MAJOR Rescue Undertaking

I was contacted this morning by a vet who has a customer who needs to re-home their snakes. Amazingly, this person has approximately 30 baby Normals that need to be rehomed. It's another case where the landlord found out about him keeping the snakes without permission and he is now facing eviction.
My question is, IF I decide to take all these babies, will they be able to be housed together or will each baby need to have seperate tanks right from the beginning. They are all captive bred, so at least that is a small bonus. This guy has until tomorrow to remove the snakes from his apartment or the landlord is going to have them removed by the local authorities, or at least that's what he's threatening.
Needless to say, 30 baby snakes is HUGE to put mildly. I don't even want to know how many adult snakes he has that will need to be adopted either. I know I can sell some of the babies once they are established feeders and have shed and have gotten a clean bill of health from my vet, but the initial housing issue is what is concerning me.
Any input or help is greatly appreciated. :rolleye2:

You would have to put them each in a tub/tank for them to grow properly.

The only time you can put them all together is in the interim while you are finding them all individual housing, and even then, it is a difficult decision, as there could be major problems associated with that, since you don't know the history of the animals.

I've had to use deli cups before, with smaller cups stapled to the inside for water..

It works in a pinch.

You should not keep them together. It would be fairly easy, and cheap, to build a hatcling rack to hold all of them. You could keep them in 6 qt shoebox tubs.

First, I would ask myself if I have the time, money, and desire to adopt 30 baby normals. While part of me would like to help out every animal in need, if I did that, I would end up unable to feed my human family. So one does have to make choices about things like this.

If the answer is yes, then my next question would be how is the current owner housing them? Since they can't keep the snakes, maybe they don't need the rack or whatever housing is being used. That would give you a quick solution. Even if it isn't an ideal housing, at least you know it isn't any worse than what they were in, and it gives you a little more time to get a better setup. Furthermore, even if the current owner is unwilling to part with the housing, if you find out for example that all the hatchlings are being kept in one big tub, you at least know that if you co-hab some of them for a short while, you aren't introducing any new risk of sharing disease.

If you can't get their current housing, my biggest concern is how you are going to be able to provide heat for them. Do you have a way to get flexwatt today?

If so, then just go to Walmart or a similar store and buy enough 6 qt tubs. Buy binder clips or maybe just some strong rubber bands to make sure the lids stay closed. Lay the flexwatt out on the floor, and set the tubs on top of it. Each tub should be approximately 1/3 on the flexwatt, and the rest off the flexwatt to create a warm & cool side. If your floor is cold, adding a layer of cardboard under the flexwatt & tubs would probably be a good idea. Add a t-stat, and you will have a "good enough" situation to last until you have time to build a rack.

If you don't have quick access to flexwatt, I'm not sure what to suggest. Buying individual UTHs at a pet store would be extremely expensive for that number of snakes. Maybe you could buy a space heater and put them in a small bathroom or closet as a very temporary solution.

Is this person in Rochester? Theres a person who hatched out probably 30 babies from wc females and is trying to sell them all as well as a few other animals as they say they need to go across the country. They're listed on craigslist as they are all being housed together and have no yet been fed.

If you need it I will ofer to take a couple off of your hands.

I don't know how you would get them down here, but I could take 1 if you needed. I still have questions every now and again about my ball, but he's happy and healthy and we enjoy him :gj:

I'd be willing to take one or two off your hands if you did decide to rescue them although I live near the city

Hi,

Before this gets out of hand it is probably a good idea to make your adoption offers through the PM system as they are against the TOS when posted in the open boards.

To the OP.

Thirty snakes is a lot to take on - do you have enough room in the quarantine area for the housing they would need?

I know it is hard to resist trying to rescue them all but you need to think long and hard about the practicalities when the numbers start increasing. :(


dr del

These snakes are located near Watertown, NY. I spoke with the vet again this afternoon and the guy who owns these snakes is going to house them at a friend's house until he gets things figured out. he told the vet he would take $75 each for the babies if anyone was interested. I thanked the vet and let it go at that.
I do know the ad on C/L from Rochester and have been in contact with the person who posted the ad. This guy was not that person.
I committed myself to purchase my 1st Pastel today from a fellow forum member here and am going to slow down on the adopting and rescuing of these reptiles. I want to concentrate on what I currently have now and making sure they are healthy and happy. If I add anymore to my family I will liquidate some of the rescues I have taken in and I really don't want to do that. These guys and gals have adjusted great and I hate like heck to cause them more stress by relocating them again especially in such a short time.
There just comes a point when you have to say enough is enough and we're reaching that point right now. ;)