Exotic pets left to die in abandoned storage unit

EL RENO, Oklahoma -- A team of animal rescuers saved a dozen exotic pets found abandoned in a storage unit in Oklahoma.

Larry Hodges, the owner of Plaza 66 Storage in El Reno, discovered them there when he was cleaning out a unit from a renter who was four months behind on payments.

"You cannot believe what you are liable to find in a storage unit," Hodges said. "Never ever. We have never had any type of an animal left behind."

Hodges found 10 terrariums of snakes - among them, pythons, a few boas and an albino red tail.

These species of snakes aren't cheap; the owner probably paid a few hundred bucks for each.

The pets had been abandoned for months with no food, no water and no heat, which they need to survive.

A snake specialist took the pets from the storage facility to an animal hospital, where they're being nursed back to health.

"Absolutely deplorable," Dr. Brad Minson, an exotic animal vet, said. "It's absolute cruelty to abandon any animal at all when there are so many options available. This is the grossest form of negligence."

Minson plans to test the snakes for a common virus. If the results are negative, they can be adopted as pets.

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