Best Way to Replace My Dead Pin?

[WingedWolfPsion]

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.

[wilomn]

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.

[Jessica Loesch]

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.

[WingedWolfPsion]

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.