Sunbeam Snake Help?

[Star-Static]

So I just picked up my sunbeam after some minor drama.

I was supposed to have gotten him shipped out on Wednesday to pick up Thursday...But apparently that email wasn't relayed to the guy that was going to ship out the animal. So then I sent out another email asking if they had shipped him out already without giving me a tracking number. (Everything was paid for, animal and shipping.) So then Thursday they call me back and apologize for that, and say that they are shipping him out that night and to expect a tracking number. Well I still don't get a tracking number and at this point they are already closed. So then today I had to wait until their shop opened to call them. (12PM). They said that the animal has been shipped and is waiting for me after I told them I never received a tracking number.

"Did you check the email you provided us with?"
(At this point I'm a bit ticked off and scoffed at that...not audibly.)

I explained that I did, even checked my spam and never received an email from them.
I get transferred to another guy, the one I've been talking with mostly. He apologizes and says FedEx messes up all the time and doesn't always give the recipient the tracking number...
I'm going to call BS on that part.

So I get him out of the box...And I'm already concerned with how he was packed.

Only that (A small handful of moist paper towels), the cloth bag he was in, and the styrofoam lid. Is that adequate??

Then as I am inspecting him I notice he has some blisters on his body. One that really concerns me is the one on his face.




And then a few on his mid-body.



So...Should I be angry about the condition of the snake, the packaging, and the lack of tracking information??
Should I call them and complain?
What can I really do about this situation?

And is there a way to help with the sores / scarring? Or is that going to be permanent?

Sorry for the long post. I'm just mad and concerned about my snake.

[Valentine Pirate]

I'll be interested in seeing responses here. Sunbeams are mostly WC from my understanding, I was looking into them at one point to start a little CB project. I really hope it works out for the little guy they're gorgeous animals.

As for the shipping fiasco you should absolutely send them your thoughts on that, even if Fedex doesn't send you the tracking number the seller should in a separate email (that's how I've gotten my tracking #'s in the past). There should have been more newspaper and padding in my opinion, all the proper shipping videos show MUCH more than a few dang paper towels. I'd also open a feedback thread if they try to stonewall you. Who did you buy the snake from? What did their terms and conditions say? Do they guarantee the WC, advertise the sunbeam as in good health? I'd ask for a refund unless I'd been told about the blisters and issues before, have you sent them an email?

[MrLang]

Thought this snake looked cool and googled it. It landed me on a kingsnake.com care sheet where I saw this:


Many sunbeams snakes develop a condition that looks like blistering on their scales, this looks similar to a disease caused by excessive humidity-it is not. I am sure that many people, upon seeing this condition in sunbeams have thought that drying the snakes out would cure this problem, drying sunbeam snakes out kills them quickly. This is a bacterial infection exacerbated by stress and will disappear with correct antibiotic treatment and a humid environment.


So the stress of shipping could have caused this - meaning it didn't exist when it was shipped.

[BoostedMX3]

Oooh I'm new to bp and snake keeping but about 10 years ago I got one of these as my first snake..

From my phone the blisters look like they could just b beginning of a shed my girl always shed kinda funny.. Well it would start like blisters n eventually come off in one big peice..

Keep an eye on her for a day or two and see what happens from what I learned recently these things are hard to keep happy captive.. Mine only lived 3 years and died after she escaped and spent the night in my bathroom.. Got her back in the cage and two days later she was stiff as a board when I woke up..

Overall gorgeous snakes tho I really miss her.. Super aggressive feeders too


Bump that humidity up to about 85% to help the rough sheds.. That's what my vet told me the blisters could be him drying up so to speak from lack of humidity in the box

[BoostedMX3]

Thought this snake looked cool and googled it. It landed me on a kingsnake.com care sheet where I saw this:


Many sunbeams snakes develop a condition that looks like blistering on their scales, this looks similar to a disease caused by excessive humidity-it is not. I am sure that many people, upon seeing this condition in sunbeams have thought that drying the snakes out would cure this problem, drying sunbeam snakes out kills them quickly. This is a bacterial infection exacerbated by stress and will disappear with correct antibiotic treatment and a humid environment.


So the stress of shipping could have caused this - meaning it didn't exist when it was shipped.

B
asically what my vet had told me minus the infection and anti biotics part...

[Star-Static]

I'll be interested in seeing responses here. Sunbeams are mostly WC from my understanding, I was looking into them at one point to start a little CB project. I really hope it works out for the little guy they're gorgeous animals.

As for the shipping fiasco you should absolutely send them your thoughts on that, even if Fedex doesn't send you the tracking number the seller should in a separate email (that's how I've gotten my tracking #'s in the past). There should have been more newspaper and padding in my opinion, all the proper shipping videos show MUCH more than a few dang paper towels. I'd also open a feedback thread if they try to stonewall you. Who did you buy the snake from? What did their terms and conditions say? Do they guarantee the WC, advertise the sunbeam as in good health? I'd ask for a refund unless I'd been told about the blisters and issues before, have you sent them an email?

