Best Way to Replace My Dead Pin?

The Tucson show is coming up and that's when, in 2010, I purchased a female Pin. As the show is inching closer I'm deciding what would be the best way to replace my dead Pin.

I called the breeder the day it happened, only two months after the expo. The care for all my Ball pythons is the exact same and has much improved in the last three years of keeping Balls. He asked all questions about my husbandry and everything seemed correct. The day I bought her I was told she was a picky eater, but from dealing with several picky eating snakes before, I was confident enough that I could get her on food. The snake only took food once for me through assist feeding and I could not get her to eat anything after that. I tried every method I could think of. The snake was thoroughly checked over at the expo and in my home but showed no physical signs of illness.

I paid $180 for her and still have the recipe. I may call in again in August just to remind him about the incident so he knows I'll be there for the show looking for a replacement of my dead Pinstripe. When I called him around 10 months ago he said we could work something out and that he will be vending at the next Tucson Show.

So, if you were in this situation, how would you want your snake replaced? I mean, even if he gave me my money back which is fine, I would rather prefer another healthy, eating female hatchling morph. But I'd like to get opinions.. I'm not exactly sure how to deal with the situation as this is the first and only time I ever had a Ball die on me so suddenly. I'm still rather heated about the incident.

The business name on the recipe says Outback Reptiles, but I also have a card from them somewhere of their main business that they run (a motel I think). I'll have to find the card but I think it might've been Paradise something Motel.. They are located in Texas.
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If they are willing to work something out, just shoot them a reminder call, and get another one at the show.

For one- outback reptiles is not the most trustworthy of breeders if I'm recalling right. Now then, this is just my personal opinion.. You purchased a snake knowing full well it had eating problems. Did you ever force feed? It may have saved your snake if you had.

Personally, if you didn't want the responsibility of force feeding, or the risk of it not eating and dieing- why buy the snake? You took the risk when you purchased his animal, and if he replaces it then it's him going above and beyond for your mistake.

Just my .02

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Originally Posted by MMReptiles

For one- outback reptiles is not the most trustworthy of breeders if I'm recalling right. Now then, this is just my personal opinion.. You purchased a snake knowing full well it had eating problems. Did you ever force feed? It may have saved your snake if you had.

Personally, if you didn't want the responsibility of force feeding, or the risk of it not eating and dieing- why buy the snake? You took the risk when you purchased his animal, and if he replaces it then it's him going above and beyond for your mistake.

Just my .02

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x2 IMO
and also it died 2 months after purchase.
Most guarantees dont last that long. If the breeder is willing to work with you at all then thats very generous of them.
How many meals did the snake have before you got it?
If its a hatchling and is a picky eater, i wouldnt have bought it myself. but thats just me. I hope you find luck with the situation.

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Originally Posted by MMReptiles

For one- outback reptiles is not the most trustworthy of breeders if I'm recalling right. Now then, this is just my personal opinion.. You purchased a snake knowing full well it had eating problems. Did you ever force feed? It may have saved your snake if you had.

Personally, if you didn't want the responsibility of force feeding, or the risk of it not eating and dieing- why buy the snake? You took the risk when you purchased his animal, and if he replaces it then it's him going above and beyond for your mistake.

Just my .02

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X3 imo as well!

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Originally Posted by MMReptiles

For one- outback reptiles is not the most trustworthy of breeders if I'm recalling right. Now then, this is just my personal opinion.. You purchased a snake knowing full well it had eating problems. Did you ever force feed? It may have saved your snake if you had.

Personally, if you didn't want the responsibility of force feeding, or the risk of it not eating and dieing- why buy the snake? You took the risk when you purchased his animal, and if he replaces it then it's him going above and beyond for your mistake.

Just my .02

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x4

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MMReptiles

For one- outback reptiles is not the most trustworthy of breeders if I'm recalling right. Now then, this is just my personal opinion.. You purchased a snake knowing full well it had eating problems. Did you ever force feed? It may have saved your snake if you had.

Personally, if you didn't want the responsibility of force feeding, or the risk of it not eating and dieing- why buy the snake? You took the risk when you purchased his animal, and if he replaces it then it's him going above and beyond for your mistake.

Just my .02

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x5

Not to sound like an a - hole, but yea they Kinda warned you.
Also, as mentioned above, most warranties I have seen are for 15 days, and from time to time I see a 30 day one. So it's not their obligation to refund the money or do an 'exchange'. If they said they'll break a deal with you be thankful and accept it (a 50% would be more than awesome in this case).

