New Snakes . . .

They're pseudo-rescues from the daughter of a co-worker/boss of my sisters . . . (yes, that's accurate). She had to move to Japan with her husband and was unable to take the snakes with her. Not being able to afford them right now myself, I was asked by my sister (since I'm the crazy snake guy in the family) if I could house them for them until they/we can find someone to buy them.

Any insights would be great. I know the basic care of Balls and Boa's so the insight(s) that would be most helpful would be prices and what's up with the boa. They were kept in some sub-standard conditions as prior to leaving for Japan she had to move back in with her parents. Her mom was accepting of them, but dad was not. They've been hidden in a closet with no direct heat for a month or so. I think the boa has the start of some scale rot (scabby stuff on the neck that I caught in the picture). The ball is supposed to be 100% het Albino. I'm in contact via email to get more specifics, etc.

Anyway, they're 100% quarantined from the rest of my collection. The boa ate a f/t small rat today which was cool. The ball didn't want the offered mice. Oh well, big surprise huh?!

Thanks for looking,
D80

Ball Python:


Albino Boa:

Who would buy expensive snakes and not take care of them? :shrugs: That's like puttin a bumper sticker on a mercedes.

I don't understand how people buy ANY snake and not take care of it...

They are beautiful. I love the boa. Good luck with them!

That boa is INCREDIBLE.

I don't know anything about Boa's at all~ but the ball is a pretty little thing. Price kind of depends on sex~ and if you have paperwork it's a het. Too many scams have been pulled with het BPs in the last couple years so no one is going to buy a het without knowing who produced it and seeing the paperwork (well~ no one who has any idea what they are doing!). No paperwork and it might as well be a normal. Sorry.

Once you figure out what your going to call it for sale purposes (het if you have paperwork~ possible het if you don't I guess) then look on Fauna and KS at similiar ads~ the prices on Fauna will be closer to the price you will actually get~ but the prices on KS will give you an idea what your retail competition looks like.

Good luck!

I've had large boas before. The boa looks skinny to me, it should have more body mass overall. That's so sad, they're beautiful animals.

Who the freak just gives away an albino boa? Anywhoo thats not the point, both are gorgeous specimens and it looks like they just need a few sheds and fattening up.

With the royal, if you are having trouble feeding the first thing I would do is dip the mouses head in boiling water. That almost always works for me in getting a royal to strike feed instantly. If that doesn't work then try rats, or try fresh killed.

Another way to get royals to feed is to heat them up more than normal (keeping the relative humidity stable, you don't want to dry the cage out and heat it up incase you cause lung iritation which could lead to an RI). Up it to 95 or so, wait a week and offer a piping hot, dry prey item.

The boa is stunning, what a specimen. I don't know about average american prices but regardless of sex that boa would cost around £800 ($1600) in the UK as it's well grown on.

Albino boas price depends on sex and size here in the states but I've seen babies as low as $500. Ball pythons....$25. Sure it is supposed 'het' but try to sell that to the new owner!

They both look skinny. The boa should do fine if you get some food into it and some heat on it.

I'll trade you a few corns for it depending on the sex. You know my PM.

*Covets the Boa.....*

I personally think you got the short end of the stick if she wants you to feed & treat reptiles kept in poor condition so they can be sold for her profit. She obviously wasn't able / willing to sell them herself while they were sitting without heat in her closet... for a month or so!!

I've never seen scale rot personally, but here's some info I found online for you.

Info on Scale Rot:
Scale rot / Shell rot
This condition is more common in captive reptiles than wild reptiles. It is associated with poor hygiene conditions and a damp or cold cage. It is often seen in snakes, but can also be found in other reptile species.

It is usually associated with bacteria, but could also be from fungal infections. Animals usually show patches of ulceration, usually on their belly. It starts as a reddish brown area in terrestrial reptiles, which develops into extensive blisters that erode the animal’s scales. Turtles usually suffer shell erosion (usually of the plastron), which develops a yellowish exudate.

If the condition is detected early enough, improving the hygiene/temperature/humidity of the reptile’s enclosure will suffice. If the reptile has started to develop blisters, it will need to be seen by a vet.

Depending on the extent of the disease, the animal may require topical treatment with antiseptics or an antibiotic ointment. If it is severe, it will need systemic antibiotics.

Checkerbelly said:

Who would buy expensive snakes and not take care of them? That's like puttin a bumper sticker on a mercedes.

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Thanks, but not helpful or insightful . . . kinda obvious. There's not a creature on the planet that hasn't been mistreated by someone, somewhere, at sometime. I'm not about to admonish someone who's recognized they can't care for them properly and has worked at finding a solution. Besides, what do you have against bumper stickers?? I personally wouldn't buy a mercedes, more of a 4x4 truck guy.

Tula_Montage said:

Who the freak just gives away an albino boa?

