health of your animal, ensuring you are doing proper research to give your friend the best life possible is your job when you make the commitment of getting a live animal! There is a huge difference between surviving and thriving! Lets do what we can do to ensure our animals are thriving just like Nugget!Nugget was adopted out by Daniel!! Daniel did many months of research before reaching out to inquire about our adoptable crested gecko! At the time, we had both Nugget and Ducky available for new homes, however Daniel and Nugget seemed like the most perfect fit, and they were!! Nugget is still thriving shed-free in his forever home!! 

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Dobby the Rat

Unfortunately, Dobbys first few weeks of life were agonizing for him. Born in some of the worst conditions possible, with a backyard breeder who's only worry was profit. 
Dobby essentially was bitten by another rat, and with no care or treatment, stuck in a reptile tank with rats on rats on rats, and poor ventilation in disgusting conditions.. He grew an abscess. 
This baby, who was suppose to be a pet rat going into a loving home, had an abscess due to NO fault of his own... Was sentenced to death. 
 The breeder knew they couldn't make profit off of him, and was going to live feed him to her snake. 
PLEASE DO NOT FEED YOUR SNAKE SICK RATS. I SHOULD NOT EVEN NEED TO GET INTO WHY. YOUR SNAKE CAN GET SICK. IT IS A DANGER TO YOUR SNAKE.We took on the challenge of taking care of this baby. Who we learned when picking up January 12th, 2022, wasn't being fed because the breeder "didn't want to waste profit". 
If you are doing any work with animals, whether it be breeding pet rats, feeder rats, rescuing, ANYTHING. YOU MUST TAKE CARE OF YOUR ANIMALS. 
Letting any animals starve is just evil, and we will never ever understand why. This poor baby was so hungry, so starved, all he wanted to do was eat. 
He needed to have feeding schedules and be monitored each eating time so he didn't gorge himself. Round the clock meds, feedings, and treatments.. We were determined to see him thrive. We immediately began medication every 12 hours for 14 days, but about the 7th day, the abscess was almost completely gone! To this day, Dobby has been abscess free!! However, Dobby has a small bump, that is closely being monitored by our team as well as the amazing staff at Cavan Hills Vet. Dobby is not adoptable, as Dobby as been in our care since he was 2-3 weeks old, hand fed kitten formula, then solids, he has created a special bond with our members, not to mention we will be continuing to monitor his tiny bump for any growth/complications. This makes Dobby, one of our sanctuary rescues! 

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Dahlia the Leopard Gecko

Dahlia AKA Dal came into our care after being surrendered because her family could no longer take care of her near the beginning of 2021. However, Dahlia actually was adopted out to a loving home in April 2021!
All of our animals are welcomed back to us at anytime, as we will always be there home as well! Most of the rescues that come into our care are taken in from neglectful situations, and we do everything in our power to ensure that never happens again! Including taking them back in when needed! 
Unfortunately, Dahlia had to come back into our care because she was sick. She ended up having to be rushed to Cavan Hills Vet by our Team Partner Mackenzie before her scheduled appointment that same week. Dahlia was in respiratory distress because of an infection in her lungs. Thankfully, Mackenzie got her to Cavan right in time for the amazing Team there to work with her. Mackenzie has been caring for Dahlia around the clock, as we do with all of our rescues!  Dal received medications twice daily for 14 days. And we are happy to announce she is feeling much better!!
Unfortunately Dahlia does have some prolonged issues she will most likely be dealing with for the rest of her life. That means that Dahlia will join our family here, as we are a Sanctuary to all those that need that extra TLC!!!

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Chubbs the Leopard Gecko


We picked Chubbs up Janurary 28th 2021!
Chubbs was surrendered to us because he had a sore on his mouth, stopped eating, was losing weight, had very bad stuck shed cutting the circulation off his toe, and was making some unusual sounds.
Chubbs first diagnosis was Mouth Rot. His second was the beginning of MBD. His third was an RI. The stuck shed on his toe was cutting the circulation off the toe to the point it was black and looked to be dead. We had no idea if we'd be able to save it from falling off!
Chubbs received two rounds of treatment, one every 6 hours and one every 12! He was also "prescribed" a sauna, which he definitely did not enjoy but was MUCH needed.
Unfortunately stuck shed on the toes is quite common for leopard geckos and is one of the reasons they should be checked over after every shed incase they need some assistance! Its common, but theres way we can avoid it from becoming an issue, like with warm baths(please use a temp gun to be able to check temperature of the water) and a sauna! Only bath your leopard Gecko in situations where you have to, as baths do stress them out!
Chubbs needed to be syringe fed, and he took it like a champ! February 10th, he refused his syringe, and went crazy for worms!!! Now... He truly lives up to his name at feeding time!! He's an incredible hunter!
Chubbs mouth rot is 100% cleared up and has been since (confirmed) February 6th!!!
His RI is completely cleared up as of (confirmed) February 6th as well!!!!
Chubbs kept his Toe, AND gained weight!! Look at this dude go!!!
This is our Spunky, Sazzy, worm-driven, HANDSOME, but most importantly.... Healthy and thriving boy Chubbs now!!!
Chubbs is the definition of a fighter! He has come such a long way, and has impressed us more and more every day!
Now that Chubbs is happy, healthy, and thriving, he has found the most amazing home with the greatest owner and pet chef around!

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