Underfed bp from pet store

[lorrainesmom]

Rats are a better food source, my bp really started gaining once she was switched over from mice to rats. When I got her she was 216g, and in a few months she was up to a much healthier 600g for her length and age. Here's the thing I cannot wrap my head around. Every few days, we hear of another underweight, neglected snake that has to be rescued from either a situation like the original poster found the snake in, pet store neglect, or a snake has to be rescued from another owner that just didn't bother to feed it.

Right now, I'm petsitting a 7 month old corn snake that is the size of a hatchling because the owner thought that one pinky a week was plenty. Of course I switched the snake over to fuzzies, and will be moving it to hoppers as soon as possible. It just goes on, and on. What really gets me is that if this kind of abuse and neglect were directed at any other type of pet, the people neglecting these pets would be publicly shamed, and arrested; as they should be. Why don't we hear about it happening when the victims of abuse and neglect have scales?

Sorry for the rant,

*grabs soapbox, slithers away*

[tbowman]

Rats are a better food source, my bp really started gaining once she was switched over from mice to rats. When I got her she was 216g, and in a few months she was up to a much healthier 600g for her length and age. Here's the thing I cannot wrap my head around. Every few days, we hear of another underweight, neglected snake that has to be rescued from either a situation like the original poster found the snake in, pet store neglect, or a snake has to be rescued from another owner that just didn't bother to feed it.

Right now, I'm petsitting a 7 month old corn snake that is the size of a hatchling because the owner thought that one pinky a week was plenty. Of course I switched the snake over to fuzzies, and will be moving it to hoppers as soon as possible. It just goes on, and on. What really gets me is that if this kind of abuse and neglect were directed at any other type of pet, the people neglecting these pets would be publicly shamed, and arrested; as they should be. Why don't we hear about it happening when the victims of abuse and neglect have scales?

Sorry for the rant,

*grabs soapbox, slithers away*

Because what I consider neglect and what you consider neglect can be two completely different things and snakes are extremely adaptable and variable.

Most captive snakes are overfed, there is no standard for what a healthy weight is at a particular age.

Take a wild snake and a captive animal of the same age and just about every time the wild snake is going to much smaller and thinner as well, does this mean the snake isn't thriving? Not necessarily.