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Is this an Albino??

Taceas said:
And Holly, there really is definitely no need to get so defensive. Mary Beth and everyone else mean well, it just happens to be a passionate opinion different than yours. Which at least around here we embrace the ability to express ourselves like that. It's a luxury we enjoy compared to some "other" forums where the moderators tell you what you can and cannot say. That's what makes us different, we can agree to disagree most times.

I don't disagree that Mary Beth means well and is most definitely compassionate about snakes and losing them. As I have stated several times in my posts, my whole family is watching the power polls for lost pet signs and what-not. I am not just sitting back saying, "Finders keepers." I am NOT that kind of person. In my heart of hearts, yes, I would love to keep this snake and give it a good home. But even after spending the money I have to set up a nice viv for it, I would gladly give him back to his rightful owner should he/she go looking for it. I have stated that on my posts already. What I did disagree with is the extreme in which Mary went to critisize me for keeping this snake and going out of my way to give it a luxerious life. It was insinuated that she would hope if her daughter got away from her that because she is pretty, someone would keep her. That is when I got snippy or defensive. Being an animal lover and most importantly, a mother, I took offense to being called a thief. I would not take someone else's pet nor their child if I thought it was attractive. The put downs continued until I got snippy. I have no problem with freedom of speech and if someone has an opionion, share it with the world. But do not judge my morals or my charactor because you think I would keep the snake just because it was attractive. Stupid me thought it was just a yellow rat snake out soaking up some heat and I was going to relocate it until my brother freaked out over the phone telling me to NOT turn it loose that it must have been a pet someone dumped or it had escaped. He told me what I needed to do to give it a nice home and he said it sounded like an albino rat or corn. That is why I posted to begin with, I wanted to find out exactly what it was and get some more advice. Being ridaculed constantly and given a list of a cheaper way to keep the snake was absurd to say the least. Because I wanted to put the snake in a nice vivarium and make it a little fancier than some would do is not a crime. I did not want to get a plastic tub or a Walmart bowl. I set up a super nice viv that I would hope would make the snake comfortable. I am 37 not 12 and I can take critisism. If I were doing something wrong, I would hope everyone on this forum would yell, "No Holly! Don't feed the snake that!" Or, "NO! Don't put that kind of heat source on him!" But to be rudely critisized when she didn't know what measures I have taken or would take to make sure the snake was found was just plain wrong. I said at the very beginning that I would post a sign at the clubhouse. Every resident out here HAS to go to that clubhouse to pay our monthly association dues. So, they will all see the notice but like I said, no one out here has owned this snake. I will continue to look at the papers and signs out by the road. If the owner shows up, I want visitation :) if the owner doesn't, I will assume full resonsibility for the well being of this snake...


In the end, while I may not go all out and post flyers or ads in the local paper, I would at least glance at the Lost & Found for a month or so in case someone posts something. I know I'd like to think that if someone found my pet they would at least try a little bit to find me. I'm not going to look down on you if you don't do it either. We're all human and all have the same "finders-keepers" desires sometimes. But I know with me, I'd be guilty if I didn't make some attempt.

Misty, I would hope you wouldn't look down on me unless I came on here and blatantly said I would NOT look for the owner or said I was just going to turn it loose and hope that it survives the wild. Snakes are not dogs and do not go home after wandering the streets for a few days. Someone posted that if I hadn't taken the snake in, it might be back with it's owner by now. I highly doubt that seeing as though the people out here who have come in contact with snakes have killed them without even finding out if they are poisonous or not. That blows me away! I have told everyone out here that if they come across a snake, to PLEASE call me day or night and I will do my best to catch it and relocate it but to please not harm the snake. I have tried to educate them about the greatness of having our slithery friends out here to keep down rodent population and even some poisonous snake population.

Thank you for the advice about the stool sample and I will definitely get that book. It would be very interesting reading. This is the first morph snake I have come across so, I didn't know what it was, I just knew it looked like a yellow rat in the dark.
 
Sorry, I don't know how to separate the quotes like Dean does yet. Oops! I have to get the hang of this forum but you get the drift and can see where I was answering each quote... :shrugs:
 
There have been no local postings about a lost snake or exotic pet and we have looked.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Maybe the owner does not want to getthe community in an uproar.

I came on here and blatantly said I would NOT look for the owner
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What you just said is that if no flyers were seen youwuold keep it. So which one? I am confused.
 
Yep, it does sound like you are confused. Which part confuses you? The part where I said if I don't see any postings or ads, I would keep it? Or that I haven't seen any ads or postings? How would that that be confusing? Now, I am confused. If you are going to insert a quote of mine, please insert the WHOLE quote. I said, 'I would hope she wouldn't look down on me unless I came on here and blatantly said I would NOT look for the owner or said I was just going to turn it loose and hope that it survives the wild.' I have NOT stated that and in fact stated that we have been looking at lost pet signs and so forth and so far, there have been none about a lost snake or exotic pet being lost. Does that help out your confusion at all??
 
