should I give him a shot?

[psycho]

I have a ball python that some guy at a petsore gave me for free... he was going to sell it to the store but they didnt accept it since it was in bad shape. I dont have my camera at the time but I'll try to describe it... to start off it has a little bit of bite marks down his spine, nothing serious though... he also has his lower belly like a brownish color & also pinkish im thinking is a burn? or can it be scale rot? his tip off the tail was bleeding the very tip... on the bright side he is a pastel ... Heres the big question should i keep him & give him proper care & hope that he retuns to feed & breed him with my big girl, or should I give him away?

[angllady2]

Well, the decision is of course yours to make.

I do want to point out however, that this animal is almost certainly in need of veterinary care, and the last time I checked vets aren't free.

You have to decide how much time, effort and money you are willing to put in to rehabilitate this snake. He could easily have scale rot, which will require medication that not only costs you money, but a great deal of time to make sure he's properly treated. He might have mites or something worse. If you don't already have him in strict quarantine, he could easily make your female sick.

It could take months of work and several hundred dollars in vet bills { on the low side } to get him back where he needs to be. Do you have the money and time to devote to his care ?

I'm not trying to be negative, only realistic. If you have the money set aside and you are willing to do the extra work to make him better, then I think you should give him a chance. But, if helping him is going to take away money you don't have and time spent caring for the snake you already have, then I kindly suggest trying to find a rescue group that deals in snakes and let them help him.

Gale

[Homegrownscales]

Gale is very right. When we take in animals for free you have the responsiblity up front to look at the animal and say this is too much for me or I can handle it.
People and Petstores especially don't give away animals for no reason. The only times I've seen pet stores Give away animals is when they are in need of serious vet care.
This is something you should have seen right off and decided right off before you accepted the animal. Now your problem is to either spend the money to get that animal help or find someone whom is willing to do so. Both are not easy situations.
Personally ,I think if you realize the animals vet care is too much for you, you need to find someone ASAP that has the knowledge, time and funds to treat the snake. Or you need to do it yourself. It sounds like the animal is in some need of help.
People have good intentions usually when they bring in rescues but they don't always realize the trouble involved.


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