I Feel Bad for My Friend's Snakes

[Nixon]

I'm not asking for anything, this is merely just what's been on my mind since I last observed and held my friend's snakes.

My friend lives about a half hour to forty five minutes away from me and her step-dad has three snakes down in their basement. Two ball pythons and a red tail boa. Since I recently got my own snake I've done a lot of research, reading, and overall learning about snakes and how they should be treated, taken care of, what they eat, how they behave, etc. I was really excited to see my friend's ball python named Scorchmuffin who is male and five feet long. He's super sweet and always wants to get out of his tank. The first thing I noticed about the tanks that it was pretty filthy. Humidity for Scorchmuffin was at 30% and the heat was around 80 degrees F all over the tank. The bedding had shed all over it and the walls were stained with God knows what. He only had one log to hide in but since the the tank had four glass walls, he can be viewed all over. He doesn't seem super stressed, because judging by his size he's probably a good eater and he's pretty active. The other tanks were just the same. I came in and saw Dave, the smaller Ball Python who was actually a rescue I believe and wasn't fed very often which is why he is small for an adult. His tank was full of shed, he had no water which I told my friend and she poured water in through a pitcher. And it was dry in his tank just like Scorchmuffin's, while he was in shed. He defiantly had stuck shed, too. And then Slick, the red tail boa, had the same issues. His shed was lying on the bedding in one piece and there was what looks like rat fur which my friend said he must've thrown up.

The next day, since I was sleeping over, I held Scorchmuffin. After a short while I noticed he was wheezing, making those small squeaking sounds when he breathed. It was constant so I thought it would be a case of RI. I didn't check to see if there were any bubbles because my friend wanted to put him back. I know sometimes the bubbles can be hiding in the early stages and you just have to lightly squeeze their head to see them. But I asked her how often her step-dad cleaned the cages and well...

"I think once a month."

Poor babies. I checked the sides of Scorchmuffin's tank as well and there was gunk or dirt or whatever on it but I found it to be on the outside of the tank so I didn't think there was any essence of him sneezing. But my friend told her step-dad that he was wheezing and he claimed that "He's been doing that ever since he was a baby"

I don't know if there are snakes out there that constantly wheeze and it's not a problem. Sometimes they'll make that sound when they're stress, I know my BP does, but he doesn't seem stressed and he does it every breath, where my BP only does it once.

I feel extremely bad for these snakes because they deserve better care. It's not too much to ask to mist the cages every now and then and clean out the shed and ... whatever that fur is. I can sit here and list all the wrong things he's doing but it's a waste of time because I'm sure all of you can see it. I want to convince her dad to treat them better but to be honest he doesn't seem like a kind of guy that you can negotiate with. Next time I see my friend I'll ask her if she can talk to her dad. He has some beautiful snakes. I am in love with that red tail and I'm planning to get one once my BP grows out of her tank and then a baby red tail can take her place in that tank.

I'm just happy those snakes are still alive. I pray he hasn't been neglecting them like that for all their lives.

Anyone who wants to comment you can say whatever you feel about the situation. I feel so frustrated. Hopefully my friend can say something.

[EL-Ziggy]

It's great that you care Nix. If he's not the kind of guy that takes constructive criticism well you may be able to reach him through an act of kindness. Tell him how nice his snakes are and that you hope to add a RTB to your collection one day. Discuss husbandry techniques. Listen to his opinion and share what works well for you. Ask if you and you friend can handle the snakes and politely offer to clean the enclosures. It may trigger him to take more pride in the care of his animals. If not, at least you tried.

[cristacake]

It's great that you care Nix. If he's not the kind of guy that takes constructive criticism well you may be able to reach him through an act of kindness. Tell him how nice his snakes are and that you hope to add a RTB to your collection one day. Discuss husbandry techniques. Listen to his opinion and share what works well for you. Ask if you and you friend can handle the snakes and politely offer to clean the enclosures. It may trigger him to take more pride in the care of his animals. If not, at least you tried.

