A Knaresborough rescue centre has made an urgent appeal for donations and transport as it tackles the cost of living crisis.

Daniel Holmes, who runs Knaresborough Exotic Rescue, said the centre had nearly 150 pets in its care, most of which are reptiles including snakes and bearded dragons.

Mr Holmes said he has been increasingly travelling further afield to rescue pets as people contend with the cost of living and have nowhere to give their reptiles to.

Yesterday, the rescue centre, which does not own a van, rented a vehicle to pickup 12 animals from Burnley and plans to take in an 18 foot Burmese Python from Wakefield on Friday.

The increase in demand coupled with vet bills of £1,000 and electricity charges of nearly £2,000 a month has left the rescue struggling.

Mr Holmes said:

“We are finding that this is coming more as people struggle with the cost of living.”

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Mr Holmes has called for more support for the centre as it takes on more pets during the winter months.

In particular, the rescue has appealed for a van to help take in some of the bigger animals.

Mr Holmes said reptiles are often to first to be given up by pet owners as it is energy intensive to look after them.

He added:

“People seem to forget about the other animals such as reptiles. They are suffering more than cats and dogs.

“If someone needs to save on their energy bills, it’s the tank with the snake in which goes because it takes up energy.”

To donate to the centre, find them on Facebook here or send a donation via PayPal to krescue@hotmail.co.uk.

Increasing electricity bills means the Knaresborough reptile rescue could face closure.

The Knaresborough Exotic Rescue Centre has 150 animals in its care but says only 20 are up for adoption due to the temperaments or size of others.

Centre owner, Daniel Holmes, said the hike in electricity prices has caused a “serious concern” for the centre. It is already taking on a further eight snakes from another rescue in Devon which is closing due to increased costs.

Mr Holmes said these snakes are from a big snake rescue so range from 17 to seven feet long. He thinks out of the eight, six will be with him indefinitely because they’re too large to rehome.

Having these big snakes for a long time does mean he will be investing a lot of money in their care, something he said a rise in bills makes more difficult.

Eight snakes are currently in transport to the centre after another rescue facility closed.

In 2020, his bills for the month were around £1,800 now electricity alone can be £1,500 before the proposed increases. He said:

“We just about scraped through the pandemic and now this is being thrown at us. There aren’t many centres built to take on big snakes but luckily we have the space. It is a big thing to take on these animals as they aren’t cheap to feed or house but we couldn’t say no.”

The centre runs as a non-profit organisation and relies on public donations and adoption fees to survive.

Mr Holmes also said the increasing number of animals it is having to take in is also taking a strain. He said January had been “horrendous” with people already surrendering animals bought for Christmas and others choosing to do so before bills made them too expensive to keep.

“It’s a serious enough situation to think we could shut down.

“There’s a real problem with people taking on animals they can’t afford or not knowing the size they can grow too and then we have to take care of them. But because of this we are often spending huge amounts of money on animals we can never re-home.”

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He said he was hoping to find larger premises to expand the centre’s offering in hopes of finding more revenue streams but is unable to find a unit that’s affordable.

He is looking into a sponsorship scheme so people pay money each month to sponsor one of the permanent rescues which will help the centre feed them. He said developing schemes like this are essential for its survival.

To donate to the centre, find them on Facebook here or send a donation via PayPal to krescue@hotmail.co.uk.

A reptile shop is set to open its doors in Starbeck and the owner is “frilled” to get started.

Yorkshire Reptile, at 67d High Street, will be the only shop of its kind in Harrogate.

Owner Tom Whittaker believes his emphasis on animal welfare will set his shop apart from other reptile businesses.

The shop will open its doors tomorrow, on April 1 – no joke – with snakes, bearded dragons, chameleons, tortoises and more.

One of the shop’s chameleons.

It also sells food for the animals, vivariums and decorations for the tanks. None of the animals that the shop stocks are venomous or dangerous in anyway.

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What started off as a hobby for owner Mr Whittaker has now become a full business venture.

Vivariums in the shop.

Mr Whittaker, whose background is in cyber-security, only decided to open the shop eight weeks ago.

He told the Stray Ferret:

“My dad took me to a reptile show in Doncaster when I was 12-years-old. Ever since then I have been fascinated by it.

“It’s just how they move, how they eat, how they shed, their temperament. There are so many different kinds.

“I don’t want to compare them to Pokemon but you feel like you have to get all of them. I am obsessed and so are a lot of people.”

Prices start at £50 for a corn snake up to a green tree python, which can set you back as much as £700.

A reptile rescue centre in Knaresborough has warned it may not survive until next year if income doesn’t increase.

The Knaresborough Exotic Rescue Centre has 50 animals in its care, with 45 waiting to find permanent homes. As well as a rescue centre it is also an education centre for students.

The centre’s owner, Daniel Holmes, said unless further donations or adoptions were forthcoming the centre may have to close. He said:

“We are really struggling to find the funds to keep the centre going. Of course we want to stay open to help the animals and to work with the students but we can only push so far.”

This snake is currently up for adoption at the centre.

It costs £1,800 per month to run the centre due to the amount of electricity needed for the reptile enclosures.

The centre has recently received a grant from North Yorkshire County Council for about £1,300, which has helped but Mr Holmes said more was needed.

He added the number of rescue animals taken on during lockdown had increased but the number of rehoming requests hadn’t matched this.

Mr Holmes has been rescuing reptiles for 12 years and is determined to keep going but said the pandemic could mean he has to close for good.

There are few other centres nearby offering the same services.

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During the second lockdown the centre was open to take in and care for animals. Now it is open to visitors too. He added:

“I’m hoping now lockdown is over people will come in and donate. If we weren’t here half these snakes would be dumped.

“We desperately need donations. We don’t want to let anyone down.”

To donate to the centre, find them on Facebook here or send a donation via PayPal to krescue@hotmail.co.uk.

The number of reptiles handed in to a rescue centre in Knaresborough has doubled over lockdown because owners can’t afford to look after them.

Knaresborough exotic rescue has seen the number of animals given to them double over the past three months to 40 animals. Pet owners have said it is due to financial strains caused by coronavirus.

Daniel Holmes, owner of the rescue, said:

“A lot of people are scared because they don’t know how they’re going to feed their animal.”

Snakes, snails and hedgehogs are just a selection of the animals the rescue centre has taken in over lockdown.

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The rescue centre cares for huge reptiles such as reticulated pythons, which can grow to 30 feet, down to smaller animals such as mice.

The centre tries to adopt out as many of the animals as they can, but lockdown has made that more difficult. It hopes to continue their adoption scheme as lockdown eases.