char & steve willer animal abusers: Again, none of that is really "relevant" I'm admitting I can't prove it now, if someone would have asked me and cared for me to prove it a year ago, maybe I could have found a way to go the extra mile to prove it, but at this point- nearly everyone who lives around here knows how they are and it's not a huge deal.
There is at least an update to what happened to the animal. After they took custody the shop closed soon after, all the big snakes ended up stored in storage totes in a cold basement for several months with no food or water. At one point, her husband (ex now?) decided to attempt suicide. In the process she decided it was time to get rid of the big snakes as she just couldn't handle them, and gave the entire group (6-10 of them I think) to a friend of mine up here in the springs.
The animals where in EXTREMELY poor shape when they got up here, I'll have to inquire if any pictures where taken of the animals or if the 2 guys who worked to fix them where too busy- fixing them to bother with pictures. I know mostly about what happened to my snake. He went down there a bit heavy at 60-75lbs, he was my garage disposal and had a little extra weight on him. When he came back, he was less than 30. He drank over 2 gallons of water within the first few hours of being rescued, they had to soak him and remove several layers of stuck shed that was described as "so thick it was like cardboard, you could write on it with an ink pen". I know it was very painful for him, he was very angry the whole time, and it reopened scar tissue on his tail (from the owner before me feeding him live prairie dogs) that bled a good deal. I know multiple people (who if they have accounts can chime in) who can vouch for the condition he was in when he came back.
Now I'll say the following:
1. I can't prove what happened, a few people know what happened, if they have accounts and ever see this thread and wish to speak up. Cool, if not. Cool.
2. It's $100 that I got shorted, and they destroyed their business and reputation over it and what happened to my animal.
3. The snake is in the care of a friend of mine, the snake is doing very well, has put back on a lot of weight, has had good sheds, is back on eating food well, has been showing interest in breeding, and is back "to his old self".
4. I will likely getting the snake back at some point in the future, as I do have an emotional connection to the animal, but I don't have the funds with buying a new house, Christmas coming up, and a baby due Dec. 24, but myself and his current owner agree- he will end up somewhere with someone who cares about him, because he's already been through hell.
I have no doubt they probably scammed the hedgehogs. I sold the retic to them after they showed me their big female tiger they wanted to pair him with, they showed me the display cage in the store he would be staying in, they assured me he would be fed well, taken care of, and be a part of their breeding program as he wanted to breed retics so badly. I was a bit new to retics, and I trusted them. I made a mistake, that's on me, and the snake.