Hey,

So I wouldn't consider myself a "rescuer", however lately I've taken in a few snakes that were living in horrible conditions and given them another chance at a good life. Last night, I had arranged to buy a 3 year old kingsnake from a woman. She told me in the e-mail that the snake wasn't really her's, and it was actually her brother's who had moved away a few months ago. Apparently when he left, he'd dumped the snake at her house and took off. She told me she HATED snakes and needed it out of her house immediately. I understood that snakes just aren't for everyone, so I offered to take it. I went to her house and she told me to wait in the living room while she brought the enclosure up from downstairs. I did, and when she returned with the enclosure, I nearly threw up! The enclosure walls were so dirty, the glass was brown. The waterdish had half an inch of black water in it, not to mention some old sheds and a dead mouse. The UTH hadn't been used in months, and the poor snake was trying so hard to bury itself under the rotten and moldy substrate. The enclosure was nearly falling apart, and was held together with packing tape. The woman told me she'd been keeping the enclosure in the basement! When I asked her when the poor thing last ate, she said she didn't know. At this point, I knew I had to take the thing home. I reached in and picked the little snake up and it immediately scurried into my sweater pocket for warmth It hadn't been touched, fed, watered, or seen/felt light or heat in months. She is such a great little girl, great markings and seems to be in good health. When I got her home, I gave her some clean water and she just sat in her dish and drank for an hour How can people be so cruel?! I understand you don't like snakes and you didn't sign up to own one, but why couldn't you spend 10 minutes on google, find out the basics, and take care of it until you find it a good home?! Thank god I showed up when I did! The conditions were absolutely horrid. Sorry, I just had to rant haha. I don't understand how someone can treat an animal so poorly.