But, as a vendor, I think they failed, selling a 'sick' snake.



Just give it a go, Hope you can get a new healthy one for a great price.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MMReptiles

For one- outback reptiles is not the most trustworthy of breeders if I'm recalling right. Now then, this is just my personal opinion.. You purchased a snake knowing full well it had eating problems. Did you ever force feed? It may have saved your snake if you had.

Personally, if you didn't want the responsibility of force feeding, or the risk of it not eating and dieing- why buy the snake? You took the risk when you purchased his animal, and if he replaces it then it's him going above and beyond for your mistake.

Just my .02

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It's not the Outback Reptiles most people know about, they were more of a smaller breeding biz.

Force feed as in....? Putting a F/T rodent in the snake's mouth/throat? That I did, first time worked but the few times after that I wasn't successful.

I did want to take the full responsibility of the snake even if it meant getting the snake to eat since I had done this plenty of times before. You do have a point and I appreciate your post. I am truly happy that he agreed to work something out with me. I suppose I am just a little fired up about what had happened because my dad had given me the money that went toward the snake, just means a lot to me when my dad is involved in the purchase of my animals or anything for that matter.

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Originally Posted by mues155

x2 IMO
and also it died 2 months after purchase.
Most guarantees dont last that long. If the breeder is willing to work with you at all then thats very generous of them.
How many meals did the snake have before you got it?
If its a hatchling and is a picky eater, i wouldnt have bought it myself. but thats just me. I hope you find luck with the situation.

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I'm actually very glad you mentioned about guarantees. I don't recall him giving me a however-many-day guarantee, but that is a reasonable piece of information that I completely overlooked.

The snake was said to already be 4 months old? if I remember correctly. I don't recall being told how many meals it previously had but I was told that she favored rats.

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Originally Posted by Munizfire

x5

Not to sound like an a - hole, but yea they Kinda warned you.
Also, as mentioned above, most warranties I have seen are for 15 days, and from time to time I see a 30 day one. So it's not their obligation to refund the money or do an 'exchange'. If they said they'll break a deal with you be thankful and accept it (a 50% would be more than awesome in this case).

But, as a vendor, I think they failed, selling a 'sick' snake.



Just give it a go, Hope you can get a new healthy one for a great price.

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Yes they did warn me, and unfortunately things do happen. Even if it is a small deal I would be more than happy to get some of the money I spent replaced. Seeing $180 wasted just picked at brain a bit.

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Originally Posted by CoolioTiffany

Yes they did warn me, and unfortunately things do happen. Even if it is a small deal I would be more than happy to get some of the money I spent replaced. Seeing $180 wasted just picked at brain a bit.

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Thats kind of what investing in an animal is about though.
Animals can die and money can be lost just like that. honestly if $180 makes you upset you probably shouldnt buy anything more expensive than that pinstripe in the future.
I have about $4,500 in my snakes. If one of my $1,200 snakes dies i would be upset yes but i know that it can happen. its a risk that all pet owners take i think.

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Originally Posted by CoolioTiffany

Force feed as in....? Putting a F/T rodent in the snake's mouth/throat? That I did, first time worked but the few times after that I wasn't successful.

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That is assist feeding. Force feeding is actually putting the mouse entirely down the snake's throat and holding it's mouth shut so it can't regurge. The breeder saved my ball as a hatchling through force feeding, he eventually caught on to the "this is food" thing.

Force feeding is taking the mouse/rat and putting in into the mouth of the snake, and using a wooden stick to gently force the mouse completely into the snakes throat, and then holding the mouth to force it to swallow.

You assist fed, big difference ;)

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Originally Posted by CoolioTiffany

It's not the Outback Reptiles most people know about, they were more of a smaller breeding biz.

Yes they did warn me, and unfortunately things do happen. Even if it is a small deal I would be more than happy to get some of the money I spent replaced. Seeing $180 wasted just picked at brain a bit.

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Hope you work it out in the most convenient way possible!

Let us Know!:gj:

You took a gamble. The gamble was could you get a picky eater to eat and live. $180 is not very much for a female pin, but they warned you that it was a picky eater. You could have passed and spent more to get a good feeding animal but you didn't. How much would you have spent (LAST year) for a female pin? Not mind you how much they go for today.

