The BP rescue story - Where Responsible Reptile Keepers Connect!

PythonGirl · #1 (**permalink**) 04-16-2008, 06:42 PM

So when Dustin and I first got together he bought our first BP Charlie, It was the first pet snake I had ever had. I got very into him and loved him. A couple weeks after we got charlie we went to Pet supplies plus or some various pet item and saw that they had a bp for sale. Dustin was concerned because they had her on cedar chips like you would keep corns on. After looking at the snake closer and holding her we noticed that on one of her eyes she had a crater like dent in it and on the other it almost looked like her cornea got ripped off. We asked the people at the store what happened and they said that in the 3 months they had her she only shed once. They said that skin got stuck on one of her eyes so they took packing tape and stuck it to her eye and tore it off... there go's the cornea. The eye with the crater in it they said got like that because her other eye got skin on it and she was trying to rub her eyes on her stone water dish, thats what presumably dented her eye. Dustin asked to talk to the store manager and told him that if they didn't take the steps to house the animals correctly we would go to the papers, to the news to anything we could to try and get them to go out of business, the BP was not the only animal they has kept in the wrong climate. Dustin was hesitant to get her because feeding a Blind snake could be harmful for obvious reasons. But me being the spoiled girl that I am, could not let the beautiful snake stay in those conditions. So we told them that we would pay $40 for her, they agreed. We took her to another pet store that has a very good reputation with reptiles. They told us me might be able to get her back to health with mineral oil baths 3 times a day for 15 mins at a time. We did and she can now see and is a very healthy happy girl. We have had her for almost 2 years now, after all that happened to her we lovingly named her faith.

PythonGirl · #2 (**permalink**) 04-16-2008, 06:45 PM

Ohh I forgot, when she first shed it was so thick dustin said it had to have been at least like 8 months worth of shed. It was comparable to leather.

pythonguy21 · #3 (**permalink**) 04-16-2008, 06:48 PM

it wasnt cedar chips it was repti bark the big chunks.

TammyJ · #4 (**permalink**) 04-16-2008, 07:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PythonGirl

So when Dustin and I first got together he bought our first BP Charlie, It was the first pet snake I had ever had. I got very into him and loved him. A couple weeks after we got charlie we went to Pet supplies plus or some various pet item and saw that they had a bp for sale. Dustin was concerned because they had her on cedar chips like you would keep corns on. After looking at the snake closer and holding her we noticed that on one of her eyes she had a crater like dent in it and on the other it almost looked like her cornea got ripped off. We asked the people at the store what happened and they said that in the 3 months they had her she only shed once. They said that skin got stuck on one of her eyes so they took packing tape and stuck it to her eye and tore it off... there go's the cornea. The eye with the crater in it they said got like that because her other eye got skin on it and she was trying to rub her eyes on her stone water dish, thats what presumably dented her eye. Dustin asked to talk to the store manager and told him that if they didn't take the steps to house the animals correctly we would go to the papers, to the news to anything we could to try and get them to go out of business, the BP was not the only animal they has kept in the wrong climate. Dustin was hesitant to get her because feeding a Blind snake could be harmful for obvious reasons. But me being the spoiled girl that I am, could not let the beautiful snake stay in those conditions. So we told them that we would pay $40 for her, they agreed. We took her to another pet store that has a very good reputation with reptiles. They told us me might be able to get her back to health with mineral oil baths 3 times a day for 15 mins at a time. We did and she can now see and is a very healthy happy girl. We have had her for almost 2 years now, after all that happened to her we lovingly named her faith.

I am glad this turned out OK for the snake. I would not keep corn snakes or any other snake on cedar chips at all, it's bad for them.:mellow:

PythonGirl · #5 (**permalink**) 04-16-2008, 07:24 PM

yea it was that reptibark stuff

owen · #6 (**permalink**) 04-16-2008, 10:09 PM

the dent was likely cus of low humidity. Good on yah for helping the poor thing out. Im glad shes good now

PythonGirl · #7 (**permalink**) 04-17-2008, 03:28 AM

lol yeah I love her I didn't know people could be so ignorent

froglegs · #8 (**permalink**) 04-17-2008, 03:54 AM

Good save ! Faith sounds like one happy snake! Its a good thing you guys went to this store and got her out of there!

Its so nice to know she doesnt have to sit there in that store and be so terribly treated anymore!

pythonguy21 · #9 (**permalink**) 04-17-2008, 04:02 AM

actually a vet told us that she probally wouldnt live much past 6 months after we had gotten her. due to the 8 layers of shed she had stuck on her, the stress, and the stress of being blind. we were also told that with the damage done to her eyes, 50% they would heal and a 50% chance the could fall out and become hollow sockets.

it took a year before she saw again, it was the most amazing day.

PythonGirl · #10 (**permalink**) 04-17-2008, 04:05 AM

Dustin was so dedicated and nurturing to her she would have never made it without him lol