Distressing news

[Daigga]

Hello forums, I know I haven't been active in a long time, and unfortunately it's not very happy circumstances that brings me back.

To make a long story very short, I had to rehome my entire collection 2 years ago due to my apartment not allowing the snakes and the fact that my husband and I had a newborn on the way. I had 12 snakes at the time and got rid of all but my 3 favorites - Gio my lesser bee, Georgette my mojave, and Dexter my calico pastel - who I gave to a family member to care for. This was 2 years ago. Last year my lesser bee, Gio, died. We don't know what happened to him, the family member had a necropsy done that said he was healthy and cause of death was unknown. He was a 2013, so I have absolutely no idea what could have caused him to die suddenly like that. Well today I get a message from her saying that Dexter looks to have been attacked by her roommates dog. He has about a 2 inch gash on his side that does not look good at all ( I have a picture, I don't want to share it because it's ick). I also found out that in the time she's had these last 2 snakes they've regurgitated multiple times and current pictures don't actually look like they've grown very much at all (they're both 2014s, I have records of their weights before they left my care in 2015 where they were 328 and 441 grams respectively and neither look heavier than 800 from the recent pictures). I haven't been to her house since I dropped off the snakes 2 years ago so I haven't seen their condition and had no idea things were this bad. I'm going to get them back tomorrow and do everything I can to save Dexter.

I know there's a veterinary hospital that does exotics pretty close to my moms house where I'll be going after I get my snakes back, but what else should I do? Please no hate, I know I should have kept closer tabs on them but I honestly thought they were in good hands...

[bcr229]

Don't feel bad. You thought you were doing right by your animals and it's not your fault that the person you trusted to care for them failed you and your critters. The outcome may have been the same if you'd sold them.

If all of the snakes are regurgitating then either there's a problem with them all being too cold, or they all have been infested with some sort of parasite. I would have fecals done on all of them, and in addition to the typical roundworms/flatworms/pinworms/etc. I would have them tested for crypto. If they are clean then bringing them back should be a matter of providing heat and very small, widely spaced out meals dusted with a bit of NutriBAC to get their digestive systems back on track.

Your vet may have to stitch up the one that was attacked, so it'll just be a matter of keeping the wound clean, applying a topical antimicrobial such as Silvadene or Vetericyn, and administering an injected antibiotic every few days to ward off infection.

[Jus1More]

I'm sorry to hear about Gio, I know you must of been very upset. I hope you can save Georgette and Dexter and have them back in your life. And like @bcr229 mentioned, it is NOT your fault. You thought this person was going to to be there for you and she let you down. I will respect your wishes by not writing "Hate" about this other person, but I'm truly sorry for your lost and grief. Keep your chin up and good luck!

[wolfy-hound]

You had no reason to think the person wasn't taking perfect care of them. Not your fault.

I second the suggestion above about testing for parasites. Get them into proper housing so you're certain they have appropriate heat and humidity and hiding spots, then remember not to try to stuff them with food right away. Give them time to settle in and get their digestive tracts back to normal before feeding.

As far as a wound, once the vet takes care of the wound, you'll be surprised how quickly they heal up and after several sheds, there probably will barely be any sign.

Good luck!

[Dutti]

That,s why i have mentioned recently in another thread that i refuse to breed snakes in captivity. You just don,t know what type of life they are going to get. There are too many bad humans, and the snake will suffer badly if it ended in the hands of one of those evil humans. In this case, the snakes owner had to give them up and some of them ended in bad hands.

[MD_Pythons]

That,s why i have mentioned recently in another thread that i refuse to breed snakes in captivity. You just don,t know what type of life they are going to get. There are too many bad humans, and the snake will suffer badly if it ended in the hands of one of those evil humans. In this case, the snakes owner had to give them up and some of them ended in bad hands.

This seems like less of a reason not to breed and more of a reason to be selective to who you sell them to. There are many people who are ready and willing to take in and give a snake a good life, if breeders asked for pics of setups or made them go through applications many snakes would go to good homes. But that's just what I think.

[Pezz]

This seems like less of a reason not to breed and more of a reason to be selective to who you sell them to. There are many people who are ready and willing to take in and give a snake a good life, if breeders asked for pics of setups or made them go through applications many snakes would go to good homes. But that's just what I think.

when I start breeding any potential owners are going to have to do an application and show me their setup. If i don't think they'll be good keepers I'll keep the snake untill a good applicant comes along.

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[MD_Pythons]

when I start breeding any potential owners are going to have to do an application and show me their setup. If i don't think they'll be good keepers I'll keep the snake untill a good applicant comes along.

Sent from my LG-M151 using Tapatalk

Oh yeah definitely, if I can ever breed White Lips I'm gonna have to have them show me their setup and only sell them to people with experience with more advanced snakes.

[SDA]

when I start breeding any potential owners are going to have to do an application and show me their setup. If i don't think they'll be good keepers I'll keep the snake untill a good applicant comes along.

Sent from my LG-M151 using Tapatalk

I rescued 4 dogs over the past 15 years. I remember clearly the steps I had to go through including bringing my dogs to meet the new rescue, having proof of a stable environment and even so far as with my last basset, having an in home visit a week after adoption to prove the dog was not stressed. I don't think going that far is necessary but having proof of a proper setup and assurance that if they cannot take care of the animal they will surrender it instead of neglecting it is more than reasonable.

Funny story about Daisy, our last rescue. During the in home checkup, she would not leave out side and was protective of us with the rescue manager. She laughed and said she never had a dog that was that attached so quickly. I blame it on our other basset and Aussie who both adopted her instantly once we got her.

[Newbie39]

Oh yeah definitely, if I can ever breed White Lips I'm gonna have to have them show me their setup and only sell them to people with experience with more advanced snakes.

I'm a new snake owner and take perfect care of my ball. I don't think you need to be an "advanced snake owner" to get into as long as you do your research.

I see on this forum all the time when a newbie has an issue it is normally from lack of research. With goggle and forums like this, there is no reason why someone new can't get their own a snake. If new people don't get into it the hobby will die.