Irritated with ignorant owners

[heatwave]

Curious, how do you respond to people who have absolutely no idea what they are doing?

A friend send me a link to a man selling his corn snakes. He has 9 adults and sub adults living in a 100 gallon tank on pine shavings. When I texted him to ask him about the snakes, his response was that he had: "Rootbeer, butter, candy, butter snow morph, ocatree, ocatree rootbeer and normals"

He sent me a few pics. None of them are anything close to what he thinks they are. They are all skinny. Theyve had multiple clutches (of course). He feeds live every three weeks by chucking a box of mice into the tank.

He wants $500 for all of them. I dont have the money to help them but I am trying...carefully to educate what appears to be a very stubborn person.

Any help?

 

[airenlow]

Most of those people don't want to learn. Give it a solid effort and move on. You can't save em all...

 

[LMS68]

Is he selling everything he has or just 9 of many so he can just downsize & continue?

So yay, a backyard breeder type. I agree, nothing much you can do to teach a person that knows it all yet knows nothing really & does not want to learn.

Sad & yes incredibly frustrating.

 

[WestCoast_Redneck]

You wouldn't even want to imagine all the animals/reptiles living in similar atrocious conditions...... There should be a license to own an animal, in fact there should be a license to reproduce...Anything.

 

[Cronsnakes]

Something similar happened to me, i was just browsing craigslist looking for some corn snakes and then i came across a man who was selling 5 adult corn snakes and 9 juveniles i then asked him for some pictures for his snow and oketee and on the snow there was 4 juveniles and 1 was on top of the snow then one under it then between in then another on a log then a leopard gecko in the background. Then on the oketees he looked dryed out and was on a mossy log.. all in a 100 gallon

 

[Christen]

Something similar happened to me, i was just browsing craigslist looking for some corn snakes and then i came across a man who was selling 5 adult corn snakes and 9 juveniles i then asked him for some pictures for his snow and oketee and on the snow there was 4 juveniles and 1 was on top of the snow then one under it then between in then another on a log then a leopard gecko in the background. Then on the oketees he looked dryed out and was on a mossy log.. all in a 100 gallon

The gecko was in the tank with the snakes? I am surprised that it hadn't been eaten yet. Only a matter of time before it is.

 

[Alicia P]

I saw a doozy on CL the other day, someone was selling a blue iguana, 3 fire belly frogs and a hermit crab all in a 55 gallon tank. I don't really know anything about those creatures so I could be wrong, but I'd bet they all require different living conditions. SMH!!

It's unfortunate, but like Josh said give it your best shot and then move on.

 

[heatwave]

It ended up working pretty well. I chatted with him for a few hours and sent him lots of info. He said he really just wanted to keep his males so I suggested splitting the tank and finding new homes for the girls. Long story short I drove the 3.5 hours to where he was and helped him set the tank up for the two boys and gave him some UTHs aspen and hides and he let me take all the girls. I'm only way home with them now an I'll post pics when I get home.

 

[Justine66]

oh wow!
GOOD FOR YOU!
save those babies!!

 

[Tavia]

Wow, nice that the guy was willing to listen and accept help from you! Not to be a downer but do be sure to quarantine the new girls once you get them home. Can't wait to see pictures!

 

[Alicia P]

Yay, it's so cool that he was willing to listen and learn!!

 

[Cronsnakes]

The gecko was in the tank with the snakes? I am surprised that it hadn't been eaten yet. Only a matter of time before it is.

Yeah if i can get the pictures off my phone i'll post them

 

[heatwave]

Were all home. Had a heck of a time finding quarantine space since my quarantine rack is full of the kids I got from jessica yesterday. They ended up in my closet lmao

I'm going to post pics in just a few minutes!

 

[WingedSweetheart]

I've talked to someone who had their new baby snake in a 10 gallon with 3 heat lamps and a UTH on the side of the tank. All unregulated and wanted to know why his snake wouldn't eat and had problems shedding.....

