Daily Reptile News

Over 300 seized animals won’t be returned to owner, judge rules

OCALA — A judge has decided to award to Marion County Animal Services the legal custody of more than 300 animals seized from a man nearly two months ago.


Judge Jim McCune ruled Friday that 64-year-old Ignacio Dulzaides is unfit to properly provide for the animals and therefore will be officially turned over to animal services.

The animals — cattle, dogs, cats, birds, cows, horses, sheep, smaller pets and reptiles among others — are already under the supervision and care of animal services.

Once the ruling becomes official, which should take about two weeks, spokeswoman Elaine DeIorio said the animals will either be sold or be offered for adoption. The cattle, DeIorio said, will be sold, with the rest ready for adoption.

Of the lot, the spokeswoman said 10 dogs had to be euthanized because they had diseases. Officials say none of the other animals will be euthanized unless it’s deemed necessary by a staff veterinarian.

On April 15-16, animal services officials removed close to 380 animals that were living on Dulzaides’ 50-acre property at 4632 NW 100th St., along with another three animals – two snakes and a leopard gecko — found at the Interstate 75 Super Flea Market. On the 50-acre property, authorities discovered more than 340 dead animals.

The discovery was considered by animal officials as one of the worst animal hoarding cases they’ve handled.

DeIorio said since the incident, animal services has received an outpouring of food and supplies, which she said has helped greatly in caring for the animals.

Not all the news was bad for Dulzaides. McCune ruled the snakes and the gecko taken from Dulzaides can be returned to him, and the judge permitted Dulzaides to keep some horses and sheep that are on his property in order to retain his agricultural tax exemption. The judge also said the man can acquire a certain number of livestock again to keep his agricultural tax exemption.

The judge also ruled that Dulzaides cannot possess other kinds of animals in the future, and Dulzaides was ordered to pay the county $5,000 in boarding fees and other expenses for caring for the animals during the court case.

Child recovering from snake bite

A young boy was bitten by a rattlesnake June 4 at Chatfield Botanical Gardens.

Michael Harris, 7, was recovering and in good condition June 7 at Littleton Adventist Hospital, a hospital spokesperson said.

The boy was with family members on a hike at about 12:30 p.m. when he was bitten, according to a Littleton Fire Rescue news release. Family members said it was a large snake and it escaped into the grass.

Paramedics transported the boy to the hospital following the bite.

The fire rescue department is urging residents to take caution this time of year when hiking in tall grass, rocks or on paths. Rattlesnakes are “coming out to warm up and sun themselves,” the release said.

Clarksville man bitten by snake faces six felonies

JEFFERSONVILLE — A Clarksville teenager bitten by a snake allegedly during a break-in at the Nature Center at O’Bannon Woods State Park in Harrison County was arrested Thursday, while local authorities search for a second suspect.

Travis C. Stotts and Dennis H. Watson, both 19 and from Clarksville, are charged with three counts of class C felony burglary, three counts of class D felony theft and class A misdemeanor unlawful taking or possession of an endangered species.

Stotts was arrested by Indiana conservation officers and transported to the Harrison County Jail. Officers could not immediately locate Watson on Thursday afternoon, but said arrangements were being made for him to turn himself in.

According to Harrison County court records, Stotts and Watson broke down a door to the nature center’s snake room May 7 and stole a massasauga rattlesnake, which is listed as endangered in Indiana. They reportedly took off with the snake in a pillowcase.

Three days later, the duo allegedly returned and Stotts climbed through a window just before midnight May 10.

“They knew the snakes were there, and they decided they were going to break in and take them,” Conservation Officer Mac Spainhour said.

As Stotts allegedly tried to steal a timber rattlesnake, the venomous snake bit his finger. Stotts went to Harrison County Hospital where, according to Spainhour, he told doctors he was bitten in a creek as he stuck his hand under a rock.

Stotts received an anti-venom shot and checked out of the hospital early in the morning May 11.

“He goes to the doctors, and they take a look at him,” Spainhour said. “Then he checked himself out to go clean up the mess.”

Stotts and Watson allegedly returned to the nature center and carried away a collection of Audubon field guidebooks and wildlife books. Despite the treatment he had received, Stotts’ hand continued to swell.

“He had to go back to the hospital because the pain was so bad,” Spainhour said.

When employees at the nature center returned to work later that morning, they reported the burglary to police. Stotts became a suspect because of the timing of him checking into the hospital with a snake bite.

Spainhour said he knows Stotts’ family, and this is not the teenager’s first encounter with snakes.

“Stotts has been out there before. He is very ate up with bugs and snakes,” Spainhour said. “He’s like a Steve Irwin,” he added, referring to the late Crocodile Hunter.

