Tough situation

I'll make this as short as I can.

A couple weeks ago I was at my ex wife's house hanging out with my boys and waiting for my girlfriend to get done working.

Well I went to pull our first ever BP, Fred out of his tank, first thing I noticed was that he struck at me twice, Fred never ever struck at anyone, he was the snake that got brought in for show and tell and all the kids got to touch him. Her response...."he's just being a typical python"

..... GRRRRRRR she KNOWS BETTER THAN TO FEED ME THIS CRAP

Second thing was that he was/is emaciated, you can see his backbone forming a ridge down all of his 4' body. He was rather plump a couple years ago....
She "keeps forgetting to ask me to pick him up food when I'm at the show"

His heat pad was unplugged, she even said "he doesn't have one" which he obviously did because I plugged it in. I asked because he was cold.

Well, we went to the pet store and I paid retail for rats, (I hate paying retail for reptile supplies). I told her if she didn't get him looking better
I was going to take her damn snake home with me and keep him.

Now then, I left her with a couple rats, my question is how long would you give her to fix him before taking possession of him? Or would you simply provide the food and deduct it off of child support? Or just buy her the stupid rats so your snake gets fed?

I am not opposed to taking the snake at all... no issues.....none.

She might sell him to me I don't know, I haven't tried that yet, but I think I will try that first... Though I hate paying for something I have already paid for.

I am floored she is being so stupid and lazy, it makes sense though, that is a big reason she is my EX wife

If it were me I would want to get it right away. I would try asking her to let you take it and get it back on track now. If she can't even take the time to buy rats I don't see anything changing with her and the snake is just going to get worse.

Yeah honestly I would just take the snake. If she isn't taking care of it, why would she care that you would take it? It's not like she wants to keep it healthy so she doesn't get the privilege. Just my two cents.

0.2 normal ball pythons
1.0 pinstripe ball python
1.0 arg. Tegu
1.1 uromastyx

Maybe I'll offer her $50 for him, she is something else. I will hear about how much she loves him and doesn't want me to have him, bla bla bla.
But she's broke and i have a hard time seeing her turn down a crispy $50 bill, especially if it goes back into MY pocket should she turn it down.

I do have to put up with her on a semi regular basis for 6 more years.

People fight for custody of animals more than you'd think during a divorce. lol Any who!
So for me, it seems like food isn't the only issue. There is a loss of weight, change in behavior or attitude of the snake and lack of a heating element. All of the above equals stressed out snake!
If she "needs" you to purchase the feeders for the snake but retains possession of the animal (stated in the divorce decree or not.) She could just pay you back in cash but you run the risk of being screwed over. Where you pay to maintain the snake but she retains full possession.
At the end of the day, If you feel she is not adequately taking care of the snake you need to talk to her and try to get him.
If this was me, I'd take him!!!

I left her quite a bit of the other animals, i think she still has Fred because she knows a 4' normal male ball holds little resale value, she sold the animals that were worth money, albino boa yearlings, crested gecko, couple others. You get the idea. I will procure this animal one way or the other this week.

Good Luck !

Aww poor guy, hope you get to bring your baby home without too much hassle! Good luck, keep us updated!

Round 1 failed