Petstore Rescue Attempt

"Handle with care" is what the box says. I was in a local Petco yesterday morning buying a few supplies when I decided to peek in their BP tanks. Horrified, I saw this sweet thing drastically underweight and being housed with 3 other BP's. A baby balls back should be rounded out and fully filled, not concave, allowing me to see its spine and ribcage throughout its back. I returned this morning. I was not going to leave it there to slowly starve to death. I confronted the store manager and he said they were having trouble getting them to eat. He lifted the rock hide and revealed the most skinny, malnourished animals I've ever seen in person. It was heartbreaking. If course, I couldn't save them all, but this little boy or girl has a fighting chance. I can't say the same for the others. He tried to assure me they would take the animals to the back for more "intensive care ", but if they were focused on providing adequate care in the first place, why did it take a customer to point out the serious condition of their animals at all?
I don't believe those other babies will last much longer, but with focused care and plenty of time, this little one may make it... I'm fairly certain he/she is a pastave, but let me know if you have any other guesses.
So my main question is, do any of you have experience bringing back BP's who were very underweight/in poor health? The little baby only weights 46 grams at the moment. It needs to eat, and I've offered it a live fuzzy using the paper bag method (which I've had success with before ), but it hasn't taken it so far. If it comes down to assist feeding, how would I go about that?
Thanks for any and all help in advance!

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Just for clarification only 1 (now 2) out of 14 of my BP's has come from a pet store. I'm all about supporting reputable breeders...my heart just broke for this one baby and I caved,

Hopefully you didn't pay full price for it. Also be prepared for an outbreak of mites.

Fortunately BP babies can bounce back rather handily with proper husbandry.

That guy is in much better shape than the ones I got our Petco in trouble for. The rescue I was given was 28g and the store one looked in worse shape. Only took 3 meals to lose that sagging skin along the last few inches. Good luck, seems like it'll bounce back fine. I also hope you didn't still pay for it.

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Originally Posted by HannahLou

That guy is in much better shape than the ones I got our Petco in trouble for.

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In trouble with who?

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Originally Posted by HannahLou

That guy is in much better shape than the ones I got our Petco in trouble for. The rescue I was given was 28g and the store one looked in worse shape. Only took 3 meals to lose that sagging skin along the last few inches. Good luck, seems like it'll bounce back fine. I also hope you didn't still pay for it.

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Is that guy still alive btw?

Do this to a T http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...-hatchling-101

Update: I got him/her to eat! I had to assist-feed, but it went really well. I think Charlie (what I've decided to call him/her) was just too weak to take the mouse fuzzy on its own, but once I got it in her mouth, she seemed to be like "Oh! That's what you're trying to do!", and swallowed it right down!
I'm hoping that I won't need to assist feed her again and that this meal will give her the energy she needs to do it all by herself next time, but either way, I'm just relieved she's got some food in her. Poor thing looks like she has such a big belly lump, even with just a mouse fuzzy!

For those of you wondering, no I didn't pay full price for her. She was advertised at $100, but since she was so ill, they have a policy of half off. For her sake, I was happy to pay it just to get her out of there asap. Unfortunately, the ones left behind seemed far worse off than she did, and I think she was the only one with a fighting chance at that point. I'm not sure the other would have even had the strength to swallow the food, let alone take it themselves.

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Originally Posted by shelpen

Is that guy still alive btw?

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If you mean the Petco one, I'm not sure if it made it. The manager said she could give me an update but I don't think I'd trust it to be the truth anyways so I said not to bother. They did pull all of their reptiles for a while and when I stopped in for dog food last week they had made a change to cypress like I suggested to help the humidity issue but there were no snakes.
The 28g rescue I was given is doing great. She's instantly struck and eaten the last few meals on her own and is up to about 50g now. I'll update that post.

OP I'm glad to hear it got a meal down. Hopefully it's a similar case as the one I mentioned above. I assist fed her first meal and the second time I went to she just started eating it and the last few meals have been on her own with her striking like a pro (all ft). I think she had never eaten and came from a crappy breeder and just got too weak and needed that initial help to figure things out.

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Originally Posted by HannahLou

If you mean the Petco one, I'm not sure if it made it. The manager said she could give me an update but I don't think I'd trust it to be the truth anyways so I said not to bother.

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I see what you're saying about the update being the actual truth...
Sad. Very sad the little one likely didn't make it...

I feel for you and often get the same desire when I see improperly housed snakes in pet stores. However, the problem with actually buying them and taking them home is that in the end, it just gets marked down as a sale and next thing you know, there is another poor baby in the same conditions waiting to be purchased by the next person who feels bad for them. Even getting a discount on it for poor health doesn't help at all, as the store will still look at it as a sale, which means they will continue to keep selling snakes.

I'm glad your little BP is eating and that you are giving him/her a good home. If I were you, I'd check back on the store and see if they still have a bunch of snakes in poor health and this time, file a complaint with your local animal control agency. If you tell them the pet store appears to have a number of snakes that are being neglected and of poor health, they will send an officer out to investigate which could lead to the store being banned from selling reptiles or at least having the current batch confiscated and sent to a real rescue to be nursed back to health and adopted out.

