Year-old corn snake

[Countach]

Thought so...poor snake has an infection (R.I.) going on, & I'm willing to bet they've already treated him for it, to no avail...they were just hoping you wouldn't notice.

No way I'm making THIS decision for you...I don't think I'd personally trust either option, I'd want a refund; even though sorry for this snake, it's asking a LOT of a new
inexperienced owner to take on a sick snake -exotic animal vets are expensive & there's no guarantee that treatment will be successful, I'm sorry to say. Also, I'm not
seeing your other option (the adult snake) nor have you included pertinent details (age, health, appearance) much less how YOU feel about it.

BTW, did you find any mites? -that's another factor to consider carefully. (ie. another reason to run the other direction)

FYI: some infections are resistant to medications given. Also, just giving an antibiotic is NO guarantee it will work...it's totally a "shot in the dark" unless extensive lab
work (more costly!) is done to identify the exact pathogen they're trying to eradicate (cure). So as Clint Eastwood said, "Do you feel lucky? ...well, do ya?"

I'm not sure that these are your only 2 options either: you might call the Better Business Bureau or local (city) chamber of commerce...not sure what city or state laws
may apply to being sold a sick animal (ASK!), but any GOOD establishment would give your money back...you noticed immediately, & they know they're wrong, IMO.

I might also find a way to hint that I have a lot of friends that I talk to in the herp community: ie. imply that you could hurt their reputation if they give you a hard time-
better yet, put a positive spin on this...say something like "I'd rather start fresh, not under pressure to accept a different animal, & I want to be able to tell my friends
that you were entirely fair & ethical with me, and gave me a full refund when this problem was noticed."

I think I am going to take him to an experienced herp vet. I'll have to see what the pricing is. I don't want to refund him because it's so hard to find snakes in my area, older ones at least, the place I got him from is the only reptile store nearby. Also, no, I haven't seen any mites so far.