Yesterday I got a call from the people we had bought our first 2 bearded dragons from last year. she said her son "had a python and wasn't taking care of it" and asked if i was interested in taking it for free, along with a gecko. her son is the one that was breading the bearded dragons, he had also worked in a reptile farm for a while. back in november when my mom picked up the bearded dragons, he had a lot of reptiles in racks in the basement. he was breeding them, selling them, etc. when i got there yesterday, his mom said they were cleaning the basement and found that many of the reptiles had actually starved to death. they threw out dozens of containers that had dried up geckos and bearded dragons in them.

anyway, i went to look at the python, and it turned out to be a skinny red tailed boa with a lot of loose folds of skin that doesn't looks like its had a meal in quite some time and doesn't seem to have had a good shed in a long time either.


heres the little guy that came home with me:

the poor guy was so hungry that as soon as you moved a finger in front of the tank, he would strike at it. it wasn't out of aggression either, if you reach your hand in the tank to pick him up, he wont show the slightest hint of being scared or aggressive.

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OMG, per little guy! At least he is in better hands now and you can bring him back to health.

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MARSHA
A man without a woman is a bachelor, A woman without a man is a genius!.

We have enough youth, how about a fountain of smart!

I hope that mom has a LONG LONG talk with her son about the animals in her house. Technically since they were in her house, she was responsible for the deaths of those animals as well.

Poor things.

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My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.

just looked in on him again and found that he has some bubbles coming from his mouth, not many, just a few small ones and not constantly, they only seem to come out once in a while. quite a bit more worried about him now.

going to schedule a vet appointment for him to be on the safe side. might have gotten a respiratory infection from the poor conditions he was in. he also crapped and it was a bit runny.

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yup, sounds like a respiratory infection. If he was in the basement without a lot of heat its a good chance he is sick.

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My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.

Grrrrr! And exactly where were the parents while this boy was doing all this?
Its time for every animal he has in his possession to be removed and rehomed!!
At least you got to the boa and can give it a chance to survive!
It sounds like you are looking at a respiratory infection as well as possible internal parasites. I would use unflavored pedialyte in the drinking water and a large tub for soaking to try to get that skin off.Then give it a rodent about half the size that you would normally use for a snake this size
And I would seriously consider calling animal control!

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

I fully agree on this. This family needs to have no animals in their possession.

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My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.

Ahh,, thats almost like my Patty that came i n here with the humongous herd, I got last year.

However,, yours looks like it still stands a chance. I would offer small food items only. I know it is tempting to feed it as much as it wants but that is not really what is good. Small food items will help get the animals sytem used to digesting food again. You also dont have as big a risk of regurging. It is much easier on the snake to start small and work your way up as it becomes healthier.

I would also see the vet and definately get some fluids into her, also get a vitamin shot. You will definately need to get antibiotics for the URI. For now as you are waiting to get in the vet, bump her temps slightly higher,, that will help her to start fighting off the URI. Also get a fecal to make sure of no more parasites.

Good for you for rescuing her!! Now she actually stands a chance!

Liz,, I agree with you,, it is your responsibility to make sure that all the animals your children have, are taken care of. I am now the new owner of hamsters that my kids have grown bored him, lol.

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I have sucker tattood on my forehead

Good luck with the snake. That family needs to be investigated if you ask me. How could they just stand by while this was going on? Why didn't they find homes before all those reptiles died? It just makes me angry.

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Just because you have an animal that isnt dead doesnt mean you know how to take care of it

Its like her kid got bored of theme and just left them to die. So sad.

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My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.