This post is going to be long & picture heavy, just a warning!
I will do my best to keep it in chronological order.
In May of 2012, My boyfriend at the time (yes, drama is involved) & I rescued a snake from one of my friends, who was pregnant and didn't want to mess with her. With my friend, she was in a wrapping paper rubbermaid, with eco earth, a used cat scratch post & her water in an Oak Farms icecream tub that had been roughly cut to fit inside the box. No hide, heat etc. Getting fed live in the tank. She was around 3 yrs old.
I bought $300 plus set up etc, an a large Exo Terra, aspen, hides, fake plants, UTH, thermostat, i.e. the fancy works.
However, my parents wouldn't let me have her, & his family (who won't even touch snakes) had agreed to it, so she lived with him.
He wouldn't let me put the plants in, or change out her tissue box when she soiled it. He refused to switch to f/t, etc etc (should have dumped him then, but love is blind)
Fast forward, December we split. Do to the circumstances, I don't acknowledge any of his attempts at communication.
*an aside: I became a ghost on this site, because I couldn't handle it emotionally with the below listed circumstances.
However, I babysat his 8 yr old brother, Matthew, a LOT & grew extremely close to him, & very close to their mother (Ms. Elizabeth), as well as to her parents.
I still regularly communicate with them, & visit when I can, as we consider each other family.
The last time I communicated with my ex, I requested he give me the snake, as I could claim ownership, & had a place I could keep her til I moved out. His mom has wanted me to have her since the get go. He declined & when I said I wanted to know she was cared for, became irate.
My ex took this August off of work, & went up to Colorado to fornicate with the girl he cheated on me with, so I have been able to visit his family more.
When he left, he fed her 3 live mice at once, & told his family they wouldn't need to check on her, Ms. Elizabeth even specifically asked if she would need her water changed out, & he said no.
I went over for dinner the 7th, & Ms. Elizabeth is taking advantage of his absence to clean his pit, so since it wasn't so 'lived in', I felt comfortable enough to go grab Gaia & bring her downstairs.
She had fouled her water, so I grabbed the bowl & poured it out.
When I went to clean & fill it, it took over an hour of soaking in warm water & Dawn to get the residue off. He hadn't even poured out the water in probably a year, just kept filling it.
The cage stank. He hadn't changed the shavings even once since we got her. Literally.
She has bite marks on her from him not watching during feedings; & according to Ms. Elizabeth, he has been feeding her about once a month (if that), an unknown number of mice at a time.
Her Under Tank Heater was not plugged in.
& I could see her individual vertebrae, she was so dehydrated & malnourished.
I was understandably upset.
I expressed my angst to Ms. Elizabeth, & when I got home, to my mother.
My mom's previous stance was that she likes snakes & will hold them, but didn't want one living in her house.
Frank, deliberate neglect pushed her over the edge, & she gave me permission to bring her home.
The 12th, I brought her home. The car ride (a friend was driving)
While cleaning the tank, I found at least 5 petrified snake eggs with tiny insects crawling all over them & out into her tank. The tank background was so stinky, even after cleaning it I had to throw it out.There was also a shattered shed.
Here is her tank at the moment, It will be moved away from the window onto its own stand, once I can get a stand. it is not negatively affected her temps.
Here she is the day after I brought her home (8-13-2013).
She was already looking a lot more plush, I think she soaked all night.
8-14-13 I woke up to her curiously checking out her entire enclosure, and her shavings tunneled just like she used to enjoy. I think at his place it was so filthy, and she was neglected enough, she didn't move much.
She also shed ~ 1 & 1/2' unbroken, I had to finish the shed on the last 2" of her tail.
Here is her very first f/t meal, she behaved like she has never known live.
Yum YUM!!
Digestion time!!!
And I was really excited when I found her checking out her hammock!
I took her to the vet, she has slight scale rot, luckily nothing else except malnutrition. Going to scrub with chlorhexidine, & feed her an appropriately sized f/t the day after she passes her previous meal, until she reaches appropriate body condition.
The pictures don't really show how skinny she is, the vet was shocked.
As of 8-20-2013, she was ~50" & 390 grams.
