Metal Monkey Exotics

Originally Posted by Chris Kennard

I will defend no one here. But I will say this. I don't give a rat's ass who your "supplier" is. If they fail to deliver, get your lazy ass to a pet shop and buy food for your snakes!

That's something that we disagree on. I and many other keepers believe that offering food weekly to a ball python that is off feed can condition them to refuse. While I wouldn't normally wait 2 months between offering, it's not much to a well fed ball python. It's roughly a difference of 150 grams from the last time she ate until now.

Originally Posted by m00kfu

That's something that we disagree on. I and many other keepers believe that offering food weekly to a ball python that is off feed can condition them to refuse. While I wouldn't normally wait 2 months between offering, it's not much to a well fed ball python. It's roughly a difference of 150 grams from the last time she ate until now.

I am sorry if I misconstrued your exact statement..."the past couple of months would be me not having any rats small enough to feed her". Seriously? Dude?

Even with the OP's initial post, and showing of partial emails, I came to the conclusion (semi-assumption) that the snake must have been off feed for, at least, the first few months.
After seeing the entire thread, of communications, I was certain that what I had concluded (semi-assumed) was, in fact, factual.
For the OP to have all emails, I cannot believe that it was not understood or that the gist, of it, was not noticed.

I, personally, would not have waited two months to find/offer feed. Even for a snake that has been off feed and even if I had to go to a pet store for a feeder rodent.
However, although there may be a small "ding", for this seller, I am not going to condemn him for not having done so.
Especially considering the snake was off feed and, in the snake realm, 2 months is not an extraordinary time to go without eating ... that is *IF* she would have resumed eating after the first 3 months that she had been refusing.
After all, we don't know when the snake would have resumed eating. It just happened to be that the seller did not have an appropriate size rodent, to offer, in the last two months following the fast that had, up to then, been three months.

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What is the appropriate sized rodent? If I have a snake that eats rats, yet can't find rats, I'll feed it a bunch of mice before I let it go hungry. But that's just me.

What is appropriate size? Well, he said he didn't have anything small enough.
For example (not same exact scenario but a fair enough example nonetheless): If I have, let's say, a cornsnake hatchling, and all I have are adult rodents, I couldn't very well expect that hatchling to eat an adult mouse or an adult rat. An appropriate size rodent, for that hatchling, would be a mouse pink or peach fuzzy ... not an adult.

That said, Chris, I do understand your position. I would be the same way, as you, and would go out of my way to find something that the snake could eat.

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Originally Posted by Pasodama

However, although there may be a small "ding", for this seller, I am not going to condemn him for not having done so.

His lame rationalization is probably as much of a put-off as the perceived indifference that led the snake to being that long off feed. Losing body weight is the point at which one really should start being concerned about getting an animal fed. While it doesn't *yet* look like an unhealthy BP, it could be argued that it's started slithering down that road. Instead of taking a drive and shelling out $10 for some overpriced pet shop feeders, he decided to just sell the snake without putting forth any effort to even see if it will choose to feed on its own yet - almost like he'd actively wanted to keep that plausible deniability in place. I just can't help reading into that. In my eyes, no winner in this thread.

Originally Posted by Pasodama

What is appropriate size? Well, he said he didn't have anything small enough.
For example (not same exact scenario but a fair enough example nonetheless): If I have, let's say, a cornsnake hatchling, and all I have are adult rodents, I couldn't very well expect that hatchling to eat an adult mouse or an adult rat. An appropriate size rodent, for that hatchling, would be a mouse pink or peach fuzzy ... not an adult.

That said, Chris, I do understand your position. I would be the same way, as you, and would go out of my way to find something that the snake could eat.

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The initial post here mentioned "rats". The accused admitted to not having "RATS" small enough to feed. Do you think that snake should be upgraded to squirrels? Then maybe cats...dogs...? Or do you just think I'm an idiot?

Don't know what the seller did, as far as attempts to feed during the snake's fast, and I do not know what his true intentions were re. sale, etc., but I understand what you are saying Dan. You make a point and that is a perception that can be had.

Will add that two months may not be too long, for a snake to not eat, but, yes, it is a rather long time (too long) to not attempt to get something that the snake could eat.

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Originally Posted by Chris Kennard

The initial post here mentioned "rats". The accused admitted to not having "RATS" small enough to feed. Do you think that snake should be upgraded to squirrels? Then maybe cats...dogs...? Or do you just think I'm an idiot?

Really Chris? Why are you being this way? You don't need to become snarky with me.
You asked about "appropriate size".
I would have to go back, to check, but, if he said rats, then I agree with you in that he could feed a mouse (or mice)... if he had them.
However, if he would bother to go to a pet shop or elsewhere, not only could he potentially get mice, he could potentially get an appropriate sized rat.

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BTW Chris, I don't understand what you mean by the following:

"Do you think that snake should be upgraded to squirrels? Then maybe cats...dogs..."

Especially since I did not mention anything about going bigger.

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