some people should not own pets.

I went to a friend of a friends place to check out a "sick" ball python. I'm by no means an expert but from the way it was explained to me this kid is a total newbie and his parents keep buying whatever herps he wants, despite his total inability to care for them.

So anyway I get to this kids house and at first glance he seems to have things pretty well setup... i go to the tank the bp is in, and it's just all sorts of wrong. First of all the baby is being housed in a 30gal, second she's on pebbles. Third theres a heatrock, and then theres the uth with NO thermostat, no hides, and disgusting water (he's too scared to change it). I go to reach for this little baby and she strikes. I move slower, she strikes again... Anyway after a long fight i get her out and I am completely frozen in shock. This snake is burnt so badly it's a miracle she's still alive. This idiot walks into the room and asks "what is wrong and what do you think I should do?" to which I respond "have her euthanized", and after I explain what that is, this kid blows up on me and tells me I'm a sick monster. I start looking around some more and he's got beardies on heatmats (again no thermostats), geckos under 150w lamps, that have popped their tails (most of them) so needless to say, HIM calling ME a monster is slightly ironic.

I tried to bring this to his parents attention, but all they do is ask me to leave, as I've upset their little brat.

Now here is the question. Can I call ASPCA on this kid? He's only 16 so I'm sure his parents will take the blame, but someone needs to be held responsible for this horrible mess.

I probably should have put this in Offtopic :oops:

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This idiot walks into the room and asks "what is wrong and what do you think I should do?" to which I respond "have her euthanized"

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Why did you say that and not tell them to take their snake to a Vet?

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Originally Posted by Earl

Why did you say that and not tell them to take their snake to a Vet?

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I Honestly don't think this snake will survive even with treatment. It is REALLY bad. There was a large open wound and it looked horribly infected. Aside from that his parents made it perfectly clear that they have no intention on spending $40 per animal to have them all checked out. Keep in mind it's not only the snake that is injured and in bad shape.

I tried to call the Houston SPCA and there was no answer. So I filed a complaint online, and I'll try another call tomorrow morning.

That's terrible! :(

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Originally Posted by Earl

That's terrible! :(

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I know :( and the worst part is, it seems like his parents think it's all a joke.

First off something should be done. Try all you can to get the spca to get involved. The parents should understand the responsibility of owning a pet. Some one needs to take responsobolity here. Good on you for doing that.

The part I am troubled with is that you told him to have the animal put down.
As you stated you are not an expert. In my opionion you MUST be an expert to give such advice. The FIRST thing that should be done is take the animals to a reptile specialist vet. Please unless you are 110% that is what needs to be done do not give such advice. :colbert:

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Originally Posted by BiG~PUN

First off something should be done. Try all you can to get the spca to get involved. The parents should understand the responsibility of owning a pet. Some one needs to take responsobolity here. Good on you for doing that.

The part I am troubled with is that you told him to have the animal put down.
As you stated you are not an expert. In my opionion you MUST be an expert to give such advice. The FIRST thing that should be done is take the animals to a reptile specialist vet. Please unless you are 110% that is what needs to be done do not give such advice. :colbert:

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I wish I would have taken pics but the blackberry doesn't have a camera, it was bad enough to where you don't need to be an expert to come to that conclusion. I understand what you're saying, and maybe I did it more for shock factor than anything else, to actually get him off his ass and taking care of his business like he needs to be. I DID express (to his parents) that they NEEDED to have these pets checked and treated, his father chuckled at me and said "we aren't going to do that", thats a direct quote.

Now if you were in my position and your plea for treatment was thought to be a joke would you rather let that animal suffer in that household, knowing that it will continue to be "cared" for as it is? :colbert:

As many of the people on here will tell you, all we can do is give advice. It is up to the people wether they take it or not. You are fortunate enough to atleast try and get the spca involved (please keep us updated on that). But this very issue is what continues to make our hobby come underfire from those that dont want snakes in there neighborhoods. It boils down to people who take our advice as a joke. Then come to find out we where right. All I was asking was, before you give advice like that make sure you are experienced enough to do so. I am neither saying you where wrong or right. Nor am I saying what experience you do have. All I am saying is that is some very serious advice that should be correct, And not used as a way to "wake some one up". :rockon:

P.S. :colbert: :D

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Originally Posted by BiG~PUN

As many of the people on here will tell you, all we can do is give advice. It is up to the people wether they take it or not. You are fortunate enough to atleast try and get the spca involved (please keep us updated on that). But this very issue is what continues to make our hobby come underfire from those that dont want snakes in there neighborhoods. It boils down to people who take our advice as a joke. Then come to find out we where right. All I was asking was, before you give advice like that make sure you are experienced enough to do so. I am neither saying you where wrong or right. Nor am I saying what experience you do have. All I am saying is that is some very serious advice that should be correct, And not used as a way to "wake some one up". :rockon:

P.S. :colbert: :D

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I understand totally and I probably should have thought twice about it, but it's said and done, and I don't think I would take it back even if I could. It was funny to them, lets see how funny it is when they're being put in cuffs for animal cruelty. Explain that one to your neighbors "oh hey ted, yep got arrested because we are careless :cens0r::cens0r::cens0r::cens0r: bags"

I love that :colbert: smiley :D

I would have probably done the same thing in your shoes...

or a lot more, that probably would have gotten me arrested. I can't stand people like that.... I'm anxious to hear what the SPCA tells you. :)

yeah i understand what you did. believe me as a petco associate i get all kinds of stupid people when it comes to helping them with herps. they give me the whole "you're suppose to save me money" speech. or they refuse to separate their 2 snakes that are living together because "they're friends" and all sorts of stupid things like that. so yeah i would've done exactly what you did.