Granted it really sucks to loose any animal, but issues come up sometimes when you breed. As a breeder that has had a picky eater I will tell you that when, if I sold an animal like that I would MAKE sure that the buyer knew that there was NO garentee on her. It sounds like that is what they did. "You know this animal doesn't like to eat" and a price of almost half of what I have seen pin females go for was loud and clear.

IF they are willing to work with you, then good for them, but they shouldn't be expected to "give" you anything. Especially since it lasted 2 months. There is NO mar on their reputation (IMHO). In fact I think they are being very generous.

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Originally Posted by akaangela

You took a gamble. The gamble was could you get a picky eater to eat and live. $180 is not very much for a female pin, but they warned you that it was a picky eater. You could have passed and spent more to get a good feeding animal but you didn't. How much would you have spent (LAST year) for a female pin? Not mind you how much they go for today.

Granted it really sucks to loose any animal, but issues come up sometimes when you breed. As a breeder that has had a picky eater I will tell you that when, if I sold an animal like that I would MAKE sure that the buyer knew that there was NO garentee on her. It sounds like that is what they did. "You know this animal doesn't like to eat" and a price of almost half of what I have seen pin females go for was loud and clear.

IF they are willing to work with you, then good for them, but they shouldn't be expected to "give" you anything. Especially since it lasted 2 months. There is NO mar on their reputation (IMHO). In fact I think they are being very generous.

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In concept, I agree with everything you are saying - however:

The buyer is a teenager. There is no way in h*ll I would sell a non-feeding animal to a teenager. No knock on Tiffany, but even keepers with a lot more experience under their belts have issues getting non-feeding young balls to eat.

What good is a 48 hour warranty on an animal that can take months to starve itself to death? That animal was apparently a problem eater and they sold it on the cheap to a kid.

I'm loathe to sell animals to kids period. If one comes along that appears to have a pretty level head, I'll gladly make an exception on some species - but I would make damn sure that the snake had no known issues.

However, I would not sell an animal - especially a baby with known eating issues- to a minor. No way, no how.

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Originally Posted by Skiploder

In concept, I agree with everything you are saying - however:

The buyer is a teenager. There is no way in h*ll I would sell a non-feeding animal to a teenager. No knock on Tiffany, but even keepers with a lot more experience under their belts have issues getting non-feeding young balls to eat.

What good is a 48 hour warranty on an animal that can take months to starve itself to death? That animal was apparently a problem eater and they sold it on the cheap to a kid.

I'm loathe to sell animals to kids period. If one comes along that appears to have a pretty level head, I'll gladly make an exception on some species - but I would make damn sure that the snake had no known issues.

However, I would not sell an animal - especially a baby with known eating issues- to a minor. No way, no how.

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I sorta disagree with you. I have met some very very experienced teen keepers. The OP said she had had experience with non feeding snakes. She (what sounded like to me) implied she had a high level of experience with balls. At what point do you trust a person to know their level of skill? IMHO it was her parents duty to know what she is getting into. Yes the seller SHOULD have warned her. But, again IMHO, to not sell something to a person just because they are a teen is wrong. How do you know that the next person, an adult, saying the same thing is any better? When do you trust their word about their level of experience? Is a teen that has had 4 years experience any worse than an adult (and at what age do you consider a person a responsible adult) that has had the same amount of experience? How long do you have to have snakes to be experienced?

If it where me I would never had had this animal up for sale to the general public, for the simple reason I don't trust people (no matter how old they are). I would have either sold or given it away to someone I absoultly KNEW could help a snake that was a non feeder.

At one time or another most of us overestimate what we think we know. Who's fault is it? The OP learned 2 very important lessons. First thats she was not nearly experienced as she thought she was. Second that when you over estimate yourself bad things happen. The saddest part is a poor snake had to die for her to learn this.

This could have just as easily happened to an "adult" as to a teen.

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Originally Posted by akaangela

I sorta disagree with you. I have met some very very experienced teen keepers. The OP said she had had experience with non feeding snakes. She (what sounded like to me) implied he had a high level of experience with balls. At what point do you trust a person to know their level of skill? IMHO it was her parents duty to know what she is getting into. Yes the seller SHOULD have warned her. But, again IMHO, to not sell something to a person just because they are a teen is wrong. How do you know that the next person, an adult, saying the same thing is any better? When do you trust their word about their level of experience? Is a teen that has had 4 years experience any worse than an adult (and at what age do you consider a person a responsible adult) that has had the same amount of experience? How long do you have to have snakes to be experienced?

