Hamsters, dragon agamas and red-spotted toads, oh my!  Those are just a few of the exotic animals - and yes, that includes exotic hamster species - delivered to the Larimer Humane Society on Wednesday as part of a massive rescue operation from a massive exotic animal dealer in Texas.  Arlington Animals Services raided U.S. Global Exotics in Arlington, Texas, in December, rescuing 27,000 exotic animals housed in a 5,000-square-foot building.  Hundreds of animals were found dead and dying in the building, most suffering from cruel confinement, overcrowding and a lack of food, water and veterinary care. The Larimer Humane Society offered to help rescue some of those animals, and soon, they’ll be up for adoption to Northern Colorado residents, said society spokeswoman Cary Rentola.  The animals include 16 snakes, 26 lizards, five turtles, 10 red-spotted toads and 69 hamsters of four different species. No adoption rates have been set yet, but the Humane Society is considering a $5 adoption fee for the hamsters, Rentola said. “The first step is to unload and settle them,” Rentola said. “The staff needs to observe them.” She said the Humane Society will start gathering names of prospective adopters. Society staff will call those interested in adopting the animals when they’re ready. The animals represent the largest delivery of rescued exotic animals in the society’s history, she said. “We felt it was a way to do our part in a national crisis,” she said.

B) Detroit Zoo Housing 1,100 Animals Seized In Raid
Detroit, MI, AP-2/7/10- The Detroit Zoo is serving as a sanctuary to more than 1,000 mammals, reptiles and spiders seized from a Texas exotic animal dealer.
The Macomb Daily reports that the 1,100 animals now at the Detroit Zoo home were among nearly 27,000 animals seized Dec. 15 in the nation's largest exotic animal rescue effort. After a judge ruled the animals will not be returned to U.S. Global Exotics, Detroit Zoo employees spent seven weeks helping care for the animals at a temporary site in Dallas.  On Thursday, 1,100 of the homeless animal were moved to the Detroit Zoo, including five wallabies, four sloths and hundreds of reptiles, spiders and amphibians.  Zoo official Scott Carter says zoo workers are now working to help place hundreds more of the seized animals with other accredited zoos and sanctuaries.

C) Lot of lizards lands in Longmont, CO (Blue Tongue Skinks and Uromastyx)
By Scott Rochat, 2/10/09, Longmont Times-Call
LONGMONT — The lizards have landed.

Sixty-three lizards seized from a Texas exotic animals dealer in December are now available for adoption from the Longmont-based Colorado Reptile Humane Society.  The animals were among 27,000 found in dirty, crowded conditions during a raid on U.S. Global Exotics of Arlington.  Several of the animals arrived in Denver on Tuesday, to be distributed to area humane societies. The influx has the CRHS looking for some foster help — its normal capacity is 150, and it already had 143 when the latest reptiles arrived.  “You’re not going to have 50 empty spots with this economy in Colorado right now,” said Ann-Elizabeth Nash, director of the reptile society.   The animals she claimed for the society are blue-tongued skinks and a type of spiny-tailed lizard called a uromastyx, both of which can live 15 to 30 years in captivity. The skinks are in good shape, she said, but the others will need a little more care before they can be adopted.  “We chose them because they’re desert lizards that should do well in Colorado ... instead of something large and tree-climbing that likes the tropics,” Nash said.  Those interested in adopting a lizard or helping provide a foster home can contact the agency at ^{www.corhs.org.}