Not sure yet. I’ve emailed the shelter a couple times and yesterday they finally got back to me to say that Ka’a is still with the vet and that they haven’t been given an update. I’m waiting with baited breath to hear how she’s doing though. I would assume given the length of time she’s been at the vet that they did end up having to go a surgical route to get the eggs out, and hopefully she is recovering, but I just don’t know yet. 
Some slightly better news, one of my brother’s other ball pythons that I’m caring for, an extremely hand-shy and defensive pinball, has finally let me hold her without striking. I’ve been working with her for almost a month now and yesterday was the first time she didn’t strike or draw blood! She’s still very nervous and almost any fast movement startles her, but she’s slowly getting there. It brings me so much joy to help her slowly come out of her fear and see that being handled isn’t something to be afraid of. My brother only ever handled her during his once a month feedings, so she just needs some positive experiences.
I built an opaque tub with a front opening acrylic door and I think that has also helped her calm down. She’s in my bedroom, so I often get to see her slithering about the cage when I get ready for bed. <3
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I hope your brother has the sense to give them to you
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Wonderful news~!
The Seattle Animal Shelter contacted me to let me know that Ka’a’s surgery was a success and she’s stable enough that they’re picking her up from the vet so she can finish recouperating with them! I’m almost in tears with joy.
They haven’t said if they’ll release her back to me or find her a new adoptive home, but either way, they have already done so much in saving her life and I will be eternally grateful. I hope if nothing else, this can remind all of us how important local animal shelters and rescue/charity organisations are. Soon as I get a job again, I want to give them a donation, that’s for sure!
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I hope so too. It’s heartbreaking to see how little passion or time he has for his whole snake collection. It’s easy for me to judge him, what with being single and not having kids or a family to support. I think he’s going through kind of a dark place in his life right now, and if I can help keep these ball pythons from suffering from the fallout, then I’ll be happy with that.
I would be delighted to keep them, but that will be up to him.
However, if he doesn’t specifically DEMAND them back, I’ll keep them as long as I can. They’re all starting to look so much healthier. Even little Lopez is starting to approach a healthy weight, and I see him out and about exploring his cage most nights, which is so encouraging.
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Further update: I am still waiting to hear back from the Seattle Animal Shelter if they have decided if Ka’a will be released back to me or if she will be adopted out to a new family. I emailed them today to get an update on her recovery and how she’s doing post-surgery, now that she’s been back at the shelter for a full week.
As for my brother’s four other snakes that I’m taking care of, I realised I forgot a VERY OBVIOUS thing to do, weigh them! I’ve had Tuna and Butters for two months now, and Pinball and Lopez for just over a month. I’m feeding them weekly and overall everyone seems to have adjusted well to their new home and feeding schedule. So here are pictures of them all on the scale.
It still makes me a bit annoyed to think how small/light they are given their ages.
Butters, a female butter ball python, currently 838 grams, estimated 6 years old.
Tuna, a female bumblebee ball python, currently 902 grams, estimated 6 years old.
Lopez, a male albino ball python, currently 887 grams, estimated 6-7 years old (has fathered two clutches, RIP to all the babies that never got to incubate.)
Pinball, a pinstripe ball python, currently 966 grams, estimate 4-5 years old.
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I just had to say this, but I also have a butter female named Butters 
I’m glad that the girl recovered though, hopefully she’ll find a good new home 
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Puns are just too good to pass up for names. She looks lovely!
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I have very good news.
While down feeding my brother’s snakes, for the third month in a row, I talked to my brother about the ball pythons.
He finally said that I could keep the ball pythons as long as I want, so I can say that the ball pythons are safe in staying with me!!!
I’m still waiting to hear from Seattle Animal Shelter about Ka’a, but this is great news.
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That’s great news! I’m so glad that you get to care for these ball pythons as it looks like you are doing your best to learn and give them the best possible life. As for your brother, I would continue to try and talk to him about the care of his snakes. Congrats on Ka’a’s recovery, I’d love to see an update photo of her if you can get one. Good luck with your new animals and the continued recovery of all of them
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Keep us posted haha I just read through the whole thread
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With the advent of my brother relinquishing the ball pythons to me indefinitely, I can get them up to weight and potentially breed them. I was excited to hear that when my brother bought Pinball, the pinstripe female, she was billed as being het albino. Should be very exciting to try proving that out and potentially hatching albino pins.
She’s still got a way to go before she’s up to weight, but it’s an encouraging goal to shoot for.
I’ve sent off another email to hopefully get an update on Ka’a. I’d love to hear how her recovery is going, and if they’ve come to a decision over whether she’ll come back to me or go on to a new family. My family all still thinks I’m ridiculous, but I am so glad that they saved her life.
Also, everyone meet Asclepius! He was finally big enough for the breeder to ship him. He’s a banana pastel pied, very excited to see what he might father in a year or two.
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Final update on Ka’a:
I had been instructed by one of the shelter staff to put in an application to adopt Ka’a, as they weren’t going to be able to simply relinquish her back to me. However, when I put in an application for adoption, they stated that they would not be able to adopt her to me, and the only option would be ‘reclamation’, which would mean I would have to pay for ALL of her medical costs, including her time at the shelter. Seeing as they informed me that would come to well over $2,000 (vs. the $15 adoption fee), that is well outside of my budget.
She has recovered from her surgery and is doing well at the shelter. All that is left is for some new family to adopt her and give her a wonderful home.
I am still so glad that the Seattle Animal Shelter was able to get her into surgery right away, removed the eggs that had begun to decay inside her, and saved her life.
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Glad to hear she is OK. Sorry you wont be getting her back, but all in all the ones you got from your brother are doing well and Ka’a will get a good new home so I would say it worked out really well.
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I’m glad to hear shes okay.
I think that’s kinda rubbish that they effectively told you; you want the snake back, pay the bill.
But at the end of the day, what’s important is that shes okay and she’ll find a good home. And that your okay with that.
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It’s alright. I was ready to give her up from the beginning, so long as she was able to get treatment. They were able to save her life and that will be something I will always be glad about. If she had of died on my watch from the egg binding I would have been devastated. And a small part of me hopes that this will get through to my brother that medical care is necessary when you decide to take care of an animal, regardless of whether it’s a mammal or not. I doubt it will, but I still hope it might.
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Yeah, it’s unfortunate, but I can understand their point of view as well. They likely are worried that if I relinquished the animal to their care because I couldn’t afford the vet bills, then what if something happened in the future? The only thing that felt a little hard to me was that I had another individual who worked at the shelter tell me to apply to adopt her, without mentioning that this might be a potential outcome. So it goes.
You’re right. I can come away from this journey knowing that she is alive and will eventually have a new, loving home. She’s a wonderful snake and deserves all the best.
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