This is why I despise most big box pet stores, they’ll sell someone a live animal and then tell them the absolute worst husbandry advice. No training, no actual research, nothing for these employees. If you’re lucky, they’ve hired someone with a passion for animals who actually knows what they’re talking about, but there’s no actual expert advice anywhere in those stores. Explains the severe dehydration and “cooked alive” appearance, it was basically sand roasted. I do hope it makes it, and that you can help this family be educated on how to properly care for their animal if it does. Even if not, I’d reach back out to help them. They had the right intentions but put their trust in the wrong folks who they should have been able to trust.
That said, sand is really good at conducting heat. If they truly only had the animal a week, I’d be worried that the skin sloughing is due to severe burns and the body desperately trying to heal itself.
@armiyana The store I worked at gave NO TRAINING in animal care at all. Period. They hired me so fast I didn’t even finish all videos I was supposed to watch. But NONE of them had anything to do with animals.
Honestly, if someone doesn’t know what temperatures are safe, I can’t really blame them. If they were told that this was a desert animal, they may have thought it was just fine. As easy as it is to question them, it’s just as easy to have compassion. This was likely the little girl’s first snake, they were going on what a source they trusted advised, they might not have even known what the snake’s appearance was signaling like we do. Remember, what is common sense to someone with experience isn’t to those just starting out.
They’re learning a very hard lesson right now about what happens when you don’t fully look into the care for an animal before purchasing. Is it an awful situation for that animal? Yes. Now think about the kid who is just finding out they might’ve severely hurt or possibly killed their pet, that’s a lot to deal with without us piling on.
Yes that is so true. I have such compassion for animals that I forget about the “human” aspect. Hopefully the owners will have the money to pay the vet bill for whatever the snake needs to recover if it’s not too late. This really could be devastating to the child as you said @noodlehaus
Needs to be hospitalized. Impossible that this happened within a week’s time, 0% chance. Honestly, letting an animal get to this point warrants criminal charges for animal neglect. No excuse for this, totally depraved.
Here in the UK pet shops are usually much better with care. For one of my local pet shops people working there have to train for a year and take an exam before they can actually start working and they have seperate workers for mammals fish and reptiles. They also keep track of feeding and wont sell any non feeding snakes. I bought a snake from there once and they even gave me his feeding record. IMO this should be the standard for all pet shops so it can help prevent the issue this poor snake is going through.
Looks like very high heat for extended time. The pad not controlled and with sand, would have made the sand very hot. Then add the lamp, it had to be well over 100 in there.
With the mouth open and body shape, I would say it won’t make it and probably already passed.
The mouth open is a sign of over heated and the skin definitely looks like it.
These conditions, it is very possible this happened in a week. Extream het, dehydrated, and I am guessing still in the same setup. There is no chance for survival, sorry to say.
Totally disagree. The snake is emaciated and dehydrated, that doesn’t happen in a week. Definitely happened over the course of months at the least. I’m even going to pull the ‘I am a veterinarian’ card here. No chance. Owners are afraid/ashamed to admit long-term neglect (virtually all of them) and will claim the issue has only happened within the last 1-2 weeks. Very very common. The owner is very unlikely to crack and tell the truth. That said, if the snake was truly purchased recently, (1) the seller was the one neglecting the snake and should be charged and (2) the owners are extremely stupid. It doesn’t take any education or familiarity with reptiles to see that the poor thing is dying. As said earlier:
If this is an indication that they are trying to say they bought this animal from Petco within the last week, that’s absolutely a lie. Even the worst Petcos won’t put annimals in that condition out front to sell, and the few I’ve been involved with do take sick animals to a vet.
Also disagree about being hopeless to treat. With aggressive treatment and hospitalization, there may be a chance. Given the situation and low the likelihood of receiving that kind of intensive care, then there’s no chance of survival. It sounds like relinquishing the snake to a rescue that can handle the costs of either treatment or euthanasia would be the way to go here, just as previously suggested. Just so the owners know- most veterinarians will euthanize-only for reduced costs or even for free. (So, no cremation- they would most likely have to take the remains home with them.) I would only go to a reptile veterinarian for euthanasia, most small animal or mixed animal veterinarians don’t know how to humanely euthanize reptile properly.
Dudes I can’t spell or adhere to basic grammar. Thus all the edits.
I’ve had a hard time even looking at those pictures of the snake…
I’ve also started writing on multiple occasions and erased it all.
Disgusting treatment and neglect as @mblaney wrote. How can anyone leave an animal in conditions like that. Watching an animal decline like that is criminal.
Tell me that they had no idea how to care for a snake with a ton of information available on the net. I’ve got a lot more I’d like to write but those words will only get me in trouble here.
Probably needs a new owner as well. People treat animals that aren’t cats or dogs like houseplants or something. Even birds and rodents. They just buy them, and take care of them based on assumptions.
Yea and some people will also get a snake thinking its “cool” and then neglect it and not gove it proper care. Its honestly sad and disgusting what some people can do to animals.
What the hell have they done!!!
If you can get it off them and get to a vet! I found they’re going to help it if they don’t even know what they’ve done to that poor baby!
Also not sure if they did this intentionally but the person in the picture is wearing a top saying are you alright while holding a snake on its way to death… IMO I think thats just disgusting
I’m pretty sure it’s a bands merch but definitely agree. I feel like common sense should’ve come into play here, no way they let it get this bad and didn’t think to do something about it.
