My brand new Red-tail (PICTURES INSIDE!)

[Benson_and_Hedges]

Everybody meet Esteban Vehaio.






He's almost 4 ft long and about 2 years old (that's what we're guessing.)

He's the sweetest thing in the world.. he reminds me so much of Hector


R.I.P. Hector 11/5/05-1/31/06

[rabernet]

Did you ever find out what killed Hector to make sure it wasn't communicable to your new boa?

I'd be really concerned that you thoroughly disinfected the enclosure (if it's the same one). I don't know that I would have gotten a new one on the same day that your other one passed away, it seems a bit rushed without knowing what it was that made the first one sick, but that's just me.

He's a nice looking snake though!

[Karma]

Nice boa

[frankykeno]

Just so I get this right

Jan 28th your vet tells you your original RTB is dying of some "incurable virus disease" that you don't even know the name of

Jan 30th your BP has explosive unexplained loose stools that you don't know the cause of

Jan 31st your original RTB dies or is euthanized

Jan 31st you run out and get a new RTB and by the pictures, immediately feed it


Lovely.....


~~Jo~~

[tigerlily]

I'm in agreement with Robin and JO. With one snake 'with a deadly virus' and another snake looking sick, I can't understand why you would bring another animal into that environment. That is just irresponsible.

[Jeanne]

Nice boa..however, I would not have gotten another animal till I determined what EXACTLY was wrong with the one who just died..meaning knowing if it had something that passed onto your now sick bp. Now that you have brought another animal into your collection, I surely HOPE you have taken all precautions and sterilzed everything, or most likely, you will lose your new boa also. However, even if you took the time to clean and sterilze everything prior to bringing home this new boa, you are still risking making it sick and causing it to die. Maybe the cash would have been better spent getting a necropsy on the dead boa before getting a new boa to replace it, so you may know the issue that killed the one and enabling you to get treatment for your now sick ball python.

[elevatethis]

That's just plain ignorance, dude....

[Benson_and_Hedges]

Alright, you all need to chill out.

First of all Hector was doomed from the start. We (me and my BF) always thought there was something wrong with him. So obviously he had this sickness before we bought him.

Secondly, my BP's stool problems have nothing to do with Hector because they never came in contact with each other. Their cages weren't even close to each other AND i always washed my hands between snakes.

And THIRDLY! Esteban (the new snake) is in a completely different room in a brand-freaking-new cage. All of Hectors belongings were thrown out.

So think before you judge and go calling me ignorant. I had Hector put to sleep because i didn't want him in pain anymore.. and by the way the last picture is Hector eating a Pinkie.

If i had known you'd all jump on me and start questioning my abilities to take care of a snake i never would have even posted these pictures. And it's not even my snake he's my BF's. He was very upset about Hector and wanted something new to make him forget and it's done the trick.

I'm not yelling at you all i'm just explaining myself. I feel as though you're all attacking me and i don't appreciate it.

[frankykeno]

I want you to understand no one was attacking you and that sort of behaviour is never allowed on this forum anyways. I do apologize for my own assumption that you had fed a snake you just received when in fact that was Hector in the photo. I also do offer my condolences on his loss and congratulate you on choosing euthanization for him.

That being said, as far as I can see from this thread no one is attacking you personally. What you are seeing is a genuine concern for not only the wellbeing of this new snake but also the wellbeing of the rest of your collection. It's also, whether you believe it or not, a concern for you so that you do not face further heartbreak should this disease spread and the burden of extremely high vets bills ensue.

From your posts (and remember that is all any of us can go by) it appears you do not have a clear handle on what killed Hector and is causing the ball python's illness. Therefore, until you know exactly what is the root cause for both snakes, you can't know what the transmission factors are. Personally I wouldn't have added to my collection until I had a vet's clearance that nothing was going on that could lead to another snake's death.

I know it's hard to lose an animal but sometimes rushing out to replace it isn't a great idea.


~~Jo~~

[Benson_and_Hedges]

Thank you for clearing that up..
I don't know, i guess i let myself get a little too offended. After all, these are my first snakes and i shouldn't think that i know just as much if not more than most of you on here considering you've all been doing this for a number of years. Right now Esteban is basically in quarantine and the BP's might as well be in a different part of the world with the precautions i'm taking so that nothing gets passed on.

I also thought it was a bad idea for my boyfriend to rush out and get one but it was what he wanted and no matter what i told him like, "If Hector had IBD they say you shouldn't get a new snake for at least 6 months" he wouldn't listen. The problem is they have to stay at my house since his mother doesn't want the snakes around. That's why i put him in a new tank with new furnishings, light fixtures, heat sources, and humidifiers. I even put him on a different level of the house.

I am trying to work on finding out if Benson, my BP, is in fact ill. I called up the same vet that treated Hector and told him what happened and ended up scheduling an appointment for this coming Saturday.

Anyway, what i'm trying to say is that i'm sorry i took all your concern the wrong way and if i offended any of you in any way i apologize.

Hopefully everything turns out alright.