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

I am not there so I do not know the entire situation, but from what has been said, the parent's know more than we do. Using Dave as a reference, they have done a good job raising Nixon, so I personally defer to their judgement. Nixon, sometimes it is better to walk away and live to fight another day.

As I said earlier on the thread, you can't save all of them and you can't accept guilt for the ones that you can't. No matter what anyone else says, this poor snake is not your fault - it is the owners' fault. Accepting responsibility for all the mistreated animals you come in contact with is one of the big things that leads to animal rescuers becoming awful hoarding cases or becoming horribly burned out.

With the kind of rapid escalation that they seem to be demonstrating, your mother is correct and it's probably best for you to completely uninvolve yourself. There certainly are no possible legal repercussions for calling animal control but that's not the same as no repercussions. Police will only get involved after the harm has already been done if anyone decided to come after you for this. From the experience of a family member, stalking, threats, multiple sets of tires slashed and the car keyed was not sufficient to get any action from police even after repeated requests. People hold grudges for a very long time and can make your life a misery. Don't get in over your head.

You've done a great thing for Dave and likely will do great things for others in the future. Unfortunately this one is one of the painful lessons in when to give up the fight. You've done what you can. Thank you for doing so.

I'm a bit sickened by the behavior of a couple people on this thread. Bullying to make a point? Bullying a CHILD to make a point?? And a 16 year old is a child, no matter what people say. They live at home and by their parent's rules, they go to school and live by the rules of popularity, they are impressionable, learning about themselves and the world they're growing up in, and THEY HAVE NOT reached maturity.

Beyond that, someone came here for advice on a situation, not to be belittled and mocked for their decision. I'd leave and never come back after some of these comments, especially if I was 16 and impressionable. I'd never get on another reptile forum for advice, either.

It's one thing to debate with an adult. It's another to try and pressure and bully a kid into doing what in YOUR OPINION is right (behind a computer screen, no less).

This absolutely infuriates me.


Nixon... you've done more than a great many people would've in the same situation. I'm in agreement with the suggestions to separate yourself. High school isn't life, and in a couple years everything will be completely different anyway. I've only kept in contact with exactly one person from high school and could give a crap less about the others. I went from a graduating class of 97 people to a college of more than 130,000 people, and met lifelong friends and acquaintances, and then moved another 200 miles away for a career in which I met other friends and acquaintances. You don't need these people in your life. The world is a gigantic place, and you'll be a better person for removing that toxicity from your experiences of it.

Thank you all. Of course I won't lose interest in this forum. It's full of a lot of great people that have helped me more than hurt. There's always going to be someone to disagree with anything so I can't hold that against the entirety of the forum. I'm planning to mention and praise this website when I present Dave at the reptile show because he wouldn't be where he was without all of the help.

I can tell my attitude has changed. I've told how I can get mean and I'm not all passive as I seem to be; agreeing with everybody and trying my best to please everybody. Obviously, nobody can please everybody but if somebody is going to insult me or my family for their choices then they have another thing coming. If they keep responding, I'm not feeding the troll.

That being said, the legal issues is what both me and my mother are worried about. Obviously they can't file a lawsuit for taking away their snake or other animals for all the right reasons but they could target me and my family or find another way around to hurt us. Yes, I do care a lot for Scorchmuffin. If I lived alone and was all grown up in my own house, it'd be a different story. I'd call animal control in a heartbeat and not care if they went after me. However, I don't want them after my family. They do know where we live, you know. I don't know just how crazy Arthur or the rest of the family would get.

I'm so sorry it seems like I"m giving this up completely. They did say they'd hand him over if he got worse so there's always some chance.

Thank you all for the support.

@lady

I agree. However, their tangents won't stop me from coming on this forum. Like I said, this forum is full of more gems than bad eggs and I do get really fantastic advice from people. I know there are a lot of fish in the sea in terms of friends, too, but I have been friends with Ariana for around four years now. My mother would be more upset with the breakup than me, though. She's not the best. I'm not either, but as said before: she is toxic.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Nixon

I'm so sorry it seems like I"m giving this up completely. They did say they'd hand him over if he got worse so there's always some chance.

Thank you all for the support.

---

remember: you will always be your #1. your thoughts and decisions are what matter, as you are the one who has to live with them. don't think of it as giving up! you exhausted all options that you were comfortable trying; you did your BEST in the situation — that's all anyone can ask of you — and stepping away is all you can do now. you are a lot braver than i think i would be at that age and in this situation.

keep us posted on any updates! :)

Nixon, you have done a great job here. You came across a problem, worked on a solution, sought help from peers with experience for guidance and made a decision based on your knowledge of the situation and all the facts at hand.

That's what leaders do. That's what responsible people do.

The wrong thing to do is not reach out for advise, not think of all the options, not think of consequences, bow to peer pressure or act out impulsively.

Hold your head up high! :salute:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Trisnake

Also feel the need to point this out-- you CHOSE to post this thread, and you were looking to upset and ignite people's temper with it. Well, congrats, you accomplished that, so don't cry when it gets turned on you for basically throwing this situation back in our faces. You shouldn't have posted this in the first place if you didn't plan to do anything about it.

Wait... you did plan to do something? What happened to that idea?:rolleyes:

Yeah, keep rolling out excuses.... they're fun to read ;)

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Trisnake

The only thing you would be doing alone is calling the relevant people; they will handle the rest.

I'm going to be honest here. You did great with Dave, and I understand that you're young. But quite frankly in this instance I don't care. Age isn't an excuse, and stressed or otherwise, if you turn away here youre in the same boat as them.

You justifying not acting is the same as you justifying the abuse that's taking place. There is literally no reason for you to let this go on, yet that is the choice you're making. You have the ability to save this animal and do the right thing, but you withhold that from a poor suffering creature. And why? Because you don't want to rock the boat? Because you're "stressed"? Gee, I wonder how much stress Scorchmuffin is going through... I'm sure he'll understand.

and before you think "oh, look at that mean old adult picking on a poor 16 year old! put yourself in his shoes!", I'll leave you with this; I'm 19. I still live with my parents. I am enrolled in school full time and I work part time. Big whooping deal that you're stressed, everybody who lives life is. Doesn't keep them from doing the right thing.

---

Food for the thoughts, YOU are not in HIS shoes whether you are 19, or 30 until you walk a mile in someone's shoes, you will never know what it feels like to be put in such a situation, nor do you have any idea of the implications that can ensue.......why because you are 19 and have very little life experience.

Nixon came here for help as he had in the past, he has proved himself to be someone who truly cares and tries his best (Dave's story is a proof of that), and anyone trying to bully or attack him because he decided to take a step back should take a good look at themselves.

On that this will be the last word on this thread, I believe everything has been said and considering the sudden turn this thread is now http://i954.photobucket.com/albums/a...miley_lock.png

Now move along and go hug a snake.