Rescuing a girl...Only JUST found out how bad her situation is =[

So I like to peruse Craigslist for racks, equipment, and all that. What did I find instead? Someone was selling their Gravid Female Ball Python (a normal who has bred with a Butter). She looked healthy enough in the pictures, and I sent him a message. Turns out he's not asking a lot - just 100 as a re-homing fee. Okay, cool. I've no problem with that.

I do have a problem with several other things. Such as the fact that he's selling her while GRAVID. I mean really?! Talk about a time to NOT stress this girl out. The stress alone could cause problems with the eggs. So I started asking questions to make her transition as painless as possible - such as what substrate he's using, what type of hides, seeing if I can take some of her old substrate and maybe the hides with me so she has something familiar, etc. I also asked what he's been feeding her, so that I can have food on hand and stocked for her - if she's Gravid, she should be a lot bigger than even my biggest girl. What he has told me has enraged me and made me feel positive that I must get this girl away from him. He doesn't know anything about the substrate other than that she is living in a 40 gallon tank (which I exasperatedly tried to explain has nothing to do with the bedding - to no avail). She hasn't had two hides, EVER. And he is feeding her small or medium mice. I almost flipped. I have another female ball python who I rescued who is far too small to be breeding, but is absolutely eating Large Mice, and will soon be going to Small Rats, as she is rather round. So either he is drastically underfeeding this female of his, or she is WAY too small to be breeding, both of which are going to be huge problems I'll have to be dealing with.

Take all of this and add that I'm currently 20 weeks pregnant and hormonal and protective? I would like to stab this man in the face and then take both the gravid female, and the male she bred with (I don't have enough moneys right now to take both of them since he's asking quite a bit more for the male, and my hormones say to save the mama and her babies).

ANYWAYS...any advice on how to make this girl's transfer to her new home the least stressful as possible? I'm asking for old substrate to bring her home in, but I don't know if that will be enough to make her not terribly stressed. Also, if she is indeed gravid (I've no way to prove or disprove this as of yet) any advice on best care for a gravid female would be appreciated. I've been doing my research, but it's always nice to hear from people who are actually caring for Ball Pythons and have dealt with similar scenarios. =] Thanks everyone for reading my rant and for any/all help and advice given!

Make sure she stays a constant temperature during transfer and she should adapt fast to the new substrate . I would not bother her as much as possible for a decent amount of time . I haven't started breeding yet but I asked my friend who breeds boas and this is what he told me when I told him your situation

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Originally Posted by ZacharyPoller

Make sure she stays a constant temperature during transfer and she should adapt fast to the new substrate . I would not bother her as much as possible for a decent amount of time . I haven't started breeding yet but I asked my friend who breeds boas and this is what he told me when I told him your situation

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I'll do my best to keep her at a constant temperature. Maybe I can buy some heat packs to keep her warm while I bring her home...

And yeah, I had a feeling that she shouldn't be handled much (if at all) because she's gravid, so I'm worried the transfer will upset her. But I'll definitely leave her to her own devices once she is here. Thank you so much for asking your friend =] I definitely want to go about this poor situation the best way that I can and make it the best experience I can for this girl.

Heck if someone is going above and beyond to rescue a snake then I will go to the same length to help .. Calling was as easy as picking up a phone . I will try and find the link when I get to my computer where you can order reptile heat packs because normal ones get to hot

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Be prepared to get there and find out the pictures you were shown weren't of her. A lot of people on Craigslist do that. They show you a picture of one snake and you get there and they are trying to pass off another to you. She might not be gravid, and she might not be a she at all. In either case she needs out of that home before that idiot kills her.

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Originally Posted by ZacharyPoller

Heck if someone is going above and beyond to rescue a snake then I will go to the same length to help .. Calling was as easy as picking up a phone . I will try and find the link when I get to my computer where you can order reptile heat packs because normal ones get to hot

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I appreciate this so much! Hopefully I can get everything together real fast to get her - I'm supposed to pick her up on Monday, so I'm grabbing another tub for her tomorrow from Target. I'll get it all set up, purchase some more hides (I have an extra water bowl already, thankfully) and hopefully all will go well for this poor girl.

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Originally Posted by TexanLady

Be prepared to get there and find out the pictures you were shown weren't of her. A lot of people on Craigslist do that. They show you a picture of one snake and you get there and they are trying to pass off another to you. She might not be gravid, and she might not be a she at all. In either case she needs out of that home before that idiot kills her.

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I'm well aware of this, and it's why I debated with myself for a long time whether or not to even get her - but then his answers about how he was taking care of her...I just wish I had the funds right now to take both the snakes home and save them both. Whether she is gravid or not, I can't leave her with him =[ I just feel so bad that I can't take the boy too =[ I don't know if he'll find a home at all, and I'm scared of him ending up being killed by this guy who clearly can't take care of snakes. So if anyone has a couple extra hundred dollars and wants a Butter Male...He's in North Hollywood.

How much is the male? And where is the location

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Just so you feel a little better, wild caught females are shipped over from Africa on a regular basis. So I don't think she will mind being moved across town.

Good luck with her!

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Originally Posted by ZacharyPoller

How much is the male? And where is the location

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He's $300 and the owner is located in North Hollywood. I'm picking up the girl near Valley College.

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Originally Posted by aldebono

Just so you feel a little better, wild caught females are shipped over from Africa on a regular basis. So I don't think she will mind being moved across town.

Good luck with her!

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Thank you! Crossing my fingers that everything goes well =]