I'm not asking for anything, this is merely just what's been on my mind since I last observed and held my friend's snakes.

My friend lives about a half hour to forty five minutes away from me and her step-dad has three snakes down in their basement. Two ball pythons and a red tail boa. Since I recently got my own snake I've done a lot of research, reading, and overall learning about snakes and how they should be treated, taken care of, what they eat, how they behave, etc. I was really excited to see my friend's ball python named Scorchmuffin who is male and five feet long. He's super sweet and always wants to get out of his tank. The first thing I noticed about the tanks that it was pretty filthy. Humidity for Scorchmuffin was at 30% and the heat was around 80 degrees F all over the tank. The bedding had shed all over it and the walls were stained with God knows what. He only had one log to hide in but since the the tank had four glass walls, he can be viewed all over. He doesn't seem super stressed, because judging by his size he's probably a good eater and he's pretty active. The other tanks were just the same. I came in and saw Dave, the smaller Ball Python who was actually a rescue I believe and wasn't fed very often which is why he is small for an adult. His tank was full of shed, he had no water which I told my friend and she poured water in through a pitcher. And it was dry in his tank just like Scorchmuffin's, while he was in shed. He defiantly had stuck shed, too. And then Slick, the red tail boa, had the same issues. His shed was lying on the bedding in one piece and there was what looks like rat fur which my friend said he must've thrown up.

The next day, since I was sleeping over, I held Scorchmuffin. After a short while I noticed he was wheezing, making those small squeaking sounds when he breathed. It was constant so I thought it would be a case of RI. I didn't check to see if there were any bubbles because my friend wanted to put him back. I know sometimes the bubbles can be hiding in the early stages and you just have to lightly squeeze their head to see them. But I asked her how often her step-dad cleaned the cages and well...

"I think once a month."

Poor babies. I checked the sides of Scorchmuffin's tank as well and there was gunk or dirt or whatever on it but I found it to be on the outside of the tank so I didn't think there was any essence of him sneezing. But my friend told her step-dad that he was wheezing and he claimed that "He's been doing that ever since he was a baby"

I don't know if there are snakes out there that constantly wheeze and it's not a problem. Sometimes they'll make that sound when they're stress, I know my BP does, but he doesn't seem stressed and he does it every breath, where my BP only does it once.

I feel extremely bad for these snakes because they deserve better care. It's not too much to ask to mist the cages every now and then and clean out the shed and ... whatever that fur is. I can sit here and list all the wrong things he's doing but it's a waste of time because I'm sure all of you can see it. I want to convince her dad to treat them better but to be honest he doesn't seem like a kind of guy that you can negotiate with. Next time I see my friend I'll ask her if she can talk to her dad. He has some beautiful snakes. I am in love with that red tail and I'm planning to get one once my BP grows out of her tank and then a baby red tail can take her place in that tank.

I'm just happy those snakes are still alive. I pray he hasn't been neglecting them like that for all their lives.

Anyone who wants to comment you can say whatever you feel about the situation. I feel so frustrated. Hopefully my friend can say something.