Quote Originally Posted by SDA View Post
It's great you have a vet to get advise from. It's a shame you fell for the big box store scam that is their reptile sales. I am so sorry you had to experience that for your first snake. If I could I would ban petco and petsmart tomorrow from selling any living animal but that still has a long way to go to happen.

You are right you have two options

1 Assist feed until you can see if it will feed on its own or give it to a rescue that can do it. There is a chance that once you get a good feeding down it might learn to accept rodents on sight and not on sense.

2 Euthanasia. This is not failure, it is mercy

I am sorry your son is involved but this is part of life with owning reptiles and its a great life lesson to understand that sometimes you have to let go.

Good luck and it is not your fault if you have to give up.

My son is not a young child. My son is 23 and has a full time job and is going to college, but he is still living at home. He is definitely no stranger to the loss of an animal, but he is such a big ol' softie that it just kills him.
He lost his Bearded dragon the middle of last year due to old age and has been looking at other reptiles that will fit in with him not being home all the time. Fell in love with snakes online and saw them in Petsmart and that was it. He looked at the 2 they had and felt a "connection" with Mia. She came home the next day after he got the enclosure all set up.

We've lost horses, dogs, cats etc..... it still never gets easier.

His state of mind right now is if he rehomed her to someone who agreed to care for her with her issues, he feels like he is dumping her off on someone else to be their problem. I am trying to convince him that if this is what he winds up doing that he is really giving her a life that he cannot. If he feels assist feeding her as an adult will be beyond his capabilities, then he is actually giving her a life with someone who can give her a good life, instead of euthanasia.

I have no doubt he will do what's best for her. Me myself, have been afraid of snakes but having her in my house now for a month, i really am becoming quite fond of her. I even held her the other day while he cleaned.