people irk me

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Originally Posted by Kaylaaa

They really had a boa in a wire cage possibly outside? :( poor thing. Just makes me want to save them all. hah

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Yes
Also, the Boa was a Wild Type/Common which they wanted $200 for! Proud of the snake 🐍, but not enough to care for it properly. Fortunately for me it was about 100 miles away which discouraged me even more from buying it.

Snakes in general are one of those pets that people jump into with both feet and then lose interest. Once they figure out there is more to it than tossing out some food, water and a litter box they lose interest. In addition to that they perceive ball pythons as one of the cool snakes you can take out at parties and pass around and be an all purpose companion snake. They end up with animals scared out of their wits that wont eat and they get tired of it and neglect them. You can see it in so many of the "Alright I got a new BP now what do I do with it" first posts. Once they start reading the responses about UTH and thermostats and care sheets and all that expensive stuff you see the excitement just dwindle. It's a shame that reptiles are considered to be disposable animals by so many people.

My stomach is in a complete knot. I live near Buffalo NY and a person in Wilson NY (about 25 minutes away) just got nailed by the Niagara County SPCA... among other animals, over 200 snakes in totes, approximately 50% dead. I'm trying to figure out my space and if I can take in any of them. I've already got 5 rescues from a boy in NJ that I'm currently working on. There was a lady in Amherst NY (10 minutes from me) with a bunch of arachnids and snakes a few months ago... I took a corn snake that my niece is lovingly caring for now and friends took a couple of the balls. What possesses people to do these cruel things? And I truly believe the shelters destroy most of them because they don't get adopted quickly like puppies and kittens... Damn! I'm really upset. I'm totally hating someone right now. :tears:

Sorry for venting. I'm just really upset. This makes my heart ache.

It's not just snakes. I'm on an axolotl forum and the amount of people who just buy them, don't cycle the tank, toss them in with gravel and then ask, "why is it dying???" makes me want to reach through the screen and flick their foreheads!

I remember when it was cool to own hedgehogs where I live, it was awful. Almost everyone had one(not including anyone in my family). The shelter was full of them because in a few months the kids got tired of them, it was really sad. And on top of that they were not used to people at all(because the kids neglected them), they would just hiss and curl up into a ball so nobody really wanted to adopt them. Most of them are still there now, but the ones who were friendly enough got adopted put to people who knew proper care for them.

Another thing a lot of people don't realize is buying the snake is the cheap part. You are paying say $1000 one time. Over the course of that one snakes life, you factor in the caging it needs which can run $1000 alone plus food for 30 years which for some snakes adds up fast when you are talking 4lb+ rabbits and gpigs lol and then factoring in vet bills which are freakin expensive, you are talking thousands of dollars. And that isn't even factoring in all the cage accessories plus substrate and stuff. This mostly applies to large constrictors though. Luckily BPs are fairly small and don't require huge amounts of food or huge caging but the vet bills still are just as expensive lol.

And snakes are the bandwagon pet. Everyone thinks its so cool to own a retic or boa or burm. Then when the thing gets big, they try and pawn it off and most places don't want a 14' snake. It's why I had to think long and hard before I committed to Caesar but he is an awesome snake although he is eating me outta house lol.

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Originally Posted by DLena

Sorry for venting. I'm just really upset. This makes my heart ache.

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Don't be sorry! That is really sad. I couldn't imagine. I really can't understand either. You are right though about snakes that go to shelters, the last thing people are going to want to adopt is a neglected ball python, not many of us are even that into the healthy ones from breeders. Most people just really can't or don't want to take care of them - and the ones that do are few and far between.

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Originally Posted by PythonBabes

I remember when it was cool to own hedgehogs where I live, it was awful. Almost everyone had one(not including anyone in my family). The shelter was full of them because in a few months the kids got tired of them, it was really sad. And on top of that they were not used to people at all(because the kids neglected them), they would just hiss and curl up into a ball so nobody really wanted to adopt them. Most of them are still there now, but the ones who were friendly enough got adopted put to people who knew proper care for them.

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Gatta love animal 'phases.' Over my dead body is the day my children get pets and don't take care of them. Parents are half the problem, they don't teach their children to properly care for animals and instead teach them that they are disposable.

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

Another thing a lot of people don't realize is buying the snake is the cheap part. You are paying say $1000 one time. Over the course of that one snakes life, you factor in the caging it needs which can run $1000 alone plus food for 30 years which for some snakes adds up fast when you are talking 4lb+ rabbits and gpigs lol and then factoring in vet bills which are freakin expensive, you are talking thousands of dollars. And that isn't even factoring in all the cage accessories plus substrate and stuff. This mostly applies to large constrictors though. Luckily BPs are fairly small and don't require huge amounts of food or huge caging but the vet bills still are just as expensive lol.

And snakes are the bandwagon pet. Everyone thinks its so cool to own a retic or boa or burm. Then when the thing gets big, they try and pawn it off and most places don't want a 14' snake. It's why I had to think long and hard before I committed to Caesar but he is an awesome snake although he is eating me outta house lol.

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You make a good point. I personally know people who have gotten snakes as babies, then as soon as they get bigger (even BPs) they get freaked out and don't want them anymore.

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Originally Posted by Reinz

Yes
Also, the Boa was a Wild Type/Common which they wanted $200 for! Proud of the snake 🐍, but not enough to care for it properly. Fortunately for me it was about 100 miles away which discouraged me even more from buying it.

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Man, poor thing. Sounds like the owner should be the one in the cage outside haha.