Dozens of reptiles were seized from a Gaines Township home on October 22. Some were already dead and the rest were clinging to life. But they now have hope.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich — In an apartment that bears some resemblance to a zoo, Neil Hough and Nicole Brandes have been working to give animals a second chance at life. The couple founded N&N Exotic Reptile Rescue around a year ago. And recently they faced their biggest challenge yet.
On October 22, Kent County deputies were called to a Gaines Township home about a child custody dispute when they found dozens of reptiles that had been neglected. Some of them had already passed away. The others, mostly snakes, were clinging to life.
“They didn't have any food, any water, any heat – just the natural things that any living thing needs to survive. They didn't have any of that,” Brandes said.
“To see the kind of neglect was the hardest thing about it.”
Brandes showed 13 ON YOUR SIDE the small containers the animals had been living in that were filled with feces. The animals were almost all battling respiratory illnesses and they were infested with blood sucking mites.
Initially, the animals were taken to John Ball Zoo. After that, they were brought to N&N to be rehabilitated. Brandes and Hough say the reptiles have made “absolutely amazing progress.”
“We've been giving them the care that they should have had from the start. Really, just doing that, along with the medications and the info that we get from our vet, we follow that and within a month, usually the reptile is fully turned around if it's not too late. So it's really just giving them the care that they really need,” Hough said.
“Watching a reptile go from zero to 100, that's life changing. That's what keeps us driving, to keep going forward.”
Each reptile's rehabilitation will happen on its own timeline. Once they're healthy, N&N will start looking to find them good homes.
“Their care is pretty simple to start with. That's one that we always tell people. They eat only once a week, typically. We're feeding these guys a lot more because of how skinny they are. But once a week is the typical feeding schedule for them,” Brandes said.
“They're really low maintenance pets. Each of them are different. They all act different. Some are sweet. Some are not so sweet. And they do just very and have their own personalities, just like dogs and cats.”
If you'd like to adopt a reptile, you can fill out a form on their website, and keep an eye on their Facebook page. They also need all the help they can get to take care of animals like these. They accept donations through Venmo and CashApp, and they also have an Amazon Wishlist.
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