I found the seller on kingsnake.com
Underground Reptiles from Florida.
http://market.kingsnake.com/detail.php?cat=6&de=964002
That's the sunbeam page they listed.

It says nothing about the sores, and the pictures displaying the animals show no sores. Including the pictures they sent me. Here is the thread I posted showing the sunbeams they had available.
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...-Sunbeam-Snake

This is what they had to say about shipping:

"SHIPPING
WE HAVE BEEN SHIPPING REPTILES OVER TWENTY YEARS AND HAVE BEEN ON THE CUTTING EDGE EVER SINCE.
WE ARE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR NEW WAYS TO SHIP ANIMALS SAFELY WHILE SAVING YOU MONEY.
WE SHIP TEMPERATURE ACCORDINGLY I.E. HEAT PACKS, COLD PACKS, AND STYROS.
WHEN TEMPERATURES ARE UNDER 35° AND OVER 90° WE SUGGEST PICKING UP THE ANIMAL AT THE NEAREST FED-EX OFFICE.
IF YOU CHOOSE NOT TO PICK UP AT A FED-EX OFFICE WE CANNOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANIMALS THAT PERISH.
NEW SHIPPING RATES STARTING AT ONLY $20!
MAMMALS ARE SHIPPED AIRPORT TO AIRPORT VIA COMMERCIAL AIRLINES ACCORDING TO IATA REGULATIONS. AIRLINE RATES APPLY. THERE IS SOMETIMES AN ADDITIONAL FEE FOR BOXING AND/OR HEALTH CERTIFICATE. WE WILL NEVER SHIP VENOMOUS SNAKES VIA FED-EX. PLEASE DO NOT ASK.
WE WILL NEVER KNOWINGLY SHIP ANY ANIMAL TO AN AREA THAT THEY ARE PROHIBITED BY LAW. PLEASE DO NOT ASK.
WE WORK CLOSELY WITH STATE AND FEDERAL AGENCIES HELPING TO IMPROVE OUR INDUSTRIES STANDARDS. PLEASE DO NOT ASK US TO JEOPARDIZE THIS RELATIONSHIP."

So yeah.
I have't sent them an email yet, wanted to get some thoughts about it before I go off on them! Haha.

Thanks.

[Star-Static]

Thought this snake looked cool and googled it. It landed me on a kingsnake.com care sheet where I saw this:


Many sunbeams snakes develop a condition that looks like blistering on their scales, this looks similar to a disease caused by excessive humidity-it is not. I am sure that many people, upon seeing this condition in sunbeams have thought that drying the snakes out would cure this problem, drying sunbeam snakes out kills them quickly. This is a bacterial infection exacerbated by stress and will disappear with correct antibiotic treatment and a humid environment.


So the stress of shipping could have caused this - meaning it didn't exist when it was shipped.

I know about the condition that sunbeams get, I read heavily on the animal before I bought it because I have heard that it is a little harder to keep them. Thanks though!

I just don't see them getting blisters that quickly!
I forgot to mention, but the cloth bag also came with damp moss to keep him moist. So I don't see it as something that came about during shipping. :/

Do I need to go to the vet for some antibiotics? Or is there something topical I can find for him? ( NOT NEOSPORIN! )

[BigJayPiercer]

In my experience Sunbeam snakes require humidity levels in excess of 90% as an ambient.

Sent from my LGL45C using Tapatalk 2

[Star-Static]

Oooh I'm new to bp and snake keeping but about 10 years ago I got one of these as my first snake..

From my phone the blisters look like they could just b beginning of a shed my girl always shed kinda funny.. Well it would start like blisters n eventually come off in one big peice..

Keep an eye on her for a day or two and see what happens from what I learned recently these things are hard to keep happy captive.. Mine only lived 3 years and died after she escaped and spent the night in my bathroom.. Got her back in the cage and two days later she was stiff as a board when I woke up..

Overall gorgeous snakes tho I really miss her.. Super aggressive feeders too


Bump that humidity up to about 85% to help the rough sheds.. That's what my vet told me the blisters could be him drying up so to speak from lack of humidity in the box

I'm hoping it might have to do with him shedding. That would be a lot better than poor husbandry from the seller!

I've not seen a sunbeam in blue (in person!) before, so I'm hoping that might be the case. I've got the humidity up to around 85% right now, but I just got him, so I'm a bit concerned.

[Star-Static]

In my experience Sunbeam snakes require humidity levels in excess of 90% as an ambient.

Sent from my LGL45C using Tapatalk 2

I'll bump the humidity up.

Just not sure if I should call the seller up and yell at them or not. Haha.