Another death due to butchers
 

I thought I'd share this with you and keep you posted... I ordered a "hot" King Cobra a few weeks ago from a company that deals in both hots and venomoids. I despise the practice of surgically butchering a snake, but I didn't want to pass judgement on the guy, just wanted a good, clean king.

I paid the price and after about 4 weeks or waiting, it finally came. (This was about 4 weeks ago.) It was an 8 footer and appeared healthy. I left it in a large enclosure with the proper heating, hide box etc. It was supposedly trained to eat rats, but it hadn't eaten yet. This morning I got up and it was dead. Needless to say I was deeply shattered. As I examined it, I noticed fresh stiches along bnoth sides of its mouth. A venomoid. And there is no doubt in my mind that's what killed it.

I called the company and am waiting to see what they do to remedy the situation. If I don't get satisfaction, I'll post the name of the company and all the follow up actions.

I think that a lot of people would like to know now who you got that snake from.

It's not exactly an easy mistake to make, sending a venomoid instead of a hot, that is.

Might this company be in one of the Carolinas?

Yeah, and you got to wonder if they accidently sold a hot one to someone who purchased a venomoid. Not to sound like a jack@__, but that would have not happened to me, because I would never purchase animals from someone who did other things that I was against. It would be putting money in the pockets of someone whom I felt was being unethical, or cruel, (or whatever my beef was).
that's just my 2 cents. Sorry about your loss.

You said it.....Putting money in a butcher's pockets so he can stay around longer and butcher more animals.

I wouldn't purchase ANYTHING from someone who practices unethical behavior.

Hopefully you have learned a lesson. People will do anything for a buck these days. What a shame!

Bthacker

I know
 

But, my thought was if I didn't buy the still healthy male, then he'd be butchered shortly. The seller would profit more from a venomoid anyway, and if I could grab it before it was butchered, then at least the snake would be normal and healthy. I did think about supporting those that butcher, but weighed it against saving the life of a snake I really wanted, and paid the ransome.

It's hard (for me at least) to find a good seller of kings. I see the Hank Molt posts, but shy away from them. So when I run across a possible king, I make sacrafices I normally wouldn't. I'd love to find a reputable seller of kings.

Buy your kings from Ricky Duffield, Exotic Reptiles Jungle. He no longer deals in venomoids.

As someone on a different forum noted...
 

what if there was a mixup in boxes with a venomoid king and a hot king? You wanted the hot, got a venomoid and someone else wanted a venomoid...and got a hot. You said this was four weeks ago, and nothing appears to have happened yet, so heres to hoping that is NOT the case. However, if they could mixup sending a venomoid to you, then they are fully capable of accidentally sending a hot to a person who wanted a venomoid.

Yeah, the thought crossed my mind too... The stiches were blue, so they were hard to see at first. I noticed a blue line when I got him, but he was going into a shed and I thought the coloring could have been due to a lot of factors, so I didn't really pay it a lot of attention. When I examined him this morning, it was a major shock.

Anyway, I froze the body and will sue the company if I need to. But I trust I'll be able to work something out. I'll never deal with them again, but hope I can at least get the snake that I ordered.

think you hit that one on the head...
 

I was thinking the same thing Wes! I wouldnt buy a corn snake from those guys.It does'nt make much sence to me that they would send off a "void" King either.They would stand to profit more off the void King.Hammer can you post pictures of the snake?I find the whole situation very disturbing.If it is the people I think it is this isnt the first or second questionable buisness deal I have heard of. A.P was right what if they screwed up an order and shipped a snake that a buyer thought was a void then recieved a hot!!! I guess you get what you pay for to quote their web site.

Trey Small

I tried
 

They say the file is too large...I just took a shot with the digital...