Poor Poor Python....

[sum182]

So, there has been this 3-4ft ball python at my local pet store for a very long time now.....and i'm getting a soft heart for him and am pretty sure i am buying him tomorrow if they let me....heres the story...

So about 4-5 weeks ago i went to my pet store (its a burtons total pet) and i see this snake...He/she is in a take filled with shed skin, the snake is shedding itself (badly), a HUGE half log hide, a water dish on the other side, and a uth in the tank. Now, being a pet store, theyre charging top price at $100 for him. I look...stare at him for a while...and go on my way. I go in a week later and hes still there. Still the same, shed skin everywhere and still old skin on the snake...I ask about him and they say the snake person isnt here to come back tomorrow. I didnt really have time to so i went back around the next week and held him...VERY VERY tame snake dispite his conditions and whatnot. I was contemplating buying him so i came back the next day and he wasnt for sale anymore, they said someone bought him. So i thought "YAY" the snake will finally have a home with a real tank.....SO, i just go in today and the snake is back....skin still on him...tank still the same...i ask why and they said he was returned the next day by the people cause they said they "couldnt afford it". I sat there and stared at this poor snake in his horrible husbandry and just felt my heart drop....so I made the decision that i'm buying him and giving him what he deserves, i cant stand to see him there anymore. So i told the guy if the snake is for sale ill buy him. He said as for now he isnt but the snake person will be in at 11am tomorrow and he will shed some light and if there is any "problems" with it. Then we can see it you can buy it....

I will get that snake tomorrow. I dont care if they think it has "problems".

[Rejekt]

good luck! some pets stores just don't care. my mom just recently bought a ferret from a mom and pop store by where i live, it was in the petshop for 3 days and it got sick. just three days. i went in to see how it was inside, and there snakes were in kritter keepers with a flourescent bulb above them and thats it. only thing in the cage was green astroturn and a deli cup full of water and a quarter sized hole in the lid so the snake could fit in and come out if he wants, all 6 snakes were in their own water bowls none were out.. and their BP had no hides and a giant water dish and it was just laying out there, i hate some pet stores... good luck! wish you the best

[sum182]

thank you, i just really hope i can get them to sell it to me tomorrow, i went to high school with the kid i need to talk to, so i dont think it'll be a problem

[reaxion07]

I had the same problem with a local Petco - there's an extremly stressed little BP there, and has a really bad stuck shed on it's head (retained eyecaps). Same thing with your store - they're selling them for either 79.99 or 89.99. The BP in question has been there for a while. They also have an adult Crestie that wasn't looking so hot when I went in

[wolfy-hound]

If you buy him, you'll just finiance ANOTHER snake to be kept in the same condiitions. I know it's hard to walk away from a animal in need, but you're SUPPORTING the pet store by buying the snake.

It's one thing to rescue one from bad conditions, it's another to finiance the store to continue the neglect. Please think about it carefully before you give them money and reward the neglect.

[littleindiangirl]

If you buy him, you'll just finiance ANOTHER snake to be kept in the same condiitions. I know it's hard to walk away from a animal in need, but you're SUPPORTING the pet store by buying the snake.

It's one thing to rescue one from bad conditions, it's another to finiance the store to continue the neglect. Please think about it carefully before you give them money and reward the neglect.

Ditto that. You may think you are paying them to save this poor snake, but you are paying them to give the same treatment to the next snake. Some stores do it on purpose to get those pity sales.

Support private breeders.

[dsmalex97]

I agree with the above post, BUT!! This guys sounds like he needs your help, GET HIM!! Yes you are supporting them in a way, but how do you know there going to replace him anyway? Maybe they just got him and couldnt take care of him properly? I think your a good person for doing that. I can't tell you how often I wish I could save all those poor BP's in petco. But theres really no stopping it, because there always re-stocking them.

[southb]

My favorite pet store story was asking a guy what sex it was and flipped the animal over took one look at the vent, and of course said, "It's a male cause it's got spurs." I sexed the animal the next day as a female and the guy asked me if I knew what I was doing......

[wolfy-hound]

You actually will be giving them enough money to get more than one snake at wholesale prices.. so you may be putting several snakes into the same conditions.
Save one now, but put more into the same place. Which is more fair?

[frankykeno]

If you are set on getting this snake, and I can completely understand the urge to "save" it, I'd suggest first you have a very long chat with this so called reptile person. Since you went to school with him perhaps you can get him to see the light about proper care (feel free to direct him to this website).

Normally pet stores don't get in larger snakes like that, they tend to get in hatchlings so I suspect they got this one dumped on them and are trying to make a big profit. I'd ask them VERY directly where this snake came from and how they expect to sell any animal in such poor condition for way more than current market value. You may well have to spend money on vet costs if this snake is not well (sometimes acting quietly like that can be a sign of illness, not easy nature when it comes to adults in pet stores with no known history).

Buy it if you want, knowing you are supporting a bad place with your money, but I wouldn't give them that price and I would give them a piece of my mind.