"Coughing"???

Someone just e-mailed me asking if I wanted a snake, a BP, and seeing as I had room, I just asked him to tell me a bit about himself, the snake, it's health, and why he's getting rid of it. He was honest with me and said that theres 'something' wrong with it, and that he can not afford to take it to the vet. I asked for symptoms and he said it's kind of like 'coughing':(... I just e-mailed back and asked if he saw any mucus, or any other signs of RI. What do you think?

Come on people, theres like 60 people sighned in right now, some help with this, please? And also- what would you do, take the snake in, or leave it...

If you can afford the vet visits it may or may not need and you have the space, take him in and give him a better home :D

I say take him at least this person was nice enough to the animal to contact you!

Go get it right now!!!LOL, your still here reading why havn't you left yet???

LOL I think you should give the animal a caring home if you can...

~hollie~:snake:

Yea, I just offered to come out and pick her up tommorrow- before I even read your comments. lol. She doesnt sound good, I had a petstore rescue with RI before that I had to do some treatments with, but coughing? My boy never did that... Lets hope it's something else. I guess I may just be finding out sometime tommorrw!

RI's can be real serious. Find out how long he's been sick. Curing him will mean taking him to the vet, doing a culture on the infection, picking an antibiotic from culture info and giving him injections for weeks. You need to get his temps up to the low 90's asap. If it gets worse he will eventually drown from the mucos. Coughing is a serious sign.

I would tell them to contact the local herp society or rescue. I wouldn't bring a sick animal into my house with my healthy snakes.:twocents:

If you can I say take another person with you...

"Safety comes in numbers" remember that, you never know what you are getting into going to someones home, ever there are some crazy people out there....

Hope everything goes well...

~hollie~:snake:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by West Coast Jungle

RI's can be real serious. Find out how long he's been sick. Curing him will mean taking him to the vet, doing a culture on the infection, picking an antibiotic from culture info and giving him injections for weeks. You need to get his temps up to the low 90's asap. If it gets worse he will eventually drown from the mucos. Coughing is a serious sign.

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Thats what I had assumed- I'll set up the tank tonight so that after I go get him in the morning, when I get home he'll be all set untill I get him into the vet. I feel so bad for her! I will let you guys know tommorrw how bad it is when I pick her up... I wonder what the hell this guy was doing to get his snake that bad- and wait this long? I'm not going to yell at him now for it.. Just get the snake...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stangs13

I would tell them to contact the local herp society or rescue. I wouldn't bring a sick animal into my house with my healthy snakes.:twocents:

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I figure I'll put her upstairs, which is a whole level away from my other snakes... Maybe even keep her at my boyfriends house untill she's better- can BD's get RI from snakes?

I haven't had to deal with an RI so far, but I can't remember reading anyone talking about their snake "coughing". I'm curious to find out what you discover when you see the snake, and what the vet says.

As far as your "take it or leave it" question... if you want the snake and can afford the vet bills that probably come with it, I'd say go for it. At least depending on how the snake seems when you see it. If the snake's condition is too bad, you may end up spending lots on the vet then having the snake die anyway, so it may be better to avoid the situation entirely.

This thread deals with a similar question, so reading it may be useful to you.
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?t=68301

EDIT: Oh yeah, and make sure you practice a very strict quarantine!

GRRRR!!! OK, so he agreed to it all, then just e-mailed me back, and said that he also wants me to pay him $200 for her- WTF- dude, you came to ME!?! So I just said, "look, if you want your snake to live, then I will come and get her in the morning. And also, it would be better for the snake if you would make sure she was taken care of, instead of your own greed."... And I said some more.. But I was pissed...

thats messed up i would have trouble paying that much for a healthy normal. hopefully he'll come to his senses

Run quickly from this situation.
How did this person get your email?

First, selling a sick snake for $200? NO - especially since you're going to be incurring vet bills if you get her. I'd walk away from this, personally. Thanks, but no thanks.

Rehoming a sick snake Aaaaaaaaaand paying for it?!?? I don't think so! If you're going to take the snake, then no money should be passing hands. If he's selling it, then pass.

Snakes don't have diaphragms, so can't actually "cough" but if he's making noises like that, then the fluid/mucus is going to be a very serious issue, and is going to take a lot of care.

Yes, be very careful. I just paid over $200 for a vet visit, culture, and antibiotics. I had a sick black rat snake that I took in from the wild - now my ball python got an RI, too.

QT has to be SO tight. Wash hands, change clothes, shower after handling the sick snake. I would QT her from ALL other herps, just in case.

Good luck. And remember, it is great to save/rescue, but not worth it if a danger to your other animals. Also, maybe call the vet in advance and tell them the situation and ask if you can have a discount. :confused:

Well, I just walked away form it- but hopefully the guy will realize that he's being stupid and will e-mail me back. I told him the most I will give him is $30- and also told him he's lucky I would give him anything. As for how he got my e-mail- I have no clue, really. Maybe someone I know gave it to him when they heard he had a sick snake?? No idea. Good question though.

And If I do get the snake, she will probably go immediatly to the vet and will be staying at my boyfriends (literaly only a street away), untill she's better.

I WOULD NEVER give anyone anything for an animal they are giving up because they can't afford to take care of it properly. :mad: I'd rather turn it around on them and make them pay ME for taking in a sick animal and pouring money into the animal to help it get better.

Just like in that rescue thread, I said I would hope they learn their lesson from this animals suffering.

In the end, I wouldn't have given him anything but .02 cents.

Yeah, I would not have offered to give any money at all. If you get this snake your vet bills will be pretty large (if the poor snake is filled with mucous) and after all is done, the snake might not even make it. :mad:

I know- I normally wouldent have.. But just thinking about how that poor snake must feel.. Its horrible- to me, I feel like the x-tr $30 would be worth it, so save her life. So I'm just hoping for him to come around and let me go get her..

It is awful that he let the snake get this bad and has no commitment to its health. But it is even worse that he is trying to make a buck out of it. I don't mean to be harsh, but this guy is counting on your love of animals to pull one over on you and come out ahead. People like that should be fined for neglect. Isn't it a shame animals don't have more rights?

I know you feel for the snake - but this guy is scum. And he will continue to operate this way in the future if you let him now. A "boycott" is the only thing that means something to someone to whom "cash is king."

I know you want to do a wonderful thing and I applaud you. I just don't want you to be taken advantage of by this guy. Really, I have your best interests at heart, even if I'm venting.

Hang in there! Go save a snake off www.petfinder.com. There are lots! And some places ship.

:hug:

I wouldn't give this guy anything. If the snake is "coughing mucus" the RI may be so severe that it may not be saveable...even after a vest visit, meds, etc...