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Tillman... The Ball Python and his story!

Amelanistic Orca

Amelanistic Orca

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He was sold for $35 3.75 years ago... This is him today. To say he's in ruff shape is an understatement. He doesn't have an RI. He's parasite free practically. They all got some. He's happy, he's alert, he's kinda cute. But, he is beggin for a real keeper/creeper to fix his previous owners mistakes.

I'm on it. We are into manually shedding him a couple hours already. I'm not gonna do the eyecaps today. I think that'll throw the lil dude in an immediate arrest. He's going to eat and drink for a few days. I'm wondering how many eyecaps are really retained. It's bad!

Why am I posting? This is going to be a progress report on his recovery... That is why. I also wanted to show 'some' of you what happens to the babies you 'throw away' for cheap! Everybody talks ish about my high prices... WELL GUESS WHAT PUMPKINS! (That was my favorite word back in highschool.)

Here's the results of your GIVEAWAYS, AUCTIONS, and Wirld Class PUNTS! You know who you are! I'm back to cleaning up rejects mistakes and taking Clowns to the cleaners for being funny? Let me know if you've missed it... So...

MEET TILLMAN! He's back from the dead... He looks like he spent the last 4 years in Afghan territory. It's ok, wanna know why? He's in hands better than ALLSTATE's! ;)

I'm thrilled he hasn't been chewed on by a rodent! Probably more than he is. That seems to be the common theme here in Az. Get cheap cheap rodents. Then guess what... Those disgusting cheap 3/4 starved feeders you get, feed on your predator! And they wonder why I hit people with $5-$50 for rats. Sheesh!
 

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The unfortunate truth

It is always sad to see the neglect some people inflict upon an animal because "it was only a $35 snake".
I worked in a pet store for 10 years (started in high school) and one thing that kept coming up was the person who could afford the animal and not the environment. I recall kicking some to the curb and the owner banning them from the store when things got ugly after I would refuse to sell them an animal to kill. On the flip side, there were some responsible people who would try to buy the animal first but after they would listen to us, put it on hold and buy the environment, and get it all set up, and then come back for the snake, lizard, etc...

The most common issue people would have is the environment costing a lot more than the animal but that factor separated the responsible people from those we would refuse to sell an animal to. Serious people who cared about the animal did not care how much the environment cost.

I have a few ball morphs I got from one breeder who refused to sell her normal balls at wholesale prices; she said it would lead to the person not valuing the life of that animal because it was cheap. I have a lot of respect for her because of that.
when I get normal babies I will also not undervalue them for the same reason.
As I was buying my snakes I tried to get supers and visual recessives to reduce the amount of normals that I produce while working on my projects. The plan is to have all visual single genes and 100% hets at minimum for my lowest dollar snakes, but they will not be under-priced. There is nothing wrong with the normal ball python, they have great personalities too, I just find it unfortunate that they are considered a by-product of morphs by some people and priced at throw away prices.

Some breeders need to take note of What Tom is saying and remember that the morphs are not the only animals with value; life is something to be valued, not just the paint job.
 
My new buddy! ^^^

Tillman smacked a big rat pup today for the team Jon! Even with all the recent stress!

He's gonna be just fine! Thank you for being a real creeper/keeper!
 
I got my girl in September of 2009 and still have her. She's a normal and a sweetheart that cost $50. I also got her enclosure set up before getting her and had everything right. Then I bought her. I've never had her looking like this poor boy. I also wouldn't give her up for the world. She is the best girl ever imho. People that treat their pets like that should be strung up by their feet and beaten. It really makes me mad seeing something like this. Thank you for taking him in and helping him.
 
Allanira said:
I got my girl in September of 2009 and still have her. She's a normal and a sweetheart that cost $50. I also got her enclosure set up before getting her and had everything right. Then I bought her. I've never had her looking like this poor boy. I also wouldn't give her up for the world. She is the best girl ever imho. People that treat their pets like that should be strung up by their feet and beaten. It really makes me mad seeing something like this. Thank you for taking him in and helping him.
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Wow! You're my kinda people! Thanks for the post... :iagree:
 
We're "supposed" to be the superior species. What this proves is that we are lower than the lowest nastiest on this earth. How we can treat animals that we are supposed to care for like this and still say we are superior I don't know. We make a commitment to these animals when we decide to get them. They are no different than children imho. They rely on us for their care. They don't rely on us for bad treatment. Children rely on us for their care not to be mistreated either. I may be cynical because I've worked in vet clinics and have seen some bad cases but it still pisses me off.
 
Another high quality truthful post! Thank you again Suzanna!

Tillman has gone real big for the 'team.'

I can't wait to show his next photo! You are not gonna believe its him: he is outstanding underneath all that skin... He eats live and dead too. Whatta soldier he is!
 
Allanira said:
We're "supposed" to be the superior species. What this proves is that we are lower than the lowest nastiest on this earth. How we can treat animals that we are supposed to care for like this and still say we are superior I don't know.
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and here is the evidence...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/...mals_n_4400395.html?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000592

Full text:
Think humans are way smarter than other animals? Not so fast, Einstein!

Researchers from the University of Adelaide in Australia argue in an upcoming book, The Dynamic Human, that humans really aren't much smarter than other creatures -- and that some animals may actually be brighter than we are.

