Burns / Infection / Unknown Disease : One of the Worst Snake Owners

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Originally Posted by tttaylorrr

nice to see you around, Nixon. i read through every page of Dave's recovery, shed a couple tears for you both, and seeing this type of abuse from the same owner Dave was rescued from is beyond infuriating.

if your friend is truly your friend, and they fully understand the animal abuse going on in their own home, they should be completely understanding of any actions you take with proper authorities. if this had been an animal with fur i can believe she would have called proper authorities herself.

i highly encourage you to take this route, and properly vet anyone you speak with on the conditions of Dave as well. i'd go so far as to show them your Dave thread; it's a real-time timeline of the abuse and extensive recovery. heck, i think i'd want to talk to someone in person (but i understand if that's not possible for you).

you're and incredibly smart, caring, and brave young person, Nixon. i know you can do right by these animals as well as have this person understand the repercussions of their neglect and abuse by having authorities show him what happens when you abuse an animal.

i wish you the best of luck.

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^^^very well said^^^

Try to find a reptile rescue in the area where your friend lives and see if you can get advice from there. Sometimes just calling animal control isn't enough, you need to get hold of a specific person there who has a clue about keeping reptiles.

He gave Dave over to you, is there anyway to convince him of giving over the other two, even if you need to immediately turn them over to a rescue if you yourself don't have resources, it might be easier to convince him to surrender them willingly.

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Originally Posted by Lizardlicks

He gave Dave over to you, is there anyway to convince him of giving over the other two, even if you need to immediately turn them over to a rescue if you yourself don't have resources, it might be easier to convince him to surrender them willingly.

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I agree with the sentiment on this, but it is likely that the rescue is going to think that the snakes belong to the OP regardless of what they say. The act of kindness may create problems the OP does not want to deal with. I know what I would do but that does not belong on a public forum.

Nixon, I also read your whole thread about Dave. I know we were all really impressed by your (and his!) perseverance and care. One suggestion could be setting up a GoFundMe page to ask for donations toward the vet bills for this snake - I bet a lot of folks here would happily pitch in a few bucks, especially since we know you have a track record of successfully rehabilitating an animal with extensive care needs. I know this sounds like asking for hand-outs, which lots of us really don't like to do. But don't think of it that way - you're just doing what it takes to help and animal in need, and giving other people who care a way to help.

It really sounds like the most likely way that those two remaining snakes have a chance at anything other than a slow, painful death is for them to be turned over to you, and I know your parents might start to wonder how many snakes you're going to end up with. But I would also expect that if you don't feel you can keep that many snakes long term, the forum could also be a way to find a good forever home for them once they're ready to be adopted.

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Originally Posted by Coluber42

Nixon, I also read your whole thread about Dave. I know we were all really impressed by your (and his!) perseverance and care. One suggestion could be setting up a GoFundMe page to ask for donations toward the vet bills for this snake - I bet a lot of folks here would happily pitch in a few bucks, especially since we know you have a track record of successfully rehabilitating an animal with extensive care needs. I know this sounds like asking for hand-outs, which lots of us really don't like to do. But don't think of it that way - you're just doing what it takes to help and animal in need, and giving other people who care a way to help.

It really sounds like the most likely way that those two remaining snakes have a chance at anything other than a slow, painful death is for them to be turned over to you, and I know your parents might start to wonder how many snakes you're going to end up with. But I would also expect that if you don't feel you can keep that many snakes long term, the forum could also be a way to find a good forever home for them once they're ready to be adopted.

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Wonderful idea. Based on Nixon's success with Dave I'd pitch in.

I would use YouCaring, as GoFundMe has done some hinky business stuff in the past before, but other than that yes, wholeheartedly agree.

I would donate as well, but please don't feel guilty if you are not up to it. There's a reason a very large percentage of rescuers either get burned out or end up being animal hoarders. Even apart from the money, it's a lot of work and a lot of emotional labor. There's a very difficult line you have to draw so you can help where you truly feel able and accept that not all suffering animals can be your responsibility. You've done amazing things for Dave. Getting animal control involved for the others may be the best route. Even that is a sacrifice you will be making to fix something that is not your fault. The most difficult thing is always accepting that we can't help every animal and choosing what is within our limits.

I understand. I'm waiting to get in touch with my friend. She will understand. She knows he doesn't take care of his reptiles. I really just have to be careful about this. You guys might think that it's easy but I don't want him to stop our friendship or from visiting. I don't know how he'll react; ESPECIALLY if his boa gets taken away. That's the only guy he actually cares about, although he still lags on the cage cleaning and feeding. I'm only human and I'm very nervous about the whole thing.

Other than that, thank for telling me parts of what he has. For sure, animal control will be called but I'm not so sure about all his animals being taken away. They have two dogs and some leopard geckos as well as a cat. They're all fine, except Arthur never cleans the leopard gecko cage (which he gave to his 5 year old son which won't know how to properly sanitize the cage.) and the other members of the family take out the dogs. The cat mostly hides under the bed and is more attached to the mom, I think, but he's doing good. He's probably the healthiest animal.

I can be very mean when I want to be. I can be the cruelest person someone could ever know but God...
I would be devastated if even my guinea pigs were taken away and those two are becoming more of a nuisance. I still love and take care of them, though. They're getting pretty old so their time will come shortly.

Moments like this I wish I could see the outcomes. I'll do what I can. Scorchmuffin will defiantly be taken.

Nice going, me, I didn't notice the second page.

I'll think about it. My mom said no more animals as we have enough as it is. I wish there was someway I could simply fund for him getting healthcare while he stays somewhere else. I also thought about taking him and sending him over but yeah, they could accuse me. I'll have to talk to my parents about this. They'll probably lean on the animal rescue more than the funding, although I'd love to take this into my own hands. I know for a fact they'll probably just put him down but, man, Scorchmuffin has been through a lot as Dave has, too, and he deserves a chance. Obviously, if it's out of control then there's nothing that can be done. But as long as somebody tried.