Help and/or advice needed

I'm not sure I can do anything about this, but it's starting to bother me.

There's a dubious pet shop not too far from where I live. They have "designer" dogs and keep way too many rats in one cage, and things like that. Something over a month ago they got in some baby ball pythons.

I went in there today, there's just one left, and it's pretty obvious the people at the store have no idea how to take care of it. It's the thinnest snake I have ever seen. There's practically no tapering from the middle in to the neck, the whole thing is just one width, it's that thin. The scales are patchy, it obviously didn't shed properly, and the cage is full of crickets! As though that's what they've been feeding it! Just live crickets, loose in the cage, so it has to catch them, and I don't even know if it would or could.

I don't know what to do about this. The price tag on it has dropped down to $30 and I might even talk it lower, so I could definitely afford to buy and rescue the snake, but I'm a total newbie, and I only want to own ONE snake. and I want my one snake to be healthy! I don't know what I'm doing with a healthy snake, let a lone a sick one. In my care it may well die anyhow, and I can't afford lots of vet bills. And heck, right now I can't even afford to buy a tank and everything else I'd need to properly care for it. I've just barely started to save up so I could get all that at the end of August, which was my plan. I don't want this snake, I can't properly care for this snake, and yet it breaks my heart to think of it slowly starving in there.

Is there anybody here who lives anywhere near Eugene Oregon who could take it in? I'd be happy to get it from the pet store, I just can't keep it. I'd even be happy to ship it to somebody, although I'm not sure if it would survive shipping, but I don't actually know much about ball pythons yet, I'm still preparing to get my first one. Or does anybody have any other suggestions?

Unfortunately if you buy it, the store will just get another to sell and that will face the same fate as this one.

Have you tried talking to them about what they are doing? I know some pet store employees think they know everything even when they are completely wrong but you may be able to save the snake and others if you can persuade them to change their husbandry practices.

You would be surprised how many people think baby snakes actually eat crickets.

If the snake is in as bad a shape as you described it is probably malnourished and dehydrated and will not live much longer even if you did buy it.

Try talking to them, if that doesn't work, do what I do....................Talk very loudly and contradict whatever garbage information the salespeople are telling customers that come in the door with the real facts on how to care for the animals.

You should talk to the manager. I know how you feel, I see more than just bps getting mistreated and underfed.

Oh, or what Steve said..

Originally Posted by SPJ

Unfortunately if you buy it, the store will just get another to sell and that will face the same fate as this one.

Have you tried talking to them about what they are doing? I know some pet store employees think they know everything even when they are completely wrong but you may be able to save the snake and others if you can persuade them to change their husbandry practices.

You would be surprised how many people think baby snakes actually eat crickets.

If the snake is in as bad a shape as you described it is probably malnourished and dehydrated and will not live much longer even if you did buy it.

Try talking to them, if that doesn't work, do what I do....................Talk very loudly and contradict whatever garbage information the salespeople are telling customers that come in the door with the real facts on how to care for the animals.

Steve hit everything dead-on. That snake sounds like it isn't going to last much longer -- if all they've offered is crickets, then it hasn't eaten anything and will die. You need to talk to the management, and if they don't change anything, you need to get an animal welfare organization involved. I did the same recently for a reptile attraction in the Wisconsin Dells and now the police are involved -- they have 90 days to make the necessary corrections.

unless the pet store will give it away, do not give them money for an unhealthy snake. Talk to the manager and say that you are concerned and want them to be sure the snakes are properly cared for. Offer to help, but not to pay them for damaged goods! If they ignore you, wait a few days then report them to a local humane society. Then you can adopt the snake after the humane society fixes it! jk on the last one there. But you could offer to foster the snake if you TRUELY felt you could handle it. make sure all the terms of vet costs, food etc are worked out before you foster an animal. I've had friends foster dogs whose adoption group couldn't afford to cover vet costs once they left the building and got stuck with the bills.

REPORT THE PET STORE ON ALL COUNTS OF ABUSE! take an notepad and pen and write down every detail you see, what you think may be cruetly, neglect or abuse, get the times and write down whether you mentioned the neglect to an employee or left a complaint, etc. Some stores will shape up after someone sepeaks up and some need to be shut down. Don't support them and don't be silent.

Do it for the pets and the owners who will lose their pet due to misinformation or sickness from this store.

I thought I should just update you guys. I went in there again yesterday, apparently whoever had the bright idea of trying to feed their snake on crickets had been overruled, because he actually had pretty obviously just eaten, little mouse bulge and all!

I talked to the gal working there, she didn't seem to know anything about why there'd been crickets in the cage, or why the snake had been so thin, she seemed to know plenty about proper snake care. She took him out and I held him for a little bit, and although I'm definitely not an expert in snakes, he seemed to be pretty healthy, just a little yet on the thin side.

I really can't wait until I can manage to get one of my own.

Thank you all for the advice.