A co-worker wanted me to take possession of his kid's ball python that was obtained from the pet store about 6 months ago. A quick visit to his house (he lives about a mile from me) showed a young BP, about 2 feet long. It was in a ten-gallon aquarium with newsprint as bedding (nothing wrong with that, just describing the enclosure) and no water dish. There was a hide made from a cereal box, but it was really grimy. No thermometers or hygrometers, and just a sheet of plywood as the cover. No means of holding it down. He had a space heater facing the tank and had it on as a heat source. There was shed in the tank; no idea how long it was there. I didn't see any mites or parasites, but the snake had some bite marks. Nothing huge (in terms of size). He said they were feeding it (baby) white lab mice, one every week and a half. I couldn't see any ribs, but it was definitely malnourished. Urate was scattered around, but I didn't see much fecal matter.

I asked to hold it, and it felt really weak and jagged (probably jagged due to some scales still being on it). It didn't show any interest in me; no tongue flickering and no crawling. It just sat on my arm and didn't move much. Nothing was coming out of its nose or mouth, and it wasn't wheezing. Respiration rate looked normal as compared to the ball python that I have at home.

I realize that this snake is probably sick, malnourished, injured, and dehydrated. He wants $30 for it, and I'm going to buy it from him on Tuesday. Hopefully this little guy (or girl) can get its strength up. I'll be giving him some aspen bedding and a flower pot-hide to use until Tuesday, so hopefully that will keep the snake alive until I can get it in my custody. And yes, I'll post pictures I don't think anybody was trying to neglect the snake; they just didn't know what to do for it and now it's sick. At least they're getting it into a better home.