What would you do ... ?

[HighVoltageRoyals]

I would probably offer to take some of the responsibility, although it might not be ideal if you move out 'cause then the snake goes back to those conditions without the guy being any more educated on the issue.

I would think that by that time, you could be "real" with him and tell him either start taking care of it or find it a new home. Or he might just give you the snake if you're taking care of it all the time. Of course this is all perspective.

[jdouglas]

It, seems as though he doesn't have the time to properly care for his snake. Why don't you ask if you can assist in caring for it? Then maybe he will see how much better the care for the snake is.

And for the time being you get to keep another snake =D

[blueberrypancakes]

I would think that by that time, you could be "real" with him and tell him either start taking care of it or find it a new home. Or he might just give you the snake if you're taking care of it all the time. Of course this is all perspective.

I had also considered that he may give it to you if he sees that you're taking such good care of it after that time... and yeah, after getting to know you're roomie a little better maybe you would feel more comfortable being blunt with him...

[L.West]

You've been given many suggestions on how to approach the subject with your roommate - good luck on that.

But, I don't know if you mentioned this or not but I would be certain to keep my snake as far from his snake as possible - if it isn't being cared for properly then it could very well be a carrier of illnesses that you don't want your snake to get.

Just my thoughts on this.

Good luck.

[blueberrypancakes]

Great point, West.

[enchantress62]

I'm curious, how well does he take care of his dogs? My snakes are a lot easier to take care of then my dog or cat. If it's a "Too busy" thing then the dogs probably show signs of neglect as well. If it's an "Ignorance" thing then he should be open to suggestion. I agree it's all about the approach but most people are open to suggestion when presented as "Hey did you know?" Good luck.

[k8nkane]

Thanks for all your suggestions guys.

1) By improper temps, I mean they are too low. His snake is kept downstairs, in a 50 gal. tank, where the ambient temp is 61 degrees (brrr). All he has to heat his tank are two 75W bulbs.

2) His snake and my snake have absolutely no contact and I, of course, wash my hands after touching mine. I keep Pablo upstairs in my room. He keeps his downstairs.

3) He pays hardly any attention to his dogs except to feed them and let them out in the times he is home. Granted, they're 9 yrs old and fat and lazy and spend all their time sleeping on the couch ... but still. Spend some time with them, you know? They're always so excited to see him.

4) He shows no interest in his snake that I've seen. While I handle mine every day or so, I've never seen him handle his.

[heathers*bps]

This is what I would do, when he's at work, clean the cage, fix the temp problem, give clean and plenty substrate, clean bowl and fresh water. If/when he says anything, just say you noticed the tank needed cleaned and thought you'd be helpful and do it for him, since yours needed to be done too

[snake lab]

Heather beat me to it. Id do exactly what she said