My dad likes to brag about me keeping and breeding snakes. He thinks it's such a neat thing. So some of the people he works with also own a snake or two and ask him to ask me advice. He had one guy that wanted to know if it was normal that his snakes skin was coming off. I thought maybe he meant a bad shed flaking off but no. It was a regular shed. He owns a snake and doesn't know snakes shed???? Not really a dangerous situation but come on at least know a little bit about something before you buy it!

 

[LMS68]

Congrats with the new acquisitions! I'm really glad it went well. Can't wait to see the photos.

 

[Kaifyre]

I also find it hard to fathom how someone could just up and buy something (or several somethings) and have absolutely no clue as to how it is best cared for. Inexperience is one thing, something every person here has been through, but how can someone not think it is important to read, to ask, to learn about the creatures they own? Knowledge is what separates us from the monkeys, and with the veritable cornocopia of instant-access information out there I really think that owning something for more than a few days and still not having even the barest grasp on its most BASIC requirements is ..... I don't know, some sort of atrocity. I have not, nor will I ever state that I'm an expert in caring for x critter .... but I WILL say, as often as anyone will listen, that I AM an expert in LEARNING about said critter - one should always aspire to be as knowledgeable as possible about the things they own .... Or at least that's what I think : )
(I also think everyone has their own opinion, so feel free to share if you disagree!)

-- Kaifyre

 

[captainjack0000]

You can't fix stupid.
You can fix ignorance.

Many people just buy animals because they see them more as objects and less as living creatures.
Why should the care of that snake be any different than the care of that tea kettle? Oh yeah, this snake can leave if it isn't in a cage, so I'll stick in there and hope for the best.

 

[toxiclight]

Considering the inaccurate information often passed along by pet stores, it's not surprising to see a number of reptile keepers with their animals in less-than-stellar conditions. I guess some people think that if the pet store tells them this is how they need to keep their pets, then they don't need to investigate further.

I'm really glad this guy was willing to listen and gave you the snakes he wasn't interested in keeping (and improved the conditions of the ones he still has).

 

[AliCat37]

I also find it hard to fathom how someone could just up and buy something (or several somethings) and have absolutely no clue as to how it is best cared for. Inexperience is one thing, something every person here has been through, but how can someone not think it is important to read, to ask, to learn about the creatures they own?

Unfortunately it is so common. I see it every day at work. You would not believe the number of people who think they have wolf dogs, when in actuality the animal they have is a pure DOG. Also the number of people who buy wolf dogs thinking they are nearly all wolf, and in reality they are low to no content wolf. I have literally had people tell me that their Siberian huskies were pure timber wolves, these people obviously have never seen a wolf, or done any sort of research. They were sold something, told it was something else, and wind up with something totally opposite. 80% of wolf dogs get put down before their third birthday. At least with a snake or other reptile they might find a better home before they end up dead. But any way, point being, the world is full of ignorance, and people will believe what they want to and what thy hear. Like that it's okay to cohab your corns with each other and different types of snakes too.

 

[Joba]

Unfortunately it is so common. I see it every day at work. You would not believe the number of people who think they have wolf dogs, when in actuality the animal they have is a pure DOG. Also the number of people who buy wolf dogs thinking they are nearly all wolf, and in reality they are low to no content wolf. I have literally had people tell me that their Siberian huskies were pure timber wolves, these people obviously have never seen a wolf, or done any sort of research. They were sold something, told it was something else, and wind up with something totally opposite. 80% of wolf dogs get put down before their third birthday. At least with a snake or other reptile they might find a better home before they end up dead. But any way, point being, the world is full of ignorance, and people will believe what they want to and what thy hear. Like that it's okay to cohab your corns with each other and different types of snakes too.

Off topic alert!

Your post just reminded me of when a friend of mine, who lives in western Wisconsin, took me out to where he photographs wolves. He pulled over to the side of the road, got out and howled into the sky; and seconds later, the wolves would reply en mass! It was unreal; the hair on my neck stood on end to hear that. Then at one stop, we were parked on the side of a road, and a big male came trotting along on the other side of the road, crossed the road right across the front of our car, which we were standing OUTSIDE of! He simply looked at us as though we meant nothing to him (luckily!), and continued into the woods at a trot. That was one of the coolest experiences I've had. Thanks for spurring the memory!