Hi everyone,
As some of you know, I purchased (well, committed to purchase) a subadult (3 1/2 foot male) white-lipped python over the weekend. I haven't picked him up yet and sealed the deal (that's on Friday), so I have a question for everyone here.
While at the show, I spent a great deal of time watching and handling this particular python. On the all, he seemed very healthy - flicked his tongue frequently, seemed to be of a good weight and muscle tone, and was alert, but not skittish. I watched him cruising his cage, and he was able to climb from floor to branch without any effort. He had just shed and his skin was glossy and soft (however, not without a few tiny dots of dry shed here and there). However, there are two potential health issues that I would like reassurance or advice about, whichever is needed. 
The first is that when the snake opened his mouth to yawn, I noticed a few strings of mucus in his mouth. I asked a few reputable herp friends that I had with me at the show, and they both agreed that, in their words, "one or two strings of mucus are nothing to worry about." So I let it go, but now, a few days later, I'm starting to second-guess my decision to overlook that. What do you think? Does this sound like the start of an RI, or is it pretty much normal? I do know that my two snakes at home yawn once in a while, and I've never seen a similar mucus in their mouths.
Secondly, I noticed that the area around the vent appeared to have a VERY slight amount of discoloration. A little like caked feces around the sides of the vent. Any ideas or opinions on this? Can't find any info regarding this at all.
The third thing is - the python was extremely tame and easy to handle while I was at the show. I held him twice, for about 15 minutes each time, and he was very gentle, deliberate, and laid-back. I even watched the seller remove him from his perch in the cage with his bare hands, and the python, although annoyed, didn't offer to bite or even hiss. Seller even mentioned that he has not offered to bite since he's had him. But I know that this is usually not the case with white-lips, and I admit that I'm a little concerned that if he DOES have a health problem of some sort, once he's healthy again, he'll revert to being a typical, nasty devil of a snake.
The seller has had the snake for 3 months, but I don't know where he was before that - I asked if the snake was a LTC and the seller was not sure what his history was, so I assumed that he probably received the snake in a trade or from another local herper. CB white-lips are not common in the hobby, so I'm not holding my breath. This particular seller does NOT usually deal in reptiles; rather, he builds and sells custom cages. He claims that he's selling him because he moved to a smaller place, and simply doesn't have the room for all the herps.
Anyway, I guess I'm becoming more hesitant now that I haven't been around the snake in a few days (everything becomes a little more worrisome after you've committed to purchase). All in all, it was a great deal once I talked him down to $225 for both the python and his beautiful custom cage, but still, if I end up with an ill-tempered, unhealthy animal, it's not worth it no matter what price I paid.
Thanks for any opinions or advice, I could use them!
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::i believe in joy > http://www.winds.org/nekomi/hope.html
::my homepage > http://www.winds.org/nekomi
My Growing Zoo:
1.0 Husband (Byron) ^_^
0.1 black cat (Shade)
0.1 rescued stray grey cat (Ghost)
0.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boa (Zia)
1.0 Leucistic Black Ratsnake (Houdini)
1.0 White-Lipped Python (Midas)
1.2 Panduro cichlids (A. panduro)