My baby will never EVER be neglected again.
I will do my best to keep it in chronological order.
In May of 2012, My boyfriend at the time (yes, drama is involved) & I rescued a snake from one of my friends, who was pregnant and didn't want to mess with her. With my friend, she was in a wrapping paper rubbermaid, with eco earth, a used cat scratch post & her water in an Oak Farms icecream tub that had been roughly cut to fit inside the box. No hide, heat etc. Getting fed live in the tank. She was around 3 yrs old.
I bought $300 plus set up etc, an a large Exo Terra, aspen, hides, fake plants, UTH, thermostat, i.e. the fancy works.
However, my parents wouldn't let me have her, & his family (who won't even touch snakes) had agreed to it, so she lived with him.
He wouldn't let me put the plants in, or change out her tissue box when she soiled it. He refused to switch to f/t, etc etc (should have dumped him then, but love is blind)
Fast forward, December we split. Do to the circumstances, I don't acknowledge any of his attempts at communication.
*an aside: I became a ghost on this site, because I couldn't handle it emotionally with the below listed circumstances.
However, I babysat his 8 yr old brother, Matthew, a LOT & grew extremely close to him, & very close to their mother (Ms. Elizabeth), as well as to her parents.
I still regularly communicate with them, & visit when I can, as we consider each other family.
The last time I communicated with my ex, I requested he give me the snake, as I could claim ownership, & had a place I could keep her til I moved out. His mom has wanted me to have her since the get go. He declined & when I said I wanted to know she was cared for, became irate.
My ex took this August off of work, & went up to Colorado to fornicate with the girl he cheated on me with, so I have been able to visit his family more.
When he left, he fed her 3 live mice at once, & told his family they wouldn't need to check on her, Ms. Elizabeth even specifically asked if she would need her water changed out, & he said no.
I went over for dinner the 7th, & Ms. Elizabeth is taking advantage of his absence to clean his pit, so since it wasn't so 'lived in', I felt comfortable enough to go grab Gaia & bring her downstairs.
She had fouled her water, so I grabbed the bowl & poured it out.
When I went to clean & fill it, it took over an hour of soaking in warm water & Dawn to get the residue off. He hadn't even poured out the water in probably a year, just kept filling it.
The cage stank. He hadn't changed the shavings even once since we got her. Literally.
She has bite marks on her from him not watching during feedings; & according to Ms. Elizabeth, he has been feeding her about once a month (if that), an unknown number of mice at a time.
Her Under Tank Heater was not plugged in.
& I could see her individual vertebrae, she was so dehydrated & malnourished.
I was understandably upset.
I expressed my angst to Ms. Elizabeth, & when I got home, to my mother.
My mom's previous stance was that she likes snakes & will hold them, but didn't want one living in her house.
Frank, deliberate neglect pushed her over the edge, & she gave me permission to bring her home.
The 12th, I brought her home. The car ride (a friend was driving)
While cleaning the tank, I found at least 5 petrified snake eggs with tiny insects crawling all over them & out into her tank. The tank background was so stinky, even after cleaning it I had to throw it out.There was also a shattered shed.
Here is her tank at the moment, It will be moved away from the window onto its own stand, once I can get a stand. it is not negatively affected her temps.
Here she is the day after I brought her home (8-13-2013).
She was already looking a lot more plush, I think she soaked all night.
8-14-13 I woke up to her curiously checking out her entire enclosure, and her shavings tunneled just like she used to enjoy. I think at his place it was so filthy, and she was neglected enough, she didn't move much.
She also shed ~ 1 & 1/2' unbroken, I had to finish the shed on the last 2" of her tail.
Here is her very first f/t meal, she behaved like she has never known live.
Yum YUM!!
Digestion time!!!
And I was really excited when I found her checking out her hammock!
I took her to the vet, she has slight scale rot, luckily nothing else except malnutrition. Going to scrub with chlorhexidine, & feed her an appropriately sized f/t the day after she passes her previous meal, until she reaches appropriate body condition.
The pictures don't really show how skinny she is, the vet was shocked.
As of 8-20-2013, she was ~50" & 390 grams.
My baby will never EVER be neglected again.
.