So many big box pet stores treat their reptiles extremely poorly and the only way to get that fixed is to complain. Buying them to "rescue" them only makes the situation worse.

I appreciate all of the input. I realize buying the animal will eventually cause the store to stock more... but the way I personally view it is - the animal already exists. We can frown on petstores for carrying them, as we should, but my little BP didn't choose to be hatched and put in a petstore no more than responsible breeders BP's chose to be produced by someone who would provide them with excellent care. Either way, the animal already exists, and whenever possible, shouldn't be martyred for the cause of bringing the petstore down. It doesn't take that. It takes people dedicated to reporting all abuse or neglect cases they encounter and spreading awareness, contacting local authorities, starting petitions etc... I understand the "don't buy" view point, I really do. But I can't justify letting animals starve if I can do something about it, even if it's only one or two.

On that note, I contacted the Petco again and asked if any of their babies had eaten since my last visit. They said no. I asked who was in charge of assist feeding and at what point they decide to intervene. He told me whoever his superintendent is let's him know, as if it was stupid of me to even ask. He doesn't care.
So! Because I see no attempt at improvement once the situation was brought to their attention, I'm going to be reporting them to my local SPCA/animal control, or even police department if that's what it takes. I have plenty of local friends who've also witness these terrible conditions who are also willing to add on their witness testimonies as well if that gets them to pay attention.

As for little Charlie, I'll try offering food again tomorrow! Hopefully he/she has enough every now to take it on its own, but if not, I'm fine with assisting until then.

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Originally Posted by VanSickel_Balls

I appreciate all of the input. I realize buying the animal will eventually cause the store to stock more... but the way I personally view it is - the animal already exists. We can frown on petstores for carrying them, as we should, but my little BP didn't choose to be hatched and put in a petstore no more than responsible breeders BP's chose to be produced by someone who would provide them with excellent care. Either way, the animal already exists, and whenever possible, shouldn't be martyred for the cause of bringing the petstore down. It doesn't take that. It takes people dedicated to reporting all abuse or neglect cases they encounter and spreading awareness, contacting local authorities, starting petitions etc... I understand the "don't buy" view point, I really do. But I can't justify letting animals starve if I can do something about it, even if it's only one or two.

On that note, I contacted the Petco again and asked if any of their babies had eaten since my last visit. They said no. I asked who was in charge of assist feeding and at what point they decide to intervene. He told me whoever his superintendent is let's him know, as if it was stupid of me to even ask. He doesn't care.
So! Because I see no attempt at improvement once the situation was brought to their attention, I'm going to be reporting them to my local SPCA/animal control, or even police department if that's what it takes. I have plenty of local friends who've also witness these terrible conditions who are also willing to add on their witness testimonies as well if that gets them to pay attention.

As for little Charlie, I'll try offering food again tomorrow! Hopefully he/she has enough every now to take it on its own, but if not, I'm fine with assisting until then.

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I totally agree with the importance of speaking up and reporting bad conditions. A reptile store was recently shut down in the Bay Area and a local rescue group took in all the cases and is working on rehoming them, so it does happen and there are rescue groups that can make an impact and intervene. That said, in my very humble opinion, the first step of reporting all cases is the most important. I also suggest finding and joining -- or starting -- a herpetological society. They often have rescue efforts that are connected directly to authorities that might not otherwise be reachable to an individual, concerned citizen. Plus, there is something to be said for a complaint that comes from an organization (more power in numbers and all that).

Keep working with little Charlie and we will keep our fingers crossed that he/she will thrive in your loving care.

Update: Charlie is doing great! She is currently outside with me, actually getting some fresh air.
And, the best news, she took a live rat pinkie all by herself the day before yesterday! Her first mouse fuzzy probably gave her just enough energy to do it alone this time around.
She's still looking very skinny of course, but I can already see her filling out more since she came home! She has much more energy and I now catch her exploring around her tank a few times a day! Yay for energy!
She truly is a sweet little thing and I'm hoping she lives a full, long and happy life with us!

I just came home with a tiny "lighter" colored bp for the same reason. They're really struggling with their rainbow boa to get it to feed. The guy helping me with crickets seemed distraught over it( I didn't ask he brought it up when I mentioned the bp seemed underweight and looked dehydrated). Its all teenagers working there and I don't think they're given the tools to properly care for reptiles. Their leopard geckos look awful. Well fed but they're overcrowded. You did a good thing. Holding these places accountable is the answer, IMO, the animals already exist.

Update: yesterday my BP breeder offered to pop Charlie for us while we pick up our 3 new babies, and of course we said yes. Turns out, our little Charlie is a BOY! All good. We are happy with either.

I offered Charlie another rat pinkie today and he didn't want it. Of course it's only been 4 days since his last pinkie, and he probably just iany hungry, but I'm still offering since he desperately needs to continue putting weight on and filling out. On that note, he's gained 5 grams since being brought home a week and a half ago! He was 46 upon arrival and now weighs 51 grams, post poop! It's so nice to have evidence of his progress!