I actually saw the snake about two weeks ago, but I 100% believe he is being sincere. He takes meticulous care of them and keeps detailed records of what goes on. He tells me about every little issue that might become problematic and seemed legitimately shocked that he went south so quickly.
One bizarre thing he told me about (that I think is unrelated, but is still interesting) is that a few weeks ago he attempted to feed the male het a live rat, and he bit it but didn't constrict. Over the next few days the rat's hair fell out in a circular patch where he was bitten, and now has grown back sparsely. We've never seen that happen before.