Is it Worth BOI?

So Im posting here first because Im not sure its a BOI issue yet. I received a snake yesterday that I had been paying off since July 21st. In the original ad it says she was 780g. The seller was very nice and everything seemed to be going well. The only thing was on October 2 I asked for an updated weight on the animal and she told me that her scale was broken. I didnt think much of it at the time.

Well, the snake arrived yesterday and was a grand total of 687g, 93g less than over 3 months ago. I contacted the seller and she says that she started "brumating" her at the beginning of October, that would be about the same time I asked for an update. I sent an email back asking why she did this and told her I was not happy about the purchase. I havent heard back.

Im very upset about this. Do you think this is something I can pursue? Id be more than happy to try and work something out with her, but right now Im feeling a little cheated. Any advise would be great.

You don't say what type of snake it is, but, at that weight, 93g is probably a meal. Was there any mention of how the snake would be fed while you were paying it off? Not everybody feeds aggressively, especially if the animal is sold (pending payments).

Regarding your payment plan - was it for a set duration, so the seller knew when you would complete payments & expect delivery? Was there any discussion of breeding, or brumation?? Personally, if I sold a snake that I knew I would be shipping in early November, I wouldn't put it into brumation a month prior without addressing that with my customer. (If the customer wasn't on the ball with payments or communication, and I figured the deal was scrapped, I might do my own thing...but that only flies until the customer makes contact again)

I don't know that I am the person to tell you what should go on the BOI, but I can tell you for sure that I would feel cheated if I received a snake that was 93 grams under what it was advertised at 3 months prior - especially if it was a smaller snake like the one mentioned and was purchased during deeding season.

I have had snakes go off feed for a couple months before, but none of them lost 15% of their body weight unless they laid.

She could have weighed her with a full gut before, and that could sure account for 93 grams, but if that she said she weighed less, because she started "brumating" the snake it would really make me question everything. Since brumating is helping an animal to reach a semi-hibernative state their metabolisms should slow down and they should not be loosing weight at near that rate.

Sounds to me like she is making excuses for the weight of an animal that she exaggerated in order to help a sale - just my thoughts with limited info.

It is a female ball python. I was told that she was eating 5-6 mice per feeding, though I will admit I do not know how often she was being fed. The payment plan was for a maximum of 5 months, I finished it in 3.5. I was never told that she was she was being brumated, even though I specifically asked for an update around the same time she says she started brumating her (I asked for an update on Oct 2 and she says she started brumating the beginning of October).

Sorry, I repeated some of what Harald said. Apparently we were both typing at the same time. So, when I submitted both his and mine popped up.

I should also say that I think Harald's was more reply was more informative.

Edit: It was 2-3 mice per feeding. Sorry.

- I don't consider the seasonal cooling that BPs experience to be anything close to brumating
- There is no reason to intentionally cool a 780g female BP (though I've done it, because I was cooling everything else in that room...but those were my snakes, and any weight loss or slowed growth only affected me)
- If I were to speculate, I would guess that the snake went off feed due to environmental changes...and the seller didn't want to admit that for whatever reason. (or, maybe the seller decided not to "waste money" feeding a snake that was sold - obviously, it's all speculation, unless we accept the brumation story).
- I can say from experience that over approx a month and a half, a nonfeeding BP can drop that much weight - especially if it wasn't an "empty" weight to begin with.

Worthy of the BOI? That depends. I can understand you feeling cheated, especially if the price you paid was reflective of the advertised size (sometimes, with a morph, that much weight difference can affect the price). Personally, in that position, unless the difference impacts the value to me significantly, I would grumble about it a little and move on. Maybe, if it really annoyed me, I'd approach the seller about a partial refund. If it really ticked me off, I'd ask to have it shipped back for a full refund...BUT, I would have to feel justified in doing so. I mean, what are we really talking about here? Is there a significant difference in the value of the snake? Is the snake off feed for the season? Has it suffered any ill effect from the "brumation".
Whether it is BOI worthy depends on those things, your overall feeling, and the response of the seller to your complaint.

Ive been talking to the seller and it looks like we will be going with a partial refund. Hoping for the best.

I should say, I have never had a ball loose 15% from an empty weight, in under 2 months. Harald, have you had it loose that much on empty?

I don't weigh my snakes routinely, so it's a little hard to say with certainty, but I believe so - it would be with a snake that has gone off feed, without an accompanying decrease in temperatures....but, to be honest, the start weight probably wasn't at the beginning of the fast. Being a month or so into it already could have been the reason for the observed weight loss(?).