I was wondering if you pointed out the actual burns and open wounds and such to him, explaining in very simple terms that it was horribly wounded and needed vet treatment? Or if you said "It's in really horrid shape, near death and needs to be put to sleep."
People do indeed suck, and I hope really really badly that the local SPCA will go help those animals. If they shrug and say "It's a snake" hopefully you can explain fully to them, calmly and rationally, how bad the injuries are, and how badly the animals need treatment. Mentioning that several lizards are missing their entire tails might get some response(even if we know that's not the worst thing in there, missing body parts tends to shock folks).
The more I am in society, the less I think of humans.
Kudos to you for going there to help the kid out in the first place, even if HE doesn't want help, and he and the parents don't really care about the animals, YOU still went out of your way, took your time to go check. Kudos.
Wolfy

I would do everything in my power to have the "animal police" check the home out. They have a different name in every city, which I assume is the one you referred to, but do everything in your power to get that home checked out. If it's as bad as you say it is, they will remove the animals from the house on the spot. Keep us posted.

I made another call to the Houston SPCA this morning, and all they asked for was my contact information. About 45 minutes later a detective called me and asked me for all the details. After I finished getting everything out there she said they could be out to investigate as early as tomorrow. Hopefully it's not too late to rescue some of the animals. :) *fingers crossed*

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Originally Posted by wolfy-hound

I was wondering if you pointed out the actual burns and open wounds and such to him, explaining in very simple terms that it was horribly wounded and needed vet treatment? Or if you said "It's in really horrid shape, near death and needs to be put to sleep."
People do indeed suck, and I hope really really badly that the local SPCA will go help those animals. If they shrug and say "It's a snake" hopefully you can explain fully to them, calmly and rationally, how bad the injuries are, and how badly the animals need treatment. Mentioning that several lizards are missing their entire tails might get some response(even if we know that's not the worst thing in there, missing body parts tends to shock folks).
The more I am in society, the less I think of humans.
Kudos to you for going there to help the kid out in the first place, even if HE doesn't want help, and he and the parents don't really care about the animals, YOU still went out of your way, took your time to go check. Kudos.
Wolfy

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Oh he already knew about the burns, the whole reason I went there was to check out the "red mark on her belly", except what he said was a red mark, was a crusty disgusting infection. I assure you I took my time explaining the living situations and the conditions of the animals and all the specific injuries to the detective. She had a pretty good idea of proper and improper husbandry, like when I told her there was heat rocks, and heat sources with no means of control she knew well enough to know thats wrong, and that the snake was on pebbles, with no hiding area, she knew that was wrong as well. I'm pretty sure this whole situation is in good hands now, and that it will be taken care of.

The friend that took me to this kids house lives next door to them, so if I don't hear anything back from the spca or the animal police or whoever I'll bug her for the info.

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Originally Posted by Montee

Oh he already knew about the burns, the whole reason I went there was to check out the "red mark on her belly", except what he said was a red mark, was a crusty disgusting infection. I assure you I took my time explaining the living situations and the conditions of the animals and all the specific injuries to the detective. She had a pretty good idea of proper and improper husbandry, like when I told her there was heat rocks, and heat sources with no means of control she knew well enough to know thats wrong, and that the snake was on pebbles, with no hiding area, she knew that was wrong as well. I'm pretty sure this whole situation is in good hands now, and that it will be taken care of.

The friend that took me to this kids house lives next door to them, so if I don't hear anything back from the spca or the animal police or whoever I'll bug her for the info.

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Thats great news. Hopefully they will do something soon. Good on ya for being presistant. :rockon:

Oh ya :colbert:

Great work, keep us posted!

I didn't know that SPCA's dealt with herps. I have heard that they usually aren't reliable with dealing with herp abuse. I don't remember if that's nationwide or just where I live (MA). I heard you can also contact Fish and Wildlife services if SPCA doesn't do anything.

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Originally Posted by icygirl

I didn't know that SPCA's dealt with herps. I have heard that they usually aren't reliable with dealing with herp abuse. I don't remember if that's nationwide or just where I live (MA). I heard you can also contact Fish and Wildlife services if SPCA doesn't do anything.

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I didn't think they would do much about herps either to be honest since their main focus is cats, dogs, and things of that nature, but it was worth a try and it appears to have paid off. Only time will tell.

