Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I posted an issue with the newest rescue yesterday. I did not get an e-mail back from the "ask the herp vet" but I called today and begged my regular herp vet to fit us in, and we went today.
Well, he informed us that the snake was in a horrible habitat prior to being dumped off at our rescue. He had what the vet reffered to as a "blister disease" which is caused by being in a very wet habitat, and very dirty habitat. The habitat they had him in was so dirty that his whole body was infected, and it was causing hemmoraging and a lot of swelling in his lower body and tail. The vet went to test the blood sample, and when the vet was gone, the poor python passed away right there in my hand.

The vet said that he was in a lot of pain, so maybe it was better, but it just makes me so mad that these people didn't take him to the vet, or even clean his habitat! They just abandoned him at a rescue in a cardboard box. I am just so pissed, poor little guy.
Thanks for everyones advice though. We do appreciate it.

I really do believe people should require a liscence to own a pet, whether its a dog, cat, snake or guppy. It sucks that you had to go through what you did, but always remember what a good and honorable thing it is that you do.
I would love to meet the piece of garbage that tortured that poor animal. He would never do that again. I'd also love to meet you, to shake your hand. Keep doing what you do.
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James.....
"Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought the beast back."

Thank you very much. It is unfortunate that this happened. I wish that they would have dropped him off earlier. Maybe we could have done something. That is the hardest thing about rescueing, you can't always save everyone. And you can't smack the previous owner. Which I would love to do.
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I know you mean it in a really good way, however, why should ALL the rest of us have to get licenses and have the government in our business just because one or a few people miss-treat their snakes?

Personally, I do not need or want some pinhead in Washington or in my State Capitals permission or approval to buy or sell my snakes. It is already illegal to abuse or mistreat animals... If the person who owned this snake already broke the existing animal abuse laws with reckless impunity, do you really think this person would suddenly have some huge epiphany just because all the rest of us had to have licenses for our snakes? Come on now...

These new laws you want so bad would only serve to allow the State or Federal government to regulate, tax and control the movements and rights of legitiment snale owners - nothing more.

Be careful when you give up freedoms so easily and ask for laws to "babysit" grown adults. We are all answerable to each other and most importantly to ourselves at the end of the day.

You're a fantastic person for trying to help that poor snake. We've got one rescue here that probably only shed a few eyecaps in his entire life (he's about 3 y/o), and as a result had one apparently puncture his eye and the fluid drained out of it a week ago... Now he's only got one eye, and we're still working diligently on getting some more caps off of the other side; it's such a process...

Keep on keepin' on, and know that the little guy was finally in the hands of someone who cared about him before he passed on.

Best,
Jaime
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2.1 Normal Ball Pythons ('04-Captain Jack; '05-BoBo; '05-Queen Latifa)
0.1 Buckskin Corn Snake ('06-Little Prince)
0.1 Bloodred Corn Snake ('07-Severin)
0.1 Okeetee Corn Snake ('07-Sophia)
1.0 Anery Corn Snake ('07-Ceth)
0.1 Albino Gopher Snake ('07-B***h)
1.1 Bearded Dragons (Blondie &&Louis)
2.0 Fancy Rats (Ho0dz, Donnie)

That's really sad, and I'm sorry it ended that way. But at least you were with him at the end -- whether or not they feel companionship, at least he wasn't alone in a cardboard box. My guess is these people took such crappy care of him that they saw how sick he was getting, and dumped him to avoid feeling guilty. I just don't get how hard it is to clean a cage and maintain proper temps. I find these animals to be far easier than cats and dogs...why is it so hard for some?

Thank you for trying to save him. I just wish there were more like you.
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~* Jen *~

Pink Lady Constrictors

That is terrible. I am very sorry to hear about that. I can't believe people can be so thoughtless.