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/i do not think that taking animals from the wild is evil.I think that we have a resposability to care for our animals of this world that are being over hunted or have a habitat that is dwindling. I am not one of those PETA or greenpeace kinda folks I just dont think that it is right to over hunt animals for financial gain. I just hope that the next person that buys that snake from petsmart will take the time to lear n about it before they buy it

Hi, You have done the right thing in going back to the shop. I would take it a step further and tell your local newspaper the story and highlight the way this pet store is run, regards to exotic animals.

Mis- selling a ipod or tv is bad enough, but to sell an animal in this way is unforgivable, the store has mislead you on many levels and should be held in account in the way this poor BP has had to encounter bloody ignorant humans since its been dug out of its burrow....shame its missed out on a good home with you because the store lied to you.

Regards Scott

BTW, Captive hatched means it was born in captivity from a wild caught female. So your snake was not "taken" from the wild

Also, there are a lot of "horror stories" on here about ball python rescues. Sure they are mostly people who bought from pet stores without a clue, but this doesn't mean that everybody who buys a python from a petsmart or petco is going to keep their snake in a mesh cage with a heat rock.

In fact, my (petsmart) manager told me that if anybody wanted to buy an animal from us, and I didn't think they would take good care of it, to tell them the animals were sick and not currently for sale ;) I've only had to do it once so far (and they didn't believe me so I had to call my manager up to tell them to go aweh, lol), as most customers who came in were genuinely interested in taking the best care of their new pet possible.

So was the snake that was returned wild caught, or captive hatched from a wild caught?

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Originally Posted by scotty99

So was the snake that was returned wild caught, or captive hatched from a wild caught?

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If it was from petsmart, it was CH. We get our snakes from some reptile farm. (and they are too young to be wild caught)

from my understanding is a captive hatched egg is taken from a gravid wild caught female. There fore the snake should be in the wild if human hands had not interfered then the snake would be living in the wild.

With all of the captive breeding going on there is no reason to take snakes from the wild for pets when so many are taking them for their skin and what ever else people use snakes for.

Like I said i am not some hippy green peace tree hugging sissy. I had a honda civic that got 30 mpg and I got rid of it for a 1985 k5 that gets 10mpg with a tail wind. :salute: I'm just a red blooded American that thinks that if we can avoid over hunting/trapping animals so they will be there for future generations why not try.

Well grats on the feed. Think of it this way even if you dont have mites PAM is always a great precautionary tool. :)

I agree Hoax, im no iceberg hugger either, if hunting/taking from the wild is not done in an ethical and responsible manner then we will see and hear horror stories related to exotic animals.

Unfortunately there are people who have no sentiment towards animals around the world and no doubt West Africa where BP's reside in the wild has it's undesirable reptile dealers/hunters im sure that are in it for purely a fast buck.

I was in charge of the reptile departement for a few years at Petland, and while I agree that ALOT of pet stores are improperly set up to really care for reptiles (and this was no exception) you can at times find people who work there that actually do care. I personally fed, and cleaned every cage, and when a reptile was purchased, whether it be an Anole, or a Tagou, I personally wrote a care sheet for the customer, I even went to their homes and helped set up the Terrariums, or helped when they were having feeding issues. I also refused many sales, if the person could not enclose and care properly for the reptile. Sadly this isn't the norm, and even us caring individuals are at the mercy of the materials provided at the pet store for housing. To get to the point I guess, don't feel too bad, there is a possibility that someone who actually cares, is caring for your baby right now.
Jaclyn

Well said.

regards Scott