Sad story :(

[blushingball419]

Without research, and watching pythons on tv, this person probably thought hrmmmm, i always see them slithering at a waters edge, etc etc blah blah ...no excuse whatsoever for this husbandry but it doesnt suprise me. People can do some silly things both intentionally and unintentionally. Time to educate.....one of what I think our responsibilities as reptile enthusiasts is.

Yeah, along with all the documentaries where you see anacondas and such swimming and laying in the water. It does sound more like the person was just misinformed and didn't take the time to research the care, rather than being intentionally malicious. It still definitely isn't good for the snake's well being AT ALL and hearing things like this always makes me want to bang my head against the table, but hopefully you'll be able to help in some way. Poor thing is probably stressed out to no end curled up on its little island

But yes, I agree that education is the best way to try and prevent incidents like this. Being polite and courteous while pointing out the facts goes a long way, and I have a feeling that this person will probably change husbandry methods once they realize their mistake. After all, they went to the trouble of filling up the tank with water when they could have just thrown it into a bare tank

Anyway, I'm glad you found out about it and I hope the snake isn't suffering too badly (and hopefully not for much longer!!)

[Kaorte]

Yeah, I have a feeling that I will be talking to this person in the near future. I really hope they are willing to make the changes

[MikesBalls]

That is really irresponsible! If someone is not willing to put in the time do do a bit of research so that the animal can live it's life as comfortably and safely as possible then I'm sorry but this person should not own any pets. This persons probably got their cat housed in a 10 gallon rubbermaid on paper towels as substrate, UTH, and a water dish.

[bamf64]

that is rediculous. this is animal cruelty. if i knew their adress i would call aspca. i called them once when i was coming home from school and saw people abusing a bunch of dogs that had bugs all over them eating their skin. the dogs got taken away and cared for.

i really hope that this doesnt continue. let me know when it is solved.

[Kaorte]

that is rediculous. this is animal cruelty. if i knew their adress i would call aspca. i called them once when i was coming home from school and saw people abusing a bunch of dogs that had bugs all over them eating their skin. the dogs got taken away and cared for.

i really hope that this doesnt continue. let me know when it is solved.

I am pretty sure that you can't press charges for cruelty to reptiles unfortunately

[bamf64]

I am pretty sure that you can't press charges for cruelty to reptiles unfortunately

wow that is stupid.

[Neal]

Did you ever talk to the people yet? If they don't adhere to what you say, umm. Nevermind I would never condone anything like that.

[I<3Dreamsicles]

uhh. what im wondering is where did they get the snake??? If its from a pet store... they would have to see. OH maby i should make my tank look something like this...

what an idiot... Turtle set ups are for TURTLES!!!!!

[MsPrada]

I believe in the Animal Welfare Act, reptiles are not defined as animals, so I dont think you can press animal cruelty charges in this case either

[WingedWolfPsion]

Check your local laws--animal cruelty laws do include reptiles in many places. However, the more diplomatic approach is to not resort to this until you inform the person on what they need to do to care for the animal properly. If they fail to make the changes immediately, THEN you report them to the law.

If you do a search on 'animal cruelty reptiles' you will see that reptile cruelty cases are prosecuted. You merely need to find an authority knowledgeable enough to recognize mistreatment.