I think it's up to the individuals who work for any SPCA. There will always be some that will get outraged over a doggie being left outside, but couldn't care less that a cow is starving to death, or a snake is dying from no heat in a winter garage.
I'm glad to hear that this one seems different. Again many kudos for persisting in reporting, and for keeping your cool in the face of horrendous abuse.
Wolfy

aww my friend just called and said she saw his dad throwing out the snake today... Apparently it died :mad: Hopefully someone can save the rest before they meet the same ill fate. :(

Wolfy, being in the yeehaw state, and given the fact that the Houston area is surrounded by rural land the Houston SPCA see's alot of action with different types of animals, and theres all sorts of good people with interests in all animals helping out. I remember a while back I saw this thing on the news where they had to remove 2 cobras from a crack dealers house. Apparently he was using the cobras to guard his crack stash.. and yes, I am dead serious.

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Originally Posted by Montee

aww my friend just called and said she saw his dad throwing out the snake today... Apparently it died :mad: Hopefully someone can save the rest before they meet the same ill fate. :(

Wolfy, being in the yeehaw state, and given the fact that the Houston area is surrounded by rural land the Houston SPCA see's alot of action with different types of animals, and theres all sorts of good people with interests in all animals helping out. I remember a while back I saw this thing on the news where they had to remove 2 cobras from a crack dealers house. Apparently he was using the cobras to guard his crack stash.. and yes, I am dead serious.

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GOD DAMN IT!!!!!!!!!! I am sorry, but to hear this news...... PISSES ME OFF!!! I was hopping the snake wasnt beyond living a good life. Well lets hope for the rest of the animals. Atleast you did you best to help. But the parents will probably go and get another one for the kid. :mad:

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Originally Posted by BiG~PUN

GOD DAMN IT!!!!!!!!!! I am sorry, but to hear this news...... PISSES ME OFF!!! I was hopping the snake wasnt beyond living a good life. Well lets hope for the rest of the animals. Atleast you did you best to help. But the parents will probably go and get another one for the kid. :mad:

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I was pretty upset to hear it as well. I asked my friend to keep an eye out tomorrow for anyone going by the house and to alert them of the dead snake in the trash. Trash won't be picked up until Thursday morning. I'll keep you guys updated. Hopefully they get all those animals out of there by tomorrow.

Im really "proud" of you by following through with calling ASPCA and I hope they go check it out. I watch animal planet a lot, lol, and ive seen them rescue a few snakes. I think it shouldnt matter what it was - ANIMAL rescue services means ALL animals. I cant wait to hear any updates about this.

People like that make me want to puke. If it was me, I'd be running over there making sure the snake in the trash was actually dead... but I'm just wierd like that.


It's wonderful to hear that the SPCA is actually going to take some action!

have you heard anything yet? just wondering if you had been updated

My friend just called and said there was people there this morning, and she saw them taking stuff with them. She told them about the snake in the trash. She said they took the dog as well. Crazy.

Glad they got there before anymore animals died. Hopefully the ones that can be saved will find good homes.

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Originally Posted by Montee

My friend just called and said there was people there this morning, and she saw them taking stuff with them. She told them about the snake in the trash. She said they took the dog as well. Crazy.

Glad they got there before anymore animals died. Hopefully the ones that can be saved will find good homes.

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Very glad to see this result. If conditions were as bad as you were saying, those people don't need to have any pets at all.

Remember, pets are people too!

Glad something was done about this. Glad you stepped up to the plate. :)

Good for you dude!. Those animals will have a better life now.....

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Originally Posted by Montee

My friend just called and said there was people there this morning, and she saw them taking stuff with them. She told them about the snake in the trash. She said they took the dog as well. Crazy.

Glad they got there before anymore animals died. Hopefully the ones that can be saved will find good homes.

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:rockon: :rockon: !!!

That's good to hear....it just kills me when I hear about animals being treated like that, so it's nice to know that they will have a better life now ^_^ Good job!

Hopefully they got the dead one of the garbage for evidance. Maybe your friend can keep an eye out for any new ones going into the house? GOod for BOTH of you too! And good that your area does have some decent enforcement folks. One in my rural area used to tell people "Well.. there's kids starving in the US too." My neighbor called to complain that three cows were starved to death(one died already, the other two eventually were shot to death and then dragged to the woods) and that's exactly what she was told. They had to call the police in, who basically scolded the owner for firing off guns, and then took a illegil shotgun. THat's it. But he didn't get more cows. So I guess that is supposed to be a minor win.
I hope the idiots don't get more pets, and that they get PROSECUTED!! Go you!

Right on man!!!

I didn't really do much, the real kudos go to the folks who went out there as quickly as possible and did all the dirty work. :cool:

good job!!

You Rock Like Slayer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

thats freakin awesome, what a damn punk, that kid should be thrown in jail...with pebbles on the floor, no bed, and a radiator that is turned up all the way and he cant turn it down :D

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Originally Posted by Pwilliams58

thats freakin awesome, what a damn punk, that kid should be thrown in jail...with pebbles on the floor, no bed, and a radiator that is turned up all the way and he cant turn it down :D

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totally man.

and dude you should get kudos becasue if you have never alerted them of this, nothing would have been done.

lucky that i dident find this kid, because to be honested i would have left, waited till night then stolen all the animals =) they dont bloody deserve another animal. animals have feelings too, and there are as important as humans. we are all animals.

great job mate.