Hello all! I actually joined this forum to ask about this particular topic but I got distracted by all the awesome photos. I'm looking forward to exploring this site more!

I just purchased a piebald python. I don't want to make it very long so I'll try to relay this story with some brevity. I got her from a pet store - a large chain pet store. Now typically as an animal enthusiast I stick away from pet stores. Certainly know that I did a fair amount of research on the breeder and that particular snake before deciding to purchase her. What concerned me most was how skinny she was. Then I discover, after looking at her feeding history, that it was probably little to do with her being a picky eater and more to do with the pet store employees not knowing how to feed snakes. (ie - try to feed her during shed, or if she didn't take in the first 30 seconds put her back and try again the following week). She didn't eat in December, she ate once in January, nothing in February, 3 times in March, and once in April before I bought her. She's under a year old.

Well, I just had an unpleasant vet visit. The strange thing is, it's things that I have heard before numerous times. I have sat through the same vet conversation with different animals my entire life. Heart murmur, heart problems, enlarged heart, shortened life, daily treatment. Each animal has lived a fine life with and without further heart trouble.

Here is where I'm a little confused - I fed my snake Friday, and her vet appointment was today Monday. We asked "Is it possible that since we just recently fed her her heart is large for digestion?" The vet said their hearts do not enlarge. And that raised some red flags - that pythons organs increase during digestion is fact, right?

Could it be possible that with her poor feeding regimen in the past, that feeding her now could cause an increase in heart size to promote digestion?

I'm not looking to be sugar coated or go against a vet, not at all. I'm just wondering if anyone has had similar experiences, can shed light on the python heart thing, or has had snakes with heart disease before.