If it where me I would never had had this animal up for sale to the general public, for the simple reason I don't trust people (no matter how old they are). I would have either sold or given it away to someone I absoultly KNEW could help a snake that was a non feeder.

At one time or another most of us overestimate what we think we know. Who's fault is it? The OP learned 2 very important lessons. First thats he was not nearly experienced as she thought he was. Second that when you over estimate yourself bad things happen. The saddest part is a poor snake had to die for him to learn this.

This could have just as easily happened to an "adult" as to a teen.

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The seller should have had the maturity and the common sense to not sell a problem feeder to a kid - period. I refuse to sell animals to teens for all sorts of reasons - and I have no problem telling them why. It's very simple - you look the kid in the face and say:

"This particular animal is a problem eater - pick another one."

The nature of teenagers is that they overestimate their abilities and that their mouths tend to write checks that their butts can't cash. Responsible adults factor that in and refrain from selling problems animals to underage kids - regardless of the price.

If the animal had enough of an issue that they we're selling it at such a steep discount, they should have sold it to an adult with specific experience dealing with problem feeders.

That's the difference between someone trying to offload their problem on someone else and someone who gives a crap about both the animal they are selling and the person they are selling it to.

Let me reiterate - reputable businessmen and women do not offload their problems on kids. I don't care how steep the discount.

Period.

I know a very responsible teen and have sold a few animals to him under the conditions of right of first refusal. This kid is more of an adult that most 30 year olds I know.

Having said that, dealing with an animal that won't eat is beyond the skill-set of most keepers. Regardless of how mature and responsible this kid is, I would not sell him an animal that was not eating.

Ok, I am not looking for a fight, but I do feel strongly about this so here it goes.

You said you would sell this animal to an adult with specific experience with problem feeders, right? So how many animals would an adult have to have with picky eaters to be experienced enough for you to sell it to them? The OP stated

" The day I bought her I was told she was a picky eater, but from dealing with several picky eating snakes before, I was confident enough that I could get her on food. "

Now she didn't say if the picky snakes she had dealt with where old or young, but it wasn't like she had never had one that didn't want to eat. Also she was here on the forum, with many many experienced people, to give her advice and mentor her. I think her age has less very little to do with it.


<sigh> I am not looking for a brawl but clumping all teens into those that write checks that they cant cash is not fair. I know so many "adults" that do the same thing. How many threads have we seen where an adult has lost an animal? Do we automatically assume that it was due to their age or do we assume that it was due to their lack of knowledge or just bad luck (or for that matter just being stupid)?

It just irks me when people say "teens can't be trusted". Teens are human. What in heavens name are parents for if not to make sure that the child knows what they are getting into? Age should have less to do with the ability to care for something than experience.

As I said I wouldn't have sold this snake to anyone, no matter what age, in the general public.

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Originally Posted by akaangela

Ok, I am not looking for a fight, but I do feel strongly about this so here it goes.

You said you would sell this animal to an adult with specific experience with problem feeders, right? So how many animals would an adult have to have with picky eaters to be experienced enough for you to sell it to them? The OP stated

" The day I bought her I was told she was a picky eater, but from dealing with several picky eating snakes before, I was confident enough that I could get her on food. "

Now she didn't say if the picky snakes she had dealt with where old or young, but it wasn't like she had never had one that didn't want to eat. Also she was here on the forum, with many many experienced people, to give her advice and mentor her. I think her age has less very little to do with it.


<sigh> I am not looking for a brawl but clumping all teens into those that write checks that they cant cash is not fair. I know so many "adults" that do the same thing. How many threads have we seen where an adult has lost an animal? Do we automatically assume that it was due to their age or do we assume that it was due to their lack of knowledge or just bad luck (or for that matter just being stupid)?

It just irks me when people say "teens can't be trusted". Teens are human. What in heavens name are parents for if not to make sure that the child knows what they are getting into? Age should have less to do with the ability to care for something than experience.

As I said I wouldn't have sold this snake to anyone, no matter what age, in the general public.

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Thank you for this post.
I for one am a teen, and though I do not yet have any ball pythons of my own, I have successfully kept many pets, including reptiles, all of which are alive and thriving. I have kept the most pets out of my whole family and brought a sick dragon back to health with my sister helping as well, because that lizard is both of ours.
I study like crazy before getting a new member of my family, and I feel that age doesn't matter when it comes to maturity or ability to keep animals. I met this young boy at a reptile event at Petco who bred his own snakes and either was or starting to breed Bearded Dragons. He had to have been no older than 13. He had ball pythons, crested geckos, bearded dragons, cornsnakes, king snakes...
I've seen more adults take worse care or be less responsible or capable with their pets than teens.
If I did, however, breed snakes, and happen to have one that would not eat, I would not sell it to /anyone/ unless I was absolutely sure that it would be in good hands. That, or I'd keep it to make sure it ate before selling it.

