So glad I found this site as soon as I unexpectedly brought a BP home

[halfnakedlife]

this is my rants about how pet stores in my area give me headaches!

my girl's, a pastel bp, been with me for 5 months. she's about nine months old now, around 2'5" long and 410g.
when i first got her from a small reptil exhibition (lost a battle of will with my 6yo daughter), the seller just told me to put her in the tank, make sure her water bowl is filled, cover the base with newspapers/papertowels and feed once a week. he assured me that BP is a perfect snake for beginner, easy to care and pretty much docile in nature.
because i am a responsible human being (well, i'd like to think that i am) and always teach my daughter to be one, i wanna make sure that i got everything right, though at that time i don't even have the courage to even touch the snake, let alone pet or pick it up.
so i began my internet search on snake as a pet and how to care for one...lo and behold it wasn't as simple as the seller said.
first i found lots and lots of 'real story' about how your snake will get so big and try to kill you and/or your kid in your sleep and news about loose 'ginormous' snake terrorizing neighborhood. then i learned about the importance of providing the right set up, what size to feed, what possible illnesses etc etc. overwhelmed about the info but thankfully, i found this community and decided to stick here.
that very first night i only had a tank, a water bowl and luckily a hide, a half log one, because my daughter insisted that her snake must have a home. i was panicking and just prayed for nothing wrong to happened on that night. tried to keep my cool, note a nearby vet address, made a list on pet stores in the area to visit, list what needed, read and reread the stickies and promised myself to kick my seller on his shin if i ever see him again.
much to my surprise, almost all pet stores (even the one who deal with reptiles exclusively) in my area didn't have what i found to be basic things to set up a good enclosure for snake nor anything for mites, bad shed, neosporin...i wanted to have a 'first aid' kit basically, just in case. some of them said that they hadn't restock and most just didn't carry one. plenty seemed perplexed that i even asked for those things.

here are some of the most frustrating experience:
when i asked for a hide (hoping to find a more closed off than the half log), the staff literally said 'what for?'. he then explained that a hide will only make my snake aggressive when handled and i won't be able to see her because she'll be hiding. and went to asked me 'what's the use of keeping a pet if u can't see it?' (cue the facepalm 🤦🏻:cens0r:♀️).
when i asked for digital thermometer & hygrometer, uth and thermostat, he said that our country is naturally perfect for bp so i don't need all those and that's why they never carry it in their store. (fyi, i live in tropical country where it's hot & humid all year long).
neosporin? 'don't know'
proven a mite or anything to treat or prevent mites? 'don't have'
shedding aid? 'don't have'
i gave up on pet stores and just left...
with visits to few hardware stores, online shopping and pre-ordering from a certain person, i was able to get everything i needed.

from then on she's happy with her tank, healthy and doesn't mind being handled.
now that she has outgrown her current tank and hides, i need to get a bigger one. earlier today i went to a pet store to order one as they don't have it ready in stock. the staff warned me not to, told me that my bp will get bigger if i put her in large enclosure, so best keep it where it is. you know, small size = good pet 🤦🏻:cens0r:♀️🤦🏻:cens0r:♀️🤦🏻:cens0r:♀️
sarcastically i said to him that by his logic i can grow my bp to a size of burmese python if i keep her in a very large tank, how exciting! he looked at me funny for not believing him.

...and that's why i am thankful for this site and all of you here for sharing your knowledge!
sorry if it's a long read



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[Starscream]

I had to debunk a coworker who believed the 'snakes stretching out, wrapping around you means they're sizing you up' myth. Was kinda pissed about it because obviously I'm a bit passionate about my snake baby, but explained why they actually do it and how the myth makes no sense in the first place. Might have info-dumped a little bit XD.

As for pet stores, roommate and I went to pick up a f/t mouse for Mazikeen and the cashier checking us out, while holding the mouse in her hand, just looks at us and goes 'what kind of pet do you have?' then recoils in disgust when we say 'snake'. What did you expect??? What else eats mice at a pet store???? lmao. People be crazy. And also highly misinformed. Fun times .

[halfnakedlife]

I had to debunk a coworker who believed the 'snakes stretching out, wrapping around you means they're sizing you up' myth.

Yep, few friends told me about this too. One version's a girl whose sleeping with her pet snake being warned by her concerned vet, the other's the zookeeper who handles snakes told the story.

As for pet stores, roommate and I went to pick up a f/t mouse for Mazikeen and the cashier checking us out, while holding the mouse in her hand, just looks at us and goes 'what kind of pet do you have?' then recoils in disgust when we say 'snake'. What did you expect??? What else eats mice at a pet store???? lmao. People be crazy. And also highly misinformed. Fun times .

if only could get a dollar for every 'eww! that's disgusting'...


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