This brings up an interesting topic.
Let's say I go to a Ford dealer and buy a brand new Ford. When I get it home, it starts acting up a few days later, so I call the local Chevy dealer, describe the symptoms, and ask them what's wrong with my car.
I go to Sears and buy a new refrigerator, and a week or so later it begins to make a funny noise. So I get on the phone and call the local Maytag dealership and describe the symptoms to them and ask if they could offer some advice.
Or I buy a hamburger from McDonald's and when I get home, I find that it is smelling funny, so I take it to Hardy's to ask them if they would take a look at it.
So what's wrong with the above scenarios?
And are they similar to the situation in the first message in this thread? Here I have someone whom bought a snake from someone else, and instead of making sure they knew whom they bought it from and then contacting them about it, instead I am being asked to offer my time and effort to tell them what could possibly be wrong with an animal that they spent their money on from someone else.
Honestly folks, I really wish I could spread myself all over the planet and help everyone with their problems, but quite honestly, it just isn't possible. So I have to limit myself and draw lines in the sand to indicate where my responsibility ends, and someone else's begins. If someone wants to buy animals from someone at a show, then make sure you know how to contact them about a problem. If the person won't give you this information then strongly consider making your purchase elsewhere. If you have a problem, the person you BOUGHT it from is the one you should contact about it.
If the animals are purchased from some no name, bargain basement breeder because you can get them cheaper then buying from a well known breeder, then you have to bear the consequences if things go wrong for you. I provide a 30 day health guarantee for my animals, which also includes help with questions and guidance as necessary. Unfortunately, that does not cover animals purchased from someone else.
Sorry if this sounds like one of my infamous rants, but you would be astonished at the number of emails I get like this. Usually, however, they begin like "I bought this corn snake at a local pet shop..........."
Gregg, I am not picking on you in particular, it's just that I have had this happen time and time again, and now while I am sitting at the computer waiting for my frozen pinkies to warm up sufficiently so I can start feeding some babies, this seems an appropriate time and place to bring up something that has been bugging me for a long time.
In your particular case, I wouldn't worry about it right now. Could be any number of things. Wait until the animal sheds it's skin and then take a look at the belly. It could have been on some sort of substrate that stained the belly scales, or even the dampness of the substrate itself affected the coloration of the belly scutes. Keep it clean and dry and see if it clears up after the next shed.
Good luck!