"For millennia, all kinds of authorities -- from religion to eminent scholars -- have been repeating the same idea ad nauseam, that humans are exceptional by virtue that they are the smartest in the animal kingdom," the book's co-author Dr. Arthur Saniotis, a visiting research fellow with the university's School of Medical Sciences, said in a written statement. "However, science tells us that animals can have cognitive faculties that are superior to human beings."

Not to mention, ongoing research on intelligence and primate brain evolution backs the idea that humans aren't the cleverest creatures on Earth, co-author Dr. Maciej Henneberg, a professor also at the School of Medical Sciences, told The Huffington Post in an email.

The researchers said the belief in the superiority of that human intelligence can be traced back around 10,000 years to the Agricultural Revolution, when humans began domesticating animals. The idea was reinforced with the advent of organized religion, which emphasized human beings' superiority over other creatures.

"The belief of human cognitive superiority became entrenched in human philosophy and sciences," Saniotis said in the statement. "Even Aristotle, probably the most influential of all thinkers, argued that humans were superior to other animals due to our exclusive ability to reason."

But reasoning, Saniotis and Henneberg argue, is just one form of intelligence.

"The fact that [animals] may not understand us, while we do not understand them, does not mean our 'intelligences' are at different levels, they are just of different kinds," Henneberg said in the statement.

Some animals leave complex scent markings in their environment to communicate. Humans can't interpret these markings, Henneberg said in the statement, but they "may be as rich in information as the visual world."

Killer whales share a complex language of their own, and dolphins have individual names -- just like we do-- based on whistle signals. "This means that dolphins have a concept of 'self' and special others," Henneberg told HuffPost Science.

Elephants, he said, grieve their dead and have excellent memories. Beavers are able to dam rivers and build underground homes. Weaver birds produce intricate, multi-story nests. The list goes on.

What do other experts make of their argument? Dr. Gordon Burghardt, professor of psychology and evolutionary biology at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, told The Huffington Post that he generally agrees with the researchers' assertion. He has no connection with their book.

"Generally the claim is made that with language and now permanent record keeping we have a cumulative culture that allows us to accomplish many things that other animals could not," Burghardt said. "But that does not mean that individual humans are superior in all abilities to all other species. Just as a gibbon does not need a house, we have evolved in environments where we do not have to capture fish underwater with our bare hands, but brown bears do, and can do so better than us."
 
Tom, glad to see its in good hands. The snake has coveted traits that you would think would have lead to a better life, but neglect shows no preference.


Allanira said:
We're "supposed" to be the superior species. What this proves is that we are lower than the lowest nastiest on this earth. How we can treat animals that we are supposed to care for like this and still say we are superior I don't know. We make a commitment to these animals when we decide to get them. They are no different than children imho. They rely on us for their care. They don't rely on us for bad treatment. Children rely on us for their care not to be mistreated either. I may be cynical because I've worked in vet clinics and have seen some bad cases but it still pisses me off.
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This is actually not the best stance for me to take, but this is a perfect example of how "superior" or original we are as a species. In the animal kingdom, parents eat their young, monkeys attack and castrate opposing males, and many die painful deaths to become another's food. All of which aide in survival and prosperity of life.

While we do much of the same things, I am not aware of any other living creature that possesses another life, keeps and tortures, for the sole purpose of pleasure and to fuel this crazy thing called the ego. We take lives and trophy them, disrespect and dishonor them, and simply ignore the other gift we were given called compassion. That right there shows we are capable of fulfilling any possible thing that can be concocted by the brain, with absolutely no reason or purpose at all.

Destruction and degradation of ones species for nothing more than pleasure is something you rarely see outside of humans. I'm not very knowledgeable on it, but I believe this can be considered a superiority complex. A condition that has caused humans to thrive and succeed since the beginning of time. While it's not always a good thing, I think without it, we would have never made it this far. How else would we have appeased all those gods? ;)
 
Outstanding convo's! And, thank you Nick! He's great looking under neath all that 'filth.'

He's coming around nicely... I can't unveil his next pic quite right het, but you will be proud!
 
Tillman update... Holy Xmas! Boom! He's fixed... Who wants to care for him now on? He's looking for a FOREVER home. He sports some nice patterning and blushing too. :)
 

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I think what you did here was great...but I would argue with you...I do give away my normals...every year...I work in a High School and kids always ask about snakes...when kids come in and listen to what they need to do to take care of them...and do and buy what I suggest...I give them away...I feel as long as the have the home...like you suggest...then giving them away brings more people into the hobby...bringing people into the hobby is more important then the $10 to $15 a normal would bring anyways...you just have to make sure the person getting the animal is prepared to do what is needed to take care of the animal...thanks
 
dumje said:
I think what you did here was great...but I would argue with you...I do give away my normals...every year...I work in a High School and kids always ask about snakes...when kids come in and listen to what they need to do to take care of them...and do and buy what I suggest...I give them away...I feel as long as the have the home...like you suggest...then giving them away brings more people into the hobby...bringing people into the hobby is more important then the $10 to $15 a normal would bring anyways...you just have to make sure the person getting the animal is prepared to do what is needed to take care of the animal...thanks
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Seems legit... Until I tell you this kid probably said the same thing to the person that gave him Tillman.

Oh well, it's America still. Free range to trash any old thing, whenever the time is right? :)
 
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