More to the point... the "joy" of buying ball pythons from unknown individuals at shows. In my best Paul Harvey voice -
And now, the REST of the story. About a month ago, I went to a local herp show. I bought a total of five ball pythons. The two I have already mentioned, and three granite het albino hatchling females. I also bought a couple of hatchling racks from the seller with the het albinos, and a hatchling rack from the seller with the two big girls. The seller that I bought the two normal females from had several others that were unsexed. I told him that I was interested in the females once they were sexed. I wandered off and bought the three albino hets. When I came back by, he said the others had mites and he pulled them off. He offered to refund my money, but I decided I could treat the mites, and kept the two snakes. I got them home, quarantined them, and treated with Provent-A-Mite. Meanwhile, the three het albinos began showing signs of bacterial infections. I took all three to the vet, and she started treatment with Baytril, Flavyl, and Ivomec. A week or so later, one was still not doing well, so I took her back to the vet, and we treated some more. Those three are finally doing better. Yesterday, I had decided that I was ending the quarantine, and would move the two big girls into my rack in the next week or so. There has been absolutely no sign of mites since the first day. Then last night happened. Guess what??? The quarantine is back in effect full force! I'm depending heavily on the two big girls this season. One is about 1500gms and the other is just over 2kg. I really, REALLY want to breed these girls this season! Five snakes from one show, as of Sunday, all five will have been to the dr, not for initial checkups, but to treat illnesses.
The moral of this story? If you buy snakes at a reptile show, take them to the vet for an initial checkup, and possibly preventative treatment! If they are purchased from someone you don't know, and isn't a mainstream breeder, don't even consider not taking them to the vet!!!! Chances are, you will anyway!
I have three shows to go to in the next three weeks, starting tomorrow. This won't stop me from purchasing, but if I do, I'll be making an appt to see the dr! (Besides, the dr is cute!)
I don't know if either of the sellers is on this list, but if they are, I've probably given enough information that they know who they are! I don't hold any grudges against the sellers. The guy that sold me the two big girls did offer a refund up front because of possible mite infestation. It is POSSIBLE that the other guy had no idea that the hatchlings were sick. If I see them at the show tomorrow, I'll mention it, but thats as far as it goes. Oh, I won't be buying any snakes from either of them!!!! Not a grudge, just "safe snakes".
Steve
. As for the stuck sheds, there are a couple things you can do. You can wet a pillow case, put the snake in it and tie it shut. Put this in a tub with or without some sort of heat source under one half and let the snake work the shed off for an hour or so. I'm led to believe this almost always works. If not, keep the humidity in the enclosure up and the snake should eventually work it all off. You can also help by gently peeling the loose edges you find. It's time consuming, yes, but it will all come off in time. Maybe some others here have more ideas. Good luck.
