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SALT LAKE CITY -- A man who was forced to relocate his refuge for reptiles has found a new home, just two weeks ahead of a deadline.
Jim Dix had until Oct. 2 to find a new home for the Reptile Rescue because of a road project. Monday night he signed a lease that will move the shelter to 400 North near 550 West in Salt Lake City.
Dix has been running the rescue operation for 18 years in West Valley City. But due to the Mountain View Corridor road construction project, he had to find a new place for the animals, which include rattlesnakes, boa constrictors, iguanas, spiders and coyotes.
Dix told KSL Tuesday he had worried that West Valley City would try to euthanize the animals if he didn't find someplace to relocate.
"When you say you would kill snakes that are used to educate the entire state, or a mammal, or a salamander or a toad - who kills stuff like that?" he said.
The new place is basically a house located between a couple of warehouses. Dix says it's a solid place to do business, although something further from the city center may have been better. He's now concerned with moving 400 animals, some of which need to be handled with care.
"Right now we're focusing on getting the animals relocated, getting the rooms set up for temperature control. A lot of these are exotics so they have to be 87 to 89 degrees," he explained.
Dix is one of the few people in Utah who is licensed to handle dangerous reptiles. He says he does a lot of training with various animal control agencies.
He has been working for months with UDOT and its experts to find a suitable place to relocate. He plans to start moving the reptiles on Thursday.
E-mail: aadams@ksl.com
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