if i was you (the original poster) from the way it sounds,for your 1st snake i'd run from the one that was offered to you, sounds like alot of problems,especially for a beginner, the snake sounds like it's current owner has no clue, so your off to a bad start , if i were you i'd get one from a reliable breeder and go from there, you will have alot less problems with a snake when it's healthy and you KNOW it's history