I do not think the force-feeding method would have worked with her IMO. She was very stress prone so I wouldn't have risked doing so with her. The force-feeding method does not seem humane to me and I would not use that on a snake.

Honestly I thought I could get this snake to eat. But, as Skiploder said, she basically slowly starved herself which took more than some 15-day guarantee a breeder could give me. After a while, and even in the beginning, she didn't have much muscle tone or strength. I saw her get weaker and weaker as the weeks passed. I thought I could do it because I volunteered at a reptile sanctuary for nearly two years and have seen/delt with about every single problem in a reptile you could think of.

But, sometimes we simply cannot get an animal to do what we want. I do wish that I was much more informed and warned about her eating habits. If it was seriously brought to my attention, I would have reconsidered. But only one line was said to me about the picky eating, and that was, "She is also a picky eater." The level of picky eaters I've delt with wasn't to that extreme as the Pin was.

I would completely understand if a breeder didn't want to sell a snake to a teen. I don't even sell my snakes to teens. I don't take it as offensive if someone didn't want to sell to me, but I do stand by my intelligence of snakes at my age (seeing that most teens could look the other way about a living animal, especially a "stupid" snake). I probably would be thanking the breeder if he didn't sell me the Pin in the first place so I wouldn't get this worked up over my money.

I know snakes will die that you invest your money into, and getting into this hobby that is becoming very clear. I suppose I am saying that the money I spent towards the snake did mean something to me. Not gonna get into my personal life, but if my father, knowing his financial situation, gave me the money that I spent towards an animal that just starved itself to death, you bet I want something in return no matter what it is. Even if a portion of the money was given back to me I would be completely fine.

As this happened nearly a year ago, I am still fortunate that the breeder will work something out with me. I have not taken offense to any posts in the thread; I was just posting to see what would be the best way to replace my dead Pin. But thank you for your responses..

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Originally Posted by akaangela

Ok, I am not looking for a fight, but I do feel strongly about this so here it goes.

You said you would sell this animal to an adult with specific experience with problem feeders, right? So how many animals would an adult have to have with picky eaters to be experienced enough for you to sell it to them? The OP stated

" The day I bought her I was told she was a picky eater, but from dealing with several picky eating snakes before, I was confident enough that I could get her on food. "

Now she didn't say if the picky snakes she had dealt with where old or young, but it wasn't like she had never had one that didn't want to eat. Also she was here on the forum, with many many experienced people, to give her advice and mentor her. I think her age has less very little to do with it.


<sigh> I am not looking for a brawl but clumping all teens into those that write checks that they cant cash is not fair. I know so many "adults" that do the same thing. How many threads have we seen where an adult has lost an animal? Do we automatically assume that it was due to their age or do we assume that it was due to their lack of knowledge or just bad luck (or for that matter just being stupid)?

It just irks me when people say "teens can't be trusted". Teens are human. What in heavens name are parents for if not to make sure that the child knows what they are getting into? Age should have less to do with the ability to care for something than experience.

As I said I wouldn't have sold this snake to anyone, no matter what age, in the general public.

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Angela:

The problem with people buying snakes in general is that many people lose interest and give them up.

That problem becomes more prevalent with teens. They move out, they go to college, they meet boys or girls - you get the picture. This is not an adults "good" teens "bad" issue.........it's a reality check.

The Gerbil and Tiffany may be really nice kids who love their animals. That's just great. However I know of few people - forget them being teens - who know how to deal with a non-feeding neonate.

When I meet a teenager whose parents are into keeping snakes as much as their children are or who indicate that they will take care of the animal when the kid goes to college - I'll usually sell.

But not problem feeders - you and I are in agreement on that.

Don't take this the wrong way, but when Tiff so readily figured she could get this little snake to eat is I prime example of overestimating abilities. Did she learn a good lesson? Maybe.

She still doesn't know how to get a problem feeder to eat and is out $180. Maybe the lesson she learned is "Beware of Adults Trying to Make a Quick Buck."

Tiffany - keep us posted. I sure hope this guy stays true to his word.

