Checkout routine for new snakes

[tradernick]

I found a guy on craigslist moving from the area and trying to find a home for his 2 Ball Pythons. He was out of time and decided to give them to me free, along with the viv he kept them in. I couldn't help myself :crazy02: They look ok to my noobie eyes but I want to ask everyone here what I need to do to check the new additions out, healthwise. I've looked at the eyes for mites, and can look again when I handle them in a day or two (I want them to settle in before I try to do anything with them).
They're supposedly a male and female that have always been kept together. I don't know if they were siblings or not. One is about 4 feet long, the other is closer to 3 ft. He did mention that they were the same size when they were younger, but that one grew more. They've been fed live, which I don't like...how likely are they to be willing to switch to f/t? Also, what else do I need to look for, as far as health problems? I've got them in a separate room, away from my corns, though they're just in the next room.

I'd appreciate any info...do you guys have a checklist or routine when you get a new animal?

Nick

[bitsy]

This is my personal checklist (although I may have missed stuff):

1a) Check the living enclosure. Any sign of mites and I'm out of there like a rocket, disinfecting myself and my clothes as I go.

1b) Are there signs of poor husbandry e.g. dirty water, bits of shed skin (incomplete shedding), uncleaned poop etc. Not necessarily a warning not to buy, just an indicator of potential issues.

2) Attitude - Is it alert? Is it using its tongue? Does it move round when picked up? What's the muscle tone like? If it just sits in my hands looking limp, and not bothered, then I take that as a bad sign. It's worse than acting stressed (which I think is pretty normal when being handled by a stranger).

3) Check the snake - Mouth fully closed, nostrils clean and no discharge, no clicks or hisses as it breathes, eyes not sunken in, not over/underweight, cloaca clean, no bits of unshed skin, no kinks or lumps and bumps on spine or ribs, moves around normally, no mites anywhere. Again, mites would be an immediate "drop and run". The rest wouldn't necessarily indicate not to buy, although the breathing noises could potentially result in a hefty vet bill for a respiratory infection on top of the purchase price.

4) Is it what it's being sold as? Don't get carried away. Take a step back - is a "Cinder" Corn actually an Anery A? Is a "Hypo" a nice Normal? Is a "Blizzard" a Snow? Ask the owner a few questions - you should be able to work out whether they actually know what they're talking about or whether they're just guessing. Pay what the snake is worth to you.

5) Be realistic. If it's being sold as a hybrid, then it is. No amount of wishful thinking will prove otherwise. If it's a female Corn over the age of 8 years, then she's probably past her prime breeding age if that's what you're looking for.

6) Once I'm happy with all the above, I choose on temperament. For me, a calm, alert, handleable snake with slightly wonky markings, beats a perfectly-marked snake with a vile character. That won't apply to everyone though - some folks are comfortable handling herps from Hades, and major breeders won't want to handle them that much anyway.

[tradernick]

Thanks Bitsy, I appreciate the response. I'll check all those things right away. I haven't handled them yet but will probably try tonight or tomorrow and I can assess them better at that time. So far I've noted that there's no obvious mites though I can look closer when I handle them. I know enough to quarantine them away from my corns, of course. I don't know if I'll keep these...I only took them because the guy had to find a home for them...the fact that they were free helped too. It'll be good experience for me to work with them and I can decide later whether or not to keep them.

Nick