Forgotten Friend Reptile Sanctuary

09/13/2025

I did my longest bike ride today since getting out of the hospital, and I moved a couple lovable rat snakes off the trail 😁 Feels good to be getting back out there!

09/11/2025

Is anyone near Columbia, Pennsylvania missing a red tail boa constrictor?

09/08/2025

Thanks LNP + LancasterOnline for the beautiful tribute to the life of Ad Crable, a true friend of nature 🥲

When Jen Kopf started working for Lancaster's daily morning newspaper in 1993, a friend convinced Kopf that she had a lot in common with a reporter from the competing evening

09/06/2025

Ricky Bobby the tortoise has been ADOPTED ✅

We still have 3 more adoptable sulcata tortoises left!

(💵 for size reference)

09/02/2025

We have ADOPTABLE sulcata tortoises!

If you are looking for a BIG commitment, the third largest tortoise species in the world is quite lovable.

Please visit ForgottenFriend.org/adopt to view our adoption listings.

Please visit ForgottenFriend.org/apply to add a new reptile to your family 😊

09/01/2025

In the Spring of 2019 I got this email from an old nature pal, Ad Crable. While hiking one of his favorite local spots, he discovered a snapping turtle that was trapped in an old concrete foundation. He then made it his mission to enlist any help necessary to get that turtle safely back into the river.

The next day, I met Ad at his house, and we drove over to Lancaster County Central Park together. He showed me one of his favorite local hiking spots, while explaining how he discovered the turtle on a recent walk. The old foundation had become a makeshift holding tank for water and muck and mud, and who knows what else. There was a large open pipe at the top of the foundation that animals could crawl through, but it would eventually drop them into the hopeless mess below. It was akin to the 1977 Star Wars trash compactor scene, where Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia and the gang waded through liquid and junk and debris while trying to climb out of an impossible hole.

Although Ad had originally emailed me a clear photo of the snapping turtle basking up on the surface, the reptile had seemingly vanished by the time we arrived. We knew the turtle had no way to escape from the foundation, so we began the task of wading into the abyss. We used hiking sticks and snake hooks to methodically probe the opaque sludge under our feet, not knowing what mysteries lay beneath. Minutes ticked by without a trace of any living creature, but the search continued.

Eventually our persistence paid off, and something resembling a turtle was pulled up to the surface. The defensive creature was naturally threatened by its two rescuers, and I exercised caution while moving him out of his concrete prison. Ad found a rock to block off the pipe access to the foundation, which would have certainly entrapped more critters.

Together Ad and I walked the turtle down the hill to the Conestoga River, where it received a long overdue freshwater bath. We could only guess how many weeks or months had gone by since the poor snapper had tasted a drop of clear water.

Although Ad was a longtime nature expert and journalist, he was a permanent student of nature as well. I gave him a refresher course on how to safely handle snapping turtles, which he attentively accepted. Then Ad had the honor of releasing "his turtle" back into the river. I snapped a quick photo of Ad in the river, proudly holding the reptile that he took so much joy in rescuing.

I was so saddened to learn of Ad's passing this week. But this story summed up everything I loved about Ad. His life was dedicated to experiencing nature, preserving nature, and sharing nature....and cultivating so many relationships with friends and family along the way.

Thanks so much Ad, for giving reptiles a chance, and for everything you shared with all of us. You will be dearly missed.

https://www.snyderfuneralhome.com/obituary/ad-a-crable-iii/

08/29/2025

Thanks to Pam and Cassidy for changing Guapo’s gator filter and water today! It feels good to be back home recovering, but I am still on “light duty” while my muscles come back from GBS. Thankful for these awesome volunteers!

08/23/2025

Still one more day to stop into the store and guess Taco’s length for a chance to win prizes! 

🐍✨ Guess Taco’s Length! ✨🐍

Think you can guess how many tacos long Taco the reticulated python is? 🤔 Drop your best guess in our FREE in-store contest (running through August 24th, ending at 1pm) and see her up close during our Reptile Encounter event!

📅 One Day Only!
🕙 10am – 2pm

Come meet Taco (if you’re brave 😉) and discover even more incredible reptiles at this fun, family-friendly event!

08/21/2025

Gosh darn it, here l am writing another health update from the ICU 😩

You may remember that I spent 18 days last summer in the hospital with Crohn’s disease. Ever since then I have been getting better and we did almost 150 shows between May and August alone. Everything was going great. Friday morning I experienced some numbness in my hands and feet, which was weird but nothing too serious, so we did our last four reptile shows over the weekend. Sunday afternoon my wife and I walked into the ER, hoping to get some tests done, because the numbness had not gone away. Turns out I have Guillain-Barré syndrome, a nasty rare disease that starts at your feet, and keeps moving up your body until it shuts down your entire nervous system, lungs and all!

I am so thankful for the quick diagnosis and treatment regimen I received. I continued going downhill for the next 48 hours and became mostly paralyzed, barely able to move my legs. My hands only have limited function, like operating one of those grabber machines where you’re trying to win a stuffed animal. I can usually make them go in the right direction, but actually grabbing stuff works about as good as those grabber machines that cost you a ton of quarters before you ever win a prize.

After going downhill for the first 48 hours in the hospital, my body seems to be responding well to treatment better in the second 48 hours. I have not gotten any worse and in some ways I am starting to slowly recover. The doctors are telling me a full recovery is on the way , but it can take some time. Sadly we had to cancel our shows this weekend at that fish place, the kids cookie break festival, and Cocalico community church. We will reevaluate our show calendar again in another week as we see how my body responds to rehab.

There are still a lot of awesome events happening at that fish place this weekend, with tons of reptile learning opportunities, as well as the kids cookie break festival, with lots of amazing family entertainment, and some of my favorite artists performing. That Fish Place - That Pet Place is still doing a live reptile show at 1 PM on Sunday with a lot of reptile encounter opportunities as well from 10-2! And our largest python named taco is on exhibit there and you can win awesome prizes by guessing how long he is. 

Getting mostly paralyzed from a rare disease this week was definitely not on my bingo card. But now that I’ve had a good chance to cry and get some frustrations out, we are moving on. We know God is in control, so we aren’t gonna worry too much about things we can’t control. Please keep praying for a rapid recovery and I hope to be walking around again, laughing and learning with you all very soon! ✌️ 💚 🐍

“This is the day the Lord has made;
We will rejoice and be glad in it.”
Psalm 118

08/19/2025

Stop by That Fish Place - That Pet Place for chances to win awesome prizes, while guessing the length of our largest snake!