So what do you think?

[anthrpicdecadnce]

i just received a snake from a friend of mine's friend today. a three year old male BP, he's less than 20" long. had retained shed, and is very underweight. but he's tame and strong.. oddly enough. i soaked him and removed as much of his retained shed as possible, and fed him a small f/t mouse. i talked to the original owner and she said she fed him nothing but live. i was amazed to see, after i soaked and removed some shed, that he ate the f/t for me right away. She said he's regurgitated for her all the time, but thats probably because of the enclosure. its been an hour with no regurg.

His old enclosure was horrible. TWO heat rocks, one on each side of the tank (no cool spot) and urates and feces all over the tank. She's got pebbles as substrate. No thermometers, no hygrometers, nothing. he was also in a glass enclosure right near her window. the screen of the tank was bare, not trapping in any humidity.

Girl has no job, no money. question is, should i give her the snake back, or talk to her mom and work something out where she doesn't get the snake back. I mean, i went over the basics with her today, temps, humidity, NO HEAT ROCKS. but she doesn't have a job and i don't think she'll ever be able to care for the snake.

[JoshJP7]

doesnt sound like a good situation to me... If your willing to take on the snake I say go for it... you have a chance to save his life and give him a good proper home. I dont know how much Id believe her with the snakes age... I could be wrong but I think its damn near impossible to have a 3yr old BP under 20 inches... 3 month old is more like it... If she gave it to you then yea i wouldnt give it back... Your going to have to put some money into him (bout 100$) for the proper equipment to keep him healthy but itll be well worth it... My suggestion is keep him... get yourself a plastic tub($10), acurite thermometer/hydrometer(13$), Under tank heater (30$), thermostat(40$), and two small identical hides (6$) and go from there... Good luck with the lil fella... sounds like hes in good hands

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Girl has no job, no money. question is, should i give her the snake back, or talk to her mom and work something out where she doesn't get the snake back. I mean, i went over the basics with her today, temps, humidity, NO HEAT ROCKS. but she doesn't have a job and i don't think she'll ever be able to care for the snake.

As bad as it might sound, someone that cannot provide for an animal (proper supply, food, vet cost) should not own one, simple as that.

[Purrrfect9]

As bad as it might sound, someone that cannot provide for an animal (proper supply, food, vet cost) should not own one, simple as that.

I completely agree.

[Kagez28]

i would make her sit on one of the heat rocks and see if she likes it....

[anthrpicdecadnce]

well it turns out her mother wants me to give the snake back. despite the fact it belongs to her daughter, who's 20 years old and can make her own decisions. of course, she wants the best for her snake so she's letting me get him happy. and she's willing to learn about proper husbandry. i mean, i cant just cast away a potential herper just because she's at pre-noob level. but i will not give her the snake back until she has a stable job.

well, i came back from work and found that Ferrero (like the chocolate) hasn't regurgitated, so i'm feeling confident that it won't be an issue.


about the age, i dunno how old he really is. but the bellybutton is barely there, so he's definately much older than 3 months. his spurs are freakin huge.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

i mean, i cant just cast away a potential herper just because she's at pre-noob level.

It is not the pre-noob or newbie side of it that is the problem it is the obvious financial situation does not allow her to provide proper supply or to feed her animal weekly, and let not even talk about what would happen if the animal was sick.

Owning an animal requires to be responsible and have the means to provide for the animal, if it is not the case it is best for the animal to be re-homed whether is temporarily until the financial situation gets better or definitively if it does not.

An animal should not be a financial burden, just like an animal should not have to suffer because of the inability of it’s owner provide for him.

[littleindiangirl]

If you lead a horse to water....
I guess in this situation, always do what is best for the animal. If she can't house it now, do you have room to take care of it in quarantine? Maybe work with her and teach her all she needs to know about proper care. Hopefully she will see the wisdom in getting a job.

[ctrlfreq]

Definitely not, this animal should be considered at this point a rescue animal, and you should either care for it now, or find someone who is capable and has the means to do so.

[JLC]

i just received a snake from a friend of mine's friend today. ....

Why was the snake given to you in the first place??? That answer has some bearing on my opinion about whether or not it should go back to its original owner. If she GAVE you the snake....then it doesn't matter what her mother thinks. The snake belongs to you and you have no obligation whatsoever to send it back to someone who can't care for it.

If you agreed to take it in just to "fix it" and then give it back...then you have to follow through with what you've said you would do. But if I were doing that, I'd definitely be willing to part with some cash out of my own pocket to make sure the animal went back with as ideal a set-up as you can put together. Whether or not you can legally hold onto it until she "has a job" would depend on the initial agreement and reason why you have the snake to begin with.