I do sell a few problem feeders every year, at a steep discount. I don't offer a guarantee on them. I've never had a teenager try to buy one, so that honestly hasn't occurred to me. If I did, I believe I would ask a LOT of questions, particularly focused on their experience with non-feeding snakes, to ensure that they ACTUALLY know how to handle it.

So far, everyone's reported back that they got the animals feeding regularly and had no problems.

The reality is that you sell these snakes at a discount because, while most of them will eventually start eating and be fine, there are eventually going to be a couple that don't.

It all depends on why they were poor feeders. Sometimes, it's psychological...sometimes it's a hidden physical problem, such as a bad heart, or other developmental defect, and it eventually kills them--generally in the first year. People who buy 'picky eaters' take this risk.

If assist-feeding doesn't work (and I've never had a snake beat me at this game--I'm a lot more persistent than they are, and eventually they get tired and swallow the darned thing), then take it in to a vet for a tube-feeding of Carnivore Care liquid. That will get nutrition into the snake while you continue to fiddle with its environment and assist-feeding tactics.
I would never let a snake starve itself to death.

If the breeder gave you a discount on the snake due to its being a poor feeder, and it didn't die due to some obvious underlying health problem...I personally don't think you are owed another snake. You took on more than you were prepared for, and you didn't take the steps you should have known were available to save the snake (assuming it was saveable). If you saw that you were failing, you should have gotten professional help, and that's all there is to it.

Just seeing the picture of that snake is enough to have me, with a bit more experience than the average teen, taking a pass on purchase. It looks like a never ate on its own snake.

Tiff IS pretty good with her snakes and knows quite a bit for a kid, er teen. But this one was too big a bite for her, or anyone without a LOT of experience to take. It was a good lesson. Don't buy snakes that look like that period.

I suspect the guy knew the snake was doomed. Just the feel I get. Hopefully he'll replace it. He's under no reasonable obligation to do so, but if he knows balls, he knew it was on the downward spiral to death.

Whatever happens I think Tiff will be a bright spot in the reptile keeping world.

I am amazed every time I see Tiffany post, when I remember how old she is.
I will be honest here and say that I just can't stand people that are either idiots or just don't have a clue. It drives me crazy. Not trying to be rude, but I see sOOOO many adults these days that don't have half the brain that Tiff does. The gene pool of humanity is being wiped out, or at least it seems that way sometimes.

My point is, to participate in the debate at hand, that as said the seller was probably trying to make a quick buck on this already gone snake. But I think generalizing teens as a group of people is just as silly as generalizing adults as more responsible. This is laughable to say the least. And to be clear, I'm not saying that anyone said any of these things, it is just my opinion. Teens are a lot more high risk, yes. And as Skiploder said, that animal shouldn't have been sold to anyone, unless they were trained professionally to get that snake feeding again. But I would sell any of my future baby snakes to Tiffany with more confidence than I would to a stranger, that's for sure.

I actually agree. I also don't think a person's age necessarily equates to their experience (obviously if they're 10, they don't have 10 years of experience--but an adult with 2 years is the same as a teen with 2 years). I would have no problems selling a snake to Tiffany, and I'm sure she can care for them properly. I also believe she really thought she could handle a non-feeding snake. There is some responsibility on the part of the seller to make sure that a buyer does have the needed experience, but I think this was just a pair of mistakes--the seller, for not making sure, and buyer, for not having a worst case scenario plan.

I don't think the snake was necessarily doomed, but it did need to be tube-fed, or successfully assist-fed, in order to survive. There's no way to be sure if it would have eventually come around, if it had gotten some nutrition. I don't think the seller could have predicted the outcome. I have personally never lost a hatchling to failure to feed, including the normal male who I nursed along for a full year before he began feeding weekly. Some of them are incredibly challenging, though.

There are some folks who believe that a non-feeding snake should be left to die...to let nature take its course, so to speak. I don't really agree with that, though I do think difficult-feeders should be treated differently in breeding programs (cross only to excellent feeders, for example, if you do breed them--or simply don't breed them). There are some that simply start eating and are fine, once past their initial rocky start.

The difficult starter could be a bargain...or a bust. It's always a risk. As a seller, it can be challenging to determine whether the person you're selling to has the experience and know-how to care for the animal. Unless you go over every detail, every time, you sometimes have to have a bit of faith that they can do what they say they can. That means that sometimes, you'll be wrong...or they will. It's unfortunate, but it's pretty hard to avoid.