Possible Rescue Adult Albino Kingsnake

[cron14]

Hi all! First time posting on the king snake forum but I need help. I just returned from a local pet store and I saw some pretty frightening stuff. For one, there was a dead gerbil decomposing inside the gerbils tank. The second thing I noticed is that there was an albino king snake that looked like he had an RI to me. I'm no expert but he's been there for a long time and this obviously is not the greatest pet store around. It looked like he had an extremely swollen neck right by his head and was staring straight up at the top of his cage. From my understanding of RIs, it is common for at least ball pythons to basically look stiff staring straight at the top. So heres my questions for you guys. I do not have pictures but from what I have described, do you think its an RI? Also would I be able to get him healthy just putting him in the proper husbandry conditions he clearly needs. I do not have a lot of money right now as I am recently unemployed but I really don't want to let this guy die because of a horrible pet store. Thanks in advance for the help.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Here is the problem

I do not have a lot of money right now as I am recently unemployed

Sadly rescues cost money and while I understand you have good intentions you should only take on a rescue if you can truly afford it, if it put a strain on an already difficult situation this is not gonna help either one of you.

Also there is no such a thing as rescuing a pet store animal well there is but it's not by buying the animal or taking it home with you, it's by addressing the issues you have witnessed with the store manager.

[LittleTreeGuy]

If money is tight for you, my advice would be that you pass on this snake. Yes, it's a sad situation for the animal, but unfortunately, you have to your personal needs first. While it could be an RI and may be easily treatable, there could be other issues that you may not know until you visit a vet... and by that time, you're already into the animal a few hundred dollars.

Don't get me wrong, if I had the money and space, I'd probably have an animal farm for stray cats and dogs and anything else nobody wants to care for anymore... but if you don't have the means, sometimes it's better to pass. Maybe someone will come along that can offer it what it needs. Maybe not. It's a sucky truth, but it is what it is.


***EDIT - Deborah replied before I got this typed in...She knows best.

[bcr229]

I do not have a lot of money right now as I am recently unemployed but I really don't want to let this guy die because of a horrible pet store.

Unfortunately you are not in the position to take on a slithering vet bill.

Some actions you can take that involve only time and not money:
- Find a local reptile rescue and notify them.
- Blast the store on Yelp, Yahoo, Google, and any other feedback/review sites you can find.
- If the store is a large big box chain, find contact info for the corporate HQ - most have an email address and toll-free phone number, and make a complaint.

[cron14]

You guys are right I just hated seeing it and I wasn't trying to make myself sound like a hero or anything so I apologize if it came off that way. I do have a tub and heat I could provide for him but if it came down to spending a lot of money at the vet I don't think I'd be able to take that on. It's not a big box store but I'm going to try to contact someone to look into it. Thanks for the advice guys