pet store ball python with mites

I went to the local pet store to get my Faffy some food and I took a look at the ball pythons and the one they had, had a quite a few mites on it:tears:... I am wondering how easy or hard it is to get rid of mites and do you guys think it would be a good idea to "rescue" her from the pet store?

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Originally Posted by JUNKyardHOE

I went to the local pet store to get my Faffy some food and I took a look at the ball pythons and the one they had, had a quite a few mites on it:tears:... I am wondering how easy or hard it is to get rid of mites and do you guys think it would be a good idea to "rescue" her from the pet store?

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One of the hardest parts about this hobby is resisting the urge to "rescue" every neglected animal you see. Unfortunately all you are doing is contributing to the stores profit and opening up another space for yet another animal to be neglected.

It is not very difficult to treat mites, Provent-A-Mite is a very simple and effective product to use. However I personally wouldn't rescue it for the above reason.

but the thing is if I don't buy it... someone that knows almost nothing about them may buy it and then the pet store will still make a profit and there will still be a new one to take it's place... it doesn't matter if I get it or someone else does

and I have been planning on getting another BP anyways so why not get one that is not doing so well from a pet store that doesn't know what it's doing and give it a better life... I am not saying that every time I go in there and there is a bp that has some problem I am going to buy it

Unfortunately this is rather common and many (including myself) purchase their first snake from a pet store only to find they have mites and other issues. The big concern with rescuing is you are promoting that behavior by purchasing from them and threatening to bring mites into you whole collection as they can get around.

Buying neglected animals from pet stores enables and encourages this behavior by allowing them to profit from this poor treatment. I would walk away and spend your money with people who care for them properly.

Bringing home a snake with mites could put your current BP at risk for mites I would think...

You may be better off making a complaint to the management.. It may fall on deaf ears, but it's worth a shot :-/

Purchasing the snake is only rewarding the petstore for it's bad behaviour.

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Originally Posted by West Coast Jungle

I would walk away and spend your money with people who care for them properly.

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NOT buying that animal is the right thing to do. But you should let the business know why they are not going to get your money. Money is the motivator and knowing that they are losing business because of poor husbandry may cause them to change their practices.

Also, NEVER buy any food for your other snakes from that store. Doing so may get you mites for free. That may also be something to tell the store. They are losing multiple sales for something that is easy to treat.

It already has mites. There is the possibility it could be sick in other ways as well, you never really know.

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Originally Posted by JUNKyardHOE

but the thing is if I don't buy it... someone that knows almost nothing about them may buy it and then the pet store will still make a profit and there will still be a new one to take it's place... it doesn't matter if I get it or someone else does

and I have been planning on getting another BP anyways so why not get one that is not doing so well from a pet store that doesn't know what it's doing and give it a better life... I am not saying that every time I go in there and there is a bp that has some problem I am going to buy it

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Something else you should consider... You have no idea where that snake came from. Reputible breeders known to have clean, CB, parasite free snakes will almost NEVER sell to a chain pet store. There is always the chance that ball was an import or a CH from an imported gravid female. Or that it came from (this part is obvious) an irresponsible breeder..

That snake may have more than just mites and bringing it home could endanger your other snakes. If you bought that snake would you be prepared to confine it to a different room for 2 to 3 months. Take it an exotics vet along with a stool sample for a stool check for internal parasites, and a blood test to check for any of the MANY bacterial infections and viruses that can infect these snakes.. Most of which are contagious..

well I am not going to buy it and on top of that I contacted a local vet to see if there was anywhere else I can get feeders locally so hopefully I wont have to go back there anytime soon