Horrible Day.

[Allysen]

On Tuesday I found an add on kingsnake for 2.2 possible het pied ball pythons. The price was right and my boyfriend Joey spoke to the breeder, and we decided to go for it. He said he was shipping some other snakes out Tuesday evening, so if there would be somebody around to sign for them on Wednesday morning, he could ship our group as well. Wednesday's my day off, so everything was working out perfectly.

He called a few hours later to verify the zip code with us and asked us if he could throw in an extra female pos. het pied because she was a little smaller than the others and he couldn't get her to eat anything but mice and didn't really have the time to work with her. We of course said yes. They were shipped Fedex and we started tracking the package.

Everything was fine until about 2 in the morning when I went to bed, setting the alarm so I'd be up for the delivery man Wednesday morning.

Wednesday morning we checked by the front door after hearing a truck, but it wasn' them. I got on the internet to check the package, and it was in Memphis!! Apparently thunderstorms had shut down the airport after I went to bed and they weren't going to be delivered until Thursday morning!!

So needless Wednesday was mostly spent fretting and panicking. I called my work and told them that I would probably be late on Thursday because I needed to be around to sign for our snakes. I hate this job, but the people are nice and when I call in saying that I need an extra hour or two for "a snake thing", they understand. We called the breeder and informed him of the problem. He said he packed them really good, and was nervous, but said that they would probably be alright. We checked the weather in Memphis, and it was pretty warm, but rainy.

This morning the Fedex guy showed up right on time, but like EVERY time I've ever gotten snakes from Fedex, they just leave them by the door, don't knock, and don't bother to get a signature. I mean, we were right there listening for the truck, but still, that really bothers me.

The box felt cold to the touch right off the bat. We brought the box in and I opened it up, checking each cold snake bag. They felt cold but not TOO cold, limp, and pliable. I honestly thought they were alive.

I'm squeamish, and I was kind of hyperventilating, so Joey checked each of the five bags and shook his head. He called the breeder and informed him that none of them made it, and asked him how he wanted to proceed because none of us had ever been through something like this before. We all agreed that shipping the corpses back would be awful for everybody, so we'd just take a picture and email it to him then work on the refund.

I went to get the camera and while I was fishing for it, Joey yelled that we needed to get to the vet right away. He thought he might have seen one twitch and we just needed to be sure.

So a frantic phone call and one hectic drive later, we were at our vet's office. My hair was a mess, my shirt was on backwards, and I forgot socks, but we were there.

They took the poor babies back and informed us that ONE was definitely deceased. Just one, though! Two passed away shortly thereafter, but the biggest female was showing good muscle tone and a good heartbeat. They gave her a few injections of vitamins and liquids, but we still don't know the final verdict yet. The small mouse eater female had a very slow heartbeat and no muscle tone, but they were going to just keep her warm and it comes down to whether she's brain-dead or not. I've got my fingers crossed.

We called the breeder back to let him know what the vet said, and he just felt awful. He refunded us our money even though we told him we could wait to settle it until after we knew if the two females were going to make it or not, but he refunded it anyway and said to let him know what happens either way with the two possible survivors and to just keep them if they do pull through.

It was just an awful experience, those cold limp snake bags We haven't heard back from the vet yet, and I'm just a nervous wreck. I really hope that they make it, but I have a really bad feeling about the one that might be brain dead. Ugh, I hope they call soon.

[Kesslers Kreatures]

Oh my god, that has to be horrible to go through. I hope it all works out okay.

Keep us posted.

[Allysen]

Thanks, I hope so too! Joey's on the phone to the vet now, so I should hopefully know SOMETHING in the next few minutes...

[Texas Dan]

Thanks, I hope so too! Joey's on the phone to the vet now, so I should hopefully know SOMETHING in the next few minutes...

That storm was horrible, I'm sorry for your losses.

Know anything yet?

[Perry]

I'm really sorry. Nice to see the breeder is being as nice as he is. Good luck on the other 2!

[Allysen]

Well, the small mouse-eater didn't make it, but the big female did. Needless to say I think I'd be shot if I didn't name her "Lucky". Joey's on his way out to the vet's to pick her up and we're going to set her up in a nice quarantined hospital tub as soon as we get home.

[Beardedragon]

I'm so sorry to hear this, this must really be a blow But it sounds like a great breeder to give you the full refund with no questions asked, FedEx is really starting to make me mad. I had paid for 10:30 next day and he arrived a few hours late, which was very stressful and nerve racking. I can see why more and more breeders are doing delta dash. I hope that your survivor does well!

[spix14]

Oh my, that must have been awful. Good to hear that one has made it though! Keep us posted on her progress, and good luck.

[SilverWolf]

My heart goes out to you. I am sorry to hear about the ones that didn't make it. But very glad at least one has made it. Hope she continues to thrive! Keep us updated on how she does.

[Sasquatch Art]

Wow I can't believe this happened. I am glad to hear that one did make it. I hope she begins thriving very soon.