How could you do this?

Wow. I can not believe what happened a while ago. While volunteering at my LPS, a woman came in with a BP. She said she had to take it away from a friend who was not properly caring for it. She told us it lived in a 10g tank with no heat, or hides. And it hadn't been fed for 5 months. She said it was pretty much thrown in a corner and forgotten about. She also told about how they would get it out and toss it around the house. So she stepped in and adopted it. She too was not able to care for it, so she brought it too us. It has been eating mice and seems pretty happy ever since (4 mo ago). She is still very shy though. I don't see how you could possibly be that heartless. It's a LIVING ANIMAL for god's sake!

Well thats my story for today.

That is absolutely disgusting. :( People never cease to amaze me. I'm just glad she's safe and happy now.

I hear, and have seen, the most ridiculous cases of animal cruelty...and people just accept it and think there's nothing wrong with it. Dogs, cats, snakes....makes me sick.

Okay so i work at PetSmart...it's actually a really clean, nice branch. I'm not ashamed of working there.
So, today this girl comes in and is holding a baby, baby normal ball python. It was REALLY cold today...lower 60's or upper 50's. I didn't really approve of that, but didn't say anything. She wanted help finding frozen mice...okay, fine, i'll help.

Then she proceeds to tell me how she has 3 more, and she houses them all together. How she also has a 15 year old, 6 foot red tailed boa, and she wants to get rid of it. I say Heck yeah I'll take it from her. And her bps if she doesn't want them *lol*
But she says no...she's just worried that the boa will get the others sick. I'm like, okay..why do you think that? OH well because it's SICK...i'm like, okay...what are the symptoms? She backtracks and says OH it was born with it...it's like, a breathing problem and it sometimes bites itself and stares at the ceiling.

I'm like, that is inclusion disease and that is fatal, and there is nothing you can do but put it down, as it gets worse. that snake did NOT have that from birth, and your bps CAN get it, it's highly contagious.

She says, OH nevermind, i didn't want that snake anyway.


Okay, another story...about 5 weeks ago some old lady comes in. She's at the register buying mealworms. She acts like she doesn't want to touch it, so i say i'll put it in a bag for her so she doesn't have to. She says "oh no, it's really alright. They are not worse than the snake" and i'm like............ ..... what kind of snake are you feeding mealworms to? And she says Corn Snake.
I proceeded to tell her very firmly, but politely that the snake needs to eat mice. She says, OH well a friend told me it would eat crickets...and it does!

To which i respond...because the snake is starving...and seems like he'll eat anything. That snake MAY eat bugs, but it is not supposed to, it will not get the calcium it needs and if it DOES survive, it will grow...if at all...and be malformed.
She just told me once more..."but it DOES eat crickets".

She walked out, and i was in shock with her stupidity or i would probably have said something not beneficial to keeping my job, lol

Ugh, those are just the two i feel like typing out right now. Don't get me started on how people keep fish, or treat their dogs.

people, even a lot of us, see snakes as possessions instead of animals.. It's sad, I think there should be classes taken before people are allowed to adopt reptiles, or any pets for that matter. At least when we collect reptiles we, hopefully, are responsible enough to provide proper care. People tend to start out with the right intentions when it comes to these animals, but then they see how much work and knowledge is involved and tend to write them off. Because they don't cry or beg people don't feel bad about neglecting them. It makes me sick..

So many people get snakes because they think it will make them look like a total Bada$$ and that is it. If you do not love the animals, and YOUR animals each individually, then you have no business owning them.

All we can do is try everything we can to educate people around us, for the sake of the snakes, and so that anyone we happen to turn onto the hobby can get the most from it! Adopting a snake is nothing like adopting a cat or dog, but even though the relationship is different, it can be just as fulfilling.

I know a few people who have seen my BP and my pics of her on Facebook and are all, "oh cool, maybe I want one!" As much as I would love to be responsible for a convert, I tell them it is NOT an impulse buy item, it is NOT a piece of furniture, and it is NOT a cheap investment. Do your research, then we'll talk.

Boy you got that right Emily. I have 1 corn snake and 1 bp, both were impulsive purchases and in the 2 months I've had them I've spent around $800 on supplies just to make sure they are comfortable. This is definitely an expensive hobby and people who aren't 100% committed should be discouraged from getting started. To the OP, I can imagine working at Petsmart you witness all kinds of stuff that is disturbing. Some people just don't get how much responsibility is envolved in caring for a pet.

Admittedly, I'm one of them. I wanted a pet, did the research, and decided a snake was the best choice for my life style. I rushed out and bought my corn snake then two weeks later fell in love with a bp and bought her too. Now 2 months and several hundred dollars later my interest has not waned but my understanding of my own ignorance has caused me to slam on the brakes when it comes to purchasing any more reptiles for now.