Officers later spoke to Watson, who reportedly confessed. Officers also received information that the stolen snake was at Stotts’ parents house.

“We went out in the garage, and he had a big aquarium with the massasauga rattlesnake,” Spainhour said. “We were able to recover the snake and take it back to the nature center.”

Spainhour said the parents had no idea the snake was there. Stotts spent a night or two in the hospital before being released, Spainhour said. Charges were filed May 25.

If convicted, both men face sentences of two to eight years for each burglary count, six months to three years for each theft count and up to one year for the misdemeanor.

Seven-foot bull snake found on Seventh Street

A near 7-foot long dead Bull snake caught Clovis Animal Control Officer Dennis Weist by surprise when he went out to collect it Thursday morning.

Weist said the snake was crossing Seventh Street near Upsilon Street, heading south toward a prairie dog town when he was struck multiple times by traffic.
The woman who reported the snake said she thought she had hit a piece of wood in the road.
Weist said it is the longest snake he has encountered, with most Bull snakes he has dealt with being in the range of 2 to 3-feet long.
Stretched to its full length, the snake was well above the head of 5-feet-2-inch tall Animal Control Officer Robin Wiggins.

Bull snake facts

Size: Ranges from an average 4-feet to a maximum of 9-feet.
Range: Throughout the U.S. from coast to coast and into Canada and Mexico
Habitat: Deserts, prairies, woodlands, brushlands, forests and cultivated lands.
Reproduction: The Bull snake, also known as a gopher snake, lays two to 24 eggs in the summer which hatch in the fall.
Diet: A constrictor, it eats mostly mammals but also some birds and eggs.
Fooled you: The Bull snake when startled will rise into a striking position and hiss loudly, shaking its tail, often causing it to be mistaken for a rattle snake.
Day hunter: It is most active in the day except for during periods of high heat.

Decision In Animal Hoarding Case Expected Friday

OCALA — The man accused of being one of the worst animal hoarders ever in Marion County made an emotional plea to a judge Thursday to give his hundreds of animals back.

Marion County Animal Services found almost 400 animals they said were being neglected, along with the remains of more than 300 others at Ignacio Dulzaides’ property in mid-April.

Officers said the animals that were alive were in deplorable conditions. Many were covered in their own waste and in cages without clean water or food.

News 13 was there Thursday as Dulzaides argued in court that he was feeding the animals.

However, Dulzaides said he was sick recently and admitted he needed to do more to supervise their care.

“It’s my life, and I know there was messes. I’m correcting what was wrong,” Dulzaides said.

Dulzaides told the judge if he gets his animals back, he will let a veterinarian drop by his property unannounced to check on the animals and report back to the court.

However, the prosecutor said Dulzaides is not fit to care for the animals.

The judge is expected to make a decision Friday afternoon.

Dad gets up to 35 years for abuse of son

SOMERSET, Pa., June 3 (UPI) — A Pennsylvania man has been sentenced to 17-35 years in prison for abusing his son by wrapping a snake around his neck and forcing the boy to drink hot sauce.

Jason Flick, 29, of Somerset swore under his breath as the judge pronounced sentence Wednesday, The Tribune-Democrat of Johnstown reported. Somerset County Judge John Cascio read a detailed record of the injuries Flick’s son suffered, including a broken leg and fractured skull at the time Flick was arrested in 2007 when the boy was 2 years old.

Cascio said Flick also held his son’s mouth open and poured beer and hot sauce into his mouth and draped a snake around him.

Assistant District Attorney Carolann Young, who asked for an even longer sentence, said the boy has recovered physically. Emotionally, he remains traumatized, she said.

“He hits himself. He hits his mother. He hits his 2-year-old sister,” the prosecutor said. “He claws himself to the point where he leaves marks. The boy revealed his motivation for why he does this — because that’s what his dad did to him.”

Petco and 5 counties settle consumer lawsuit

LOS ANGELES — Prosecutors in five California counties say Petco Animal Supplies Inc. has agreed to pay $1.75 million to settle a lawsuit alleging the company overcharged customers and improperly cared for animals it offered for sale.

Petco doesn’t admit liability in an agreement a San Diego judge signed Wednesday. But the company says it will promptly remove expired price tags from shelves, change the way some animals are cared for, and pay civil penalties and costs submitted by prosecutors and investigators.

The retailer agreed to annual third-party audits to ensure compliance.

District attorneys in Los Angeles, San Diego, Marin, San Mateo and Santa Barbara counties filed the lawsuit in San Diego, where Petco is based.

Among the allegations, inspectors found that some habitats for birds, fish and reptiles were not properly cleaned.

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