Great suggestion. I find people are always more willing to change how they do things if you address them positively and with helpful, constructive feedback.

It's not guaranteed to work all the time but maybe he'll think back on that one thing someone told him about boa care one time and he'll think "eh, I'll give it a shot."

[Nixon]

Thanks, guys. I defiantly am going to see if my friend can politely talk to him about it, and if that doesn't work, the next to time I go to her house I'll try. Pray that I say the right words. I'm terrible and conversations, talking to people in real life, your average introvert. But I know if I care a whole lot about something I'll do anything for it.

[wolfy-hound]

I would suggest only discussing one thing at a time. Since he already stated the cages are cleaned once a month, you could offer to clean the tanks with him when you visit next because you want to because they're so neat and you like holding them. While you are putting in new bedding, you can casually mention how dry it is and mist it properly.

Don't even mention any other changes though. If you go in telling someone that they're doing everything wrong, even if you say it nicely, most people will not want to hear it and will get insulted. One little bit at a time though, you should be able to sneakily change all the husbandry bit by bit. After all, the snakes have been living in these conditions a while without dying. If you can improve it a little at a time, it'ss much better than the guy shutting down and refusing to talk to you because he feels insulted.

Also try being enthusiastic if you bring any new information in. If you print off a sheet of basic info and take it over to show off what you found and you discuss one of the aspects, you can engage him and after you leave, he might pick it up and read the rest tooo.

[PhoenixGate]

Let us know what happens. It's always sad when people don't bother to learn about their reptile pets. They're not like dogs and cats, who you can just plop into the same environment you're used to living in.

[bcr229]

You could also encourage your friend to join "this really cool forum about snakes that I found"...

[Nixon]

Good thinking Wolfy, I wouldn't want a ton of stuff thrown at me all at once too. I'd defiantly the tanks for him, wipe down the sides and change the bedding. I just hope he has a separate box of some sort for cleaning because the boa bites.

I think I'll mention BP.net to both of them simply because it's a great learning tool and people are always eager to answer questions you have. It beats googling things because a lot of people tend to over-exaggerate things. There are some good info, but it's best to find a reliable source.

Once quick question: Does it hurt a snake when it's on its back?

My friend claimed that "it hurts the snake" when Scorchmuffin flipped over a bit while we were handling him. I don't believe this at all but I can't find any sit that says yes or no. I know it's uncomfortable because they feel vulnerable on their backs but it doesn't hurt them. And then there's hognose snakes who play dead and they're perfectly fine lying upside down.

[h00blah]

I would suggest only discussing one thing at a time. Since he already stated the cages are cleaned once a month, you could offer to clean the tanks with him when you visit next because you want to because they're so neat and you like holding them. While you are putting in new bedding, you can casually mention how dry it is and mist it properly.

Don't even mention any other changes though. If you go in telling someone that they're doing everything wrong, even if you say it nicely, most people will not want to hear it and will get insulted. One little bit at a time though, you should be able to sneakily change all the husbandry bit by bit. After all, the snakes have been living in these conditions a while without dying. If you can improve it a little at a time, it'ss much better than the guy shutting down and refusing to talk to you because he feels insulted.

Also try being enthusiastic if you bring any new information in. If you print off a sheet of basic info and take it over to show off what you found and you discuss one of the aspects, you can engage him and after you leave, he might pick it up and read the rest tooo.

This is exactly what I was thinking about while reading the OP's response.

For the husbandy issues, I would literally help clean, and optimize them. Just explain what you're adding, and show how it'll help the stuck shed, and prevent a messier cage, and promote a healthy snake!

For the RI, it's a little more tricky to convince someone who has minimal interest in a pet to take it to the vet and potentially drop hundreds if dollars on it..... Definitely provide a list of symptoms, and warn that the clicking and wheezing is a talltale sign of RI. A vet checkup won't break the bank!

[cristacake]

Just a quick note on telling him about BP.net... if he does come on here, he may see this very thread! Not sure how you want to handle that but you gave pretty specific details so watch out for that possibility