Urgent help to rescue baby ball python!!

[Bogertophis]

I truly know how hard it is to see any snake that appears to be neglected & in poor health, & want to help...BUT I hope you understand that taking on such a snake requires a lot more than just bringing it home.

Such a snake can have unseen health issues, needing more experience than you have, & probably a LOT more in expenses from an experienced exotic vet. Are you really prepared for that?

Not knowing your experience, or if you have a go-to vet, this site can help you locate one nearest you: https://arav.site-ym.com/search/custom.asp?id=3661

You mentioned you're not "new" to snake-keeping- so do you understand what's needed to fully quarantine a new snake (even one that appears healthy) from any others you may have?
This one may need a long time to recover, if it ever does. That's something you should consider- the time, space & finances that you really have available.

Now one of the biggest things to think about: when you buy a sickly snake (or any other animal) from a pet store, you're telling them that the condition of their animals doesn't matter, because you'll buy them anyway. Please give that a LOT of thought: once you buy this one, along comes another one to replace it.

The process of mass-producing & shipping snakes to pet stores leaves a LOT to be desired: they're exposed to unstable temperatures, usually other sick snakes & other reptiles along the way, parasites, lots of stress, & too often, to lousy care once they arrive, so when you buy them anyway, you perpetuate that process- you're actually ensuring that more are likely to suffer the same fate. It's not surprising that some snakes in pet stores are sickly- actually, it's all too typical. The pet stores with healthy herps are sadly the exceptions.

Remember too, that much as we want to, none of us can rescue them all- we're greatly out-numbered. Your heart is in the right place, but please give this a lot more thought.