Good morning!

I have no idea what it means for the snake to not have a tongue!

Probably not ideal.

Are you still taking her to the vet?

I am sorry you are having this experience and you obviously want what's best for the snake.

Please keep us in the loop.

I had no idea they could have no tongue either. He said that it can happen and it's a birth defect that can come from something happening in the egg as in just that, a birth defect where something just doesn't form correctly. Can come from something happening with the incubation and the incubator not being kept at the temps it should.

Much like anything else, just a plain old birth defect as can happen in any living creature.

This young man was one of the nicest people i've met in a long time. He did say that if the vet says she has to be force fed for her whole life, he will take her from us, keep her and assist feed her until he can re-home her. He says he has a network of people who do just that, they take in snakes with issues and deformities and give them the best possible life they can.

That would be ideal for us really. Not that we wouldn't want to keep her but my son has admitted, even though he is a big tough guy, he doesn't think he has it in him to force feed a snake. Not that he couldn't he just thinks it's beyond his capabilities to do for the next 20 yrs. He is very upset about this as he (we, even me who WAS scared of snakes) has become very attached to her and really doesn't want to have to let her go.

Yes we are taking her to the vet after my son gets off work. Mia's future will depend on what the vet says this afternoon.

If the vet says it's not going to be a good outcome, she may have to be euthanized. If he says that she has to be force fed her whole life, this young man said that he would gladly help my son out and get him another snake. He said he would "GIVE" him one of his youngest ones that's about the same age as Mia but he knows is healthy. My son said he would purchase one from him and he said no, he could just have one. He has to many snakes right now and is working and going to school full time and really needs to downsize.

This young man is amazing. So sweet and he does this all the time. He hears of someone needing help with a snake and will go to a complete strangers house to help them. I asked him what his girlfriend thought of him doing this and he said she's used to it.

He showed us some pics of his snakes and he does have some beautiful colored snakes.

What do you think if a snake has no tongue, can they still seek the heat of their prey? If so, we may be able to get her on a feeding schedule and she may be ok?

He is going to come over in a few days (i think he said 3 or 4) and see if she will eat again because he said she really has missed one to many meals for a snake her size and age since it's been a month. He thinks she should have another meal prior to one week from now.

I will post tomorrow or later this evening with the results of the vet visit.

Also wondering how to word my nice e-mail to Petsmart corporate.

I am not going to ask for my money back, it isn't an issue of the money.

There is the issue of them advertising her as "fancy" to make it sound like she was special (which she is :P) so they can charge more.

Then there is the more important issue of the fact that the breeder or whoever they get them from, actually didn't inspect and certify health on an animal he shipped out for sale.

And the issue of them giving us a sheet of paper that said she had eaten 4 times in the 5 weeks she was at the store. Now....did she really eat? Could she really eat on her own? Did they force feed her and not tell us?

Had my son not purchased her, she may have starved to death at someone else's house.

My son didn't purchase her because she was "fancy" or cost more..... he purchased her because after holding her and the other one they had, he said he just felt a connection with her and knew she was the one.

{sigh}

Vet visit was today for little baby Mia. The vet said she really did look pretty healthy. Nothing wrong with her mouth, no mouth infection or anything but she does have a deformed tongue. Her tongue is there but it is very short and does not come to the end of her mouth and it does not have forks at the end. Birth defect, accident…. Who knows why it happened. He could not give us a definitive answer on if she will learn to eat on her own or not. (I wanted a yes/no but understand that he can’t predict the future) He said right now its ok to keep assist feeding her but only for the next couple of meals. Then he wants to see if she can feed herself. He did say that if she can never feed herself due to her tongue, that assist feeding an adult python would be a bit harder than assist feeding her now and may be better done by someone with more experience. So we are going to give her at least a month. If she does not eat on her own in a month Dr. says we have 3 choices: 1. Assist feed for Mia’s whole life. 2. Give her to a rescue or someone who is willing to take on a snake with physical deformity and can feed her by hand forever. 3. Euthanasia. My son is beside himself. He feels that by giving her to someone else that he is just dumping her off. I keep telling him not to feel that way. I told him to think of it as she needs more care than he is able to give and he would be giving her to someone who can give her the best life possible without euthanasia. Am I right? He is so attached to her it’s unreal. She was in his pocket all the way to the vet and on his neck while waiting in the vets office. I may be wrong, but I swear she already knows him more than anyone in the house. When I hold her she is all over nonstop moving (and I haven’t gotten used to that yet) but when my son holds her she just completely relaxes and just hangs out with him on his hand, neck, wherever.

This is not what he expected from his first snake.

It is truly going to be a hard decision that my son is going to have to make on his own.

Who did you purchase the snake from. The breeder is wrong selling a special needs snake to someone who doesn't know how to deal with it. It is cruel to both your family and the snake.

Unfortunately (as we know now) he got her at Petsmart. :(

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Maybeka

Unfortunately (as we know now) he got her at Petsmart. :(

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Grrrrrrrrrr..... They have no business selling any pet.

I feel so bad for her and my son. She may be a Petsmart baby, but we have her now and it is up to us to do what is best for the snake.

As to what that is yet, I don't know. I don't know what her future will be. :sigh2:

Wow. I just got a knot in my stomach reading all of what you've been thru. I am so sorry your first experience has gone so poorly. I lost my first snake after only having him a couple of months due to an unknown infection and it totally traumatized me. I know how disappointing it is when you're so attached, and feel like you're doing everything you can, only to have the outcome turn out poorly.

In your letter to Petsmart - which I think is a must - I would focus on the heartbreak this has caused, instead of the anger. Sometimes our words can be easily dismissed if they are delivered harshly.

I wouldn't know how to advise you on what a possible future would look like with a disability like this. Perhaps she gets the hang of eating pretty soon and it all works out. That would be wonderful! If not, I think you and your son are wise to consider if assist feeding for the rest of her life is really something you (and her) are up to. I don't think I could do it.

Either way, she is lucky to have you as her family. Fighting to do what's best for her. Poor, sweet noodle.

Maybeka, you may want to start a new thread for this issue to get more views. Title it something like "disabled snake - help!". I don't want our more experienced members to skip this thread thinking it's a continuation of an intro, and you miss out on valuable feedback.