New Member about to buy her first Corn: any and all beginner's advice appreciated!

Hahaha. Yes! Smigon is quite entertaining!

Remmy, how goes your snake search?
Something I have not seen mentioned yet, You might find an older snake through a rescue group. Or contact the reptile vet you will use and ask if there are any rescues or abandoned ones that they want to rehome. You can ask, and see/meet the animal before adopting to have an idea of it's temperament.. The fact that the snake ended up with a rescue group means someone cared enough to try to help it.

I have seen on my local Craigslist advertisements to take in reptiles (rescue) but I suspect they are just 'flipping' critters and maybe a bit sketchy. Or maybe trying to get baby snakes to feed to other reptiles.

My vet treats exotics and has both the animals and stories of people abandoning animals because they can't pay the bills, or bringing in an animal they find hurt, or hit . They often pay for the treatment, but don't/can't keep the animal.

I know when I'm ready, after Sebastian passes (my cat) I'll go see who they have.. One of the 'hospital pets is a three legged cat (Samantha) who has NO problems getting around: While waiting to be seen, a bag of dog food fell off a top shelf in the lobby - one of the girls looked up "Is Sam up there?" " No, she's asleep in the window" It was the expectation that she was up there, (6 feet off the ground with nothing nearby she could have climbed up on to get there) That amused me. I had not initially realized she was missing a back leg when I found her nearly on top of me asking for pettin's.

If it wasn't getting a snake across the border to Canada, I'd offer you one of my surprise clutch babies. (bloodred x Amel (lookatee?).

Originally Posted by nancyg

Remmy, how goes your snake search?
Something I have not seen mentioned yet, You might find an older snake through a rescue group. Or contact the reptile vet you will use and ask if there are any rescues or abandoned ones that they want to rehome. You can ask, and see/meet the animal before adopting to have an idea of it's temperament.. The fact that the snake ended up with a rescue group means someone cared enough to try to help it.

I don't advertise, but I do exactly this. I "rescue" corns that I either find on CL or through word of mouth corns that are living in bad conditions or are unwanted. I have returned one to a couple who were in bad financial and personal straits when they surrendered her to me, and I let them know when they were ready (the wife was sobbing that she had to let her baby go) to let me know. About 6 months later the husband emailed and offered to buy her back from me but I just gave her back to him, they were now in a better place to take care of their snake and I was glad to help.

I have seen on my local Craigslist advertisements to take in reptiles (rescue) but I suspect they are just 'flipping' critters and maybe a bit sketchy. Or maybe trying to get baby snakes to feed to other reptiles.
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Yes, there are "flippers" out there, they are the ones who say they will take ANYTHING. They provide no quarantine, usually house many animals together and sell them for a quick profit. These are the people to avoid because you don't know what you are getting. I carefully "screen" people I contact to see what the situation is that they are selling the animal for, and offer just a little less than what they ask. If they are serious about finding a better home they rarely say no, if they are flippers they just don't respond.

And buying for feeders? One of our members sold a package deal last year to a guy only to see her babies being fed to his other snake(s) on a website. I was horrified for her.

[quote=smigon;1678042]I don't advertise, but I do exactly this. I "rescue" corns that I either find on CL or through word of mouth corns that are living in bad conditions or are unwanted. I have returned one to a couple who were in bad financial and personal straits when they surrendered her to me, and I let them know when they were ready (the wife was sobbing that she had to let her baby go) to let me know. About 6 months later the husband emailed and offered to buy her back from me but I just gave her back to him, they were now in a better place to take care of their snake and I was glad to help.


It is really nice that you were willing to do this for someone. I know a lot of people who complain about rehoming pets, but sometimes things happen beyond your control, like an illness in the family, or a fire, or someone losing a job. I always think it is better to rehome an animal, than to keep it in bad conditions. It is nice to know that there are some people out there that are willing to help, and not instantly judge just because someone is going through a hard time. I'm sure the family is eternally grateful for your help. You're one of the good guys.