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It's not a give-away . . . yet. :uhoh:

MohrSnakes said:

I'll trade you a few corns for it depending on the sex. You know my PM.

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I'll keep that in mind and open as an option even though my dream snake has been an albino boa even before they were first made.

Piper said:

I personally think you got the short end of the stick if she wants you to feed & treat reptiles kept in poor condition so they can be sold for her profit. She obviously wasn't able / willing to sell them herself while they were sitting without heat in her closet... for a month or so!!

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Yeah, but no. She's obviously not going to get what she paid (over $1500 for both), so technically there'd be no "profit" to speak of. Be assured that my feeding services aren't for free. She's already offered to reimburse for food, etc. Thank you very much for the info on the scale rot. That was one of my "To Do" list items for today (along with finishing my new hatchling rack). Sounds like a trip for some anti-bacterial cream at the least . . . non-pain relieving I know!

Thanks for the positive comments so far. Gonna be a minor adventure, but such is life. They're both supposed to be as docile as can be. Gonna let them settle in for a week or two with some TLC before pushing that envelope. I'm always wary around new, larger snakes.

D80

They are very nice looking snakes Brent,
Good Luck with them!

Does the boa have any questionable areas on the belly? Was the boa's enclosure wet? If not, I would lean away from scale rot and more to just stuck and icky shed.

Scale rot is pretty serious and for such a gorgeous snake, especially one it sounds like you would like to keep, a trip to the vet might be a good idea as we unfortunately are not the experts. =)

Congrats.... kind of. You're very lucky I have to say, but I can't believe anyone would treat a snake like that.
The boa doesn't seem to have scale rot, as stated before. Just looks like a bad shed... IMO
The ball python is very skinny but then Elle gave you advice on how to feed it so you don't need to be repeated. It has really nice color... not really normal-y and exactly like Spike.. I know I shouldn't but if it turns out to be a she and you don't want it by .... June or July... I'm here. lol

Anyway, good luck with both of them.

Drizzt80 said:

Thanks, but not helpful or insightful . . . kinda obvious. There's not a creature on the planet that hasn't been mistreated by someone, somewhere, at sometime. I'm not about to admonish someone who's recognized they can't care for them properly and has worked at finding a solution. Besides, what do you have against bumper stickers?? I personally wouldn't buy a mercedes, more of a 4x4 truck guy.

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Sorry. I didn't know your threads had rules about posting beyond the user agreement.

Well there's a kick in the nuts for you. Went in to my classroom to check on some eggs (which I did have) and poked my head into the quarantine room. The boa was all curled upon in the corner digesting. Good to see. Seemed happy with the temps getting up to 80 so far. Took the lid off the Ball's cage cause I noticed he was out of his hide. Funny thing is he was laying on his side curled up. Went to move him, lifeless. What?! Yep, dead. :shrugs:

There were two splotches of urates in the tub. Some "curdled" looking urates near the vent with a tiny splotch of blood. Best I can figure is he was cold far longer than a month in that closet and warmed too fast since I immediately placed him on heat. Problem is, I only had the temps up to 80F so far. I'm guessing he's not eaten in a while (as evidenced by people's comments on looking skinny) and the warmth turned his system on and shock overload. :shrugs: Thing is, just heard back from the owner, she did have papers from the breeder indicating the het Albino etc. Problem was, she didn't seem too heartbroken over the loss. One thing it does go to prove is my comments from a different thread regarding disposable pets . . . cost doesn't matter to disposable people. Period.

:shrugs:
D80

PS. The Albino is a male, and she said might be Coral Albino . . . not sure what that means as I'm not up to snuff on my Boa morphs.

That's a shame, hope the boa's story turns out better in the end, kudos for the rescues

diamondlil said:

That's a shame, hope the boa's story turns out better in the end, kudos for the rescues

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Thanks, me too.

Barring him being overcome with shock I guess there's the chance that he got injured on the drive to my classroom. I forgot that the mom who brought them to me still had the Ball in it's glass tank with a big glass bowl that still had it's water. He was pretty active (albeit cold) when they arrived. Could have gotten some trauma on the ride over I suppose. I don't know. :shrugs: Mom's not a snake person and probably didn't know any better to begin with. Just a bad situation all around.

What I do know is that this is only the second snake that I've had in my possession (even for two days) that has died. This one was completely unexpected, the first one was a stupid mistake on my part many years ago. Aaack.

D80

Sorry to hear that... I hope the boa is going to make it...

Oooh...sorry to hear the ball didn't make it. You are probably right; stress on many levels probably just more than the poor guy could bear. =( Not your fault, you were trying to help. Unfortunately all can not be saved. *hug*

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Boa does look a little coral-y...probably easier to tell in a shed or two. There's quite a few boa message boards frequently by folks who may know better than us. Get some photos after his shed and maybe post around a bit? =)