i recently bought a blood python off a guy my boyfriend met through his job. i use the term "bought" loosely; it was more like a rescue considering how extremely underweight and unhealthy this beautiful girl is...

anyway, she is prolapsed and blind, dehydrated and underweight. one of her eyes is completely trashed and has gotten to the point where (to be completely graphic) it is hanging out of its socket, resembling a raisin more than an eyeball. the other is glazed over, and otherwise looks fairly normal... comparatively. this is all thanks to the genius i bought her off of, who tried removing her eyecaps (with no knowledge of how to do so) after she had retained them for what he considered to be too long. (the really damaged one swelled up and "popped" not long after i brought her home, leaving it the way it is now.)

i have taken her to the vet on one occasion, only to be disappointed. he gave me artificial tears ointment and told me she was blind, which i already knew. he's the same vet the previous owner had taken her to before, and he remembered stitching her up after she prolapsed. basically he told me i may have to admit to myself that she was suffering and put her down if she didn't show any signs of improvement.

i was finally successful in getting her to eat after a few weeks, things seemed to be going beautifully, until last night when i came home and her head was swollen to twice its normal size on one side. the swelling has gone down considerably, but it's still not back to normal. i wish i would have taken some pictures, but i was too upset about it...

i'm having trouble making a decision. i've never faced euthanasia before -- i almost feel like it's not my place to play god and decide an animal's life should end. so i'm asking you guys... would i be doing her a favor? is she suffering, and should i put an end to it? should i go back to the vet and hope he has something more to say this time around?

i just don't know what to do, it's breaking my heart. here are some photos for reference...




the "good eye"...


the bad eye...


what's left of the swelling i was talking about, this is where it's most visible.


from above.


her size relative to my hand.

thanks in advance if you read all this and took the time to respond... i appreciate any input or advice. (oh, and this is my first post by the way... so hello to you all!)