I've had snakes escape before (they were hatchlings though) that I never saw again.
While I'd be upset if I knew someone had found them and kept them, I still would prefer that to their having died in the wild (which was probably the case)
Is it the responsibility of the loser or the finder to post those ads? To me, the person who lost the snake should be the one doing the searching, but it's also nice if you find something, to make an effort. I have found and returned a wallet, a ring, and a huge key chain with master keys to a business. In all three cases the owners were so relieved to get their property back. A snake is a little harder, because as has been said there is a silly prejudice against them. Could belong to someone who is not supposed to have pets and doesn't want their landlord to know, so they are afraid to put up flyers? If it were me I'd put a couple of signs up and maybe let the local animal shelter know, since that's usually where people go when they are missing pets, then I'd be able to keep it with a clear conscience, but it sounds as if the snake is in a better situation now than if you had just left it in the parking lot. The snake you found is valuable, though :)
 
Hi Jen and yes, I would not be able to sleep at night if I had lost this baby. So, I will be watching those signs, as I've said. I would think that as big as this snake is and as obvious as it is that he has been hand reared, the owner would be just about shouting out with a bull horn that they had lost him and to please not harm him. I am hearing a lot that he is valuable. Since I don't know much about morphs, I wouldn't know. I wouldn't care if he is worth thousands though, I wouldn't sell him. He is a very gentle snake and perfect for my boys to enjoy and help raise if his owner isn't found. I guess we should change his name from Albino Billy to Butter Billy though huh? :rofl:
 
My idea

Okay, for the possibility that the snake owner does show up, my suggestion would be get a butter of the opposite sex, breed it and keep the eggs. ;) Then you get lots of butters and the owner has a choice of the snake back or a baby or two out of the clutch. hehehehe <please don't hurt me>
 
As far as "monetary value" goes, butter corns are really not a big deal anymore. A few years ago they were semi-rare but now the market has been saturated with them. They are selling for pretty much the same price as common morphs like snows, blizzards, ghosts, etc and SerpenCo was selling them for $50 last year. That one looks like an adult or subadult, so someone most likely paid more than $50 for it at the time, and also spent at least a year or two raising it. That is a lot more value than the price tag would ever reflect.

I would think if it were a beloved pet there would be signs all over the place. I think any reasonable person would make some effort to find the owner, and I have no reason to think that wasn't and isn't being done. IMO this thread has gone a bit overboard with people making assumptions and reading between the lines.

Just as an additional note, if the snake's owner is located, it would cost less to get another corn than was spent on the setup that was already bought. I'd be surprised if said setup remained empty for any length of time after Billy returned to his home. Most morphs are under $100, many of them under $50. The nice part for anyone who is just looking for a pretty snake is that the market values do not reflect their attractiveness nearly as much as they reflect how uncommon that particular morph is. :cheers:
 
Just a quick update... I haven't seen any signs anywhere, no one has posted at the clubhouse AND neither the Humane Society for this whole county nor Animal Control have received any calls about a missing snake. I did leave my number just in case the call does eventually come in...
 
I have been trying to be helpful with all of my posts in this thread.
I think some people may have read them with a tone that I did not intend to use. Try reading them again.
I even tried to make a joke in my last post in an attempt to lighten things up a bit.

Albino Billy, I am very upset about some of the things that you posted.
You have implied that I am a bad mother.
 
Snowfyre, I LOVE your idea! LOL! Baby Butters all over the place! :crazy02: And your bunny is just TOO cute!!!

Serpwidgets, you are correct! If his owner does show up, as much effort as I have put in to this viv, yep, I would be out trying to find myself another Billy or Betty... Hehehehehehe! You said yourself that they are addictive! Now I know why my brother's room was wall to wall snake aquariums! :)
 
Congrats on finding that beautiful butter! I'm sure with his light coloration, he would have been dead within days if you hadn't found him. Good save! Chances are someone released him. People do that all the time, with dogs and cats and birds and fish as well. Grrrrrrr.
If you haven't seen any postings, and no one has called into the humane society about him, I wouldn't worry about finding the owner. He's in good hands now, and I'm sure he's a content snake. It sounds like your taking good care of him. BTW, the UTH should cover 1/3 (I prefer) to 1/2 of underneath the tank, no more. I have Zoomed's and I get a size smaller than recommended because that has worked best temp wise for me. (Corns don't like it as warm as some other snakes.) There is lots of good advice on this forum, especially in the FAQ's.
Keep us posted!
 
Thanks Kimberly! I will have to go to a big pet store and check out all their heaters... I know nothing about them and need to look at a variety that the small pet shops don't offer. I do have to say that the guy who works at our local pet shop raises rat snakes and he has been a tremendous help as well. He thought Billy would be able to eat a small frozen (yes, properly thawed~ for anyone fixin to freak out on me) rat but he didn't like that, not one bit. So, he gave me frozen rat pups. He said he would keep a supply of frozen breeder mice for me so I can feed him once a week. I am learning so much from the helpful people on here and from him and my brother. He is chomping at the bit to see Billy. LOL! His new wife doesn't like snakes so, he hasn't had a pet snake in a longgggg time. That's sad :cry:
Oh well, now he will get to see this one when he comes down to visit. He told me I should not just feed him mice and he should get a variety and I should throw a tree frog in there every once in a while. Are you kidding me? I save the dern things and put them back outside when they accidentally get in my house. I couldn't feed one to Billy. Ewwww! :rofl:
 
No need to feed a captive bred snake anything other than mice or rats. If you start down the road with frogs and lizards (assuming Billy would eat one), it could be difficult to get them back on mice. It's best to get them started on mice (as babies) and to keep them on mice/rats.

Another good UTH that doesn't stick to the tank is an Ultratherm heat pad. They are the same thickness as heat tape but come in several sizes. They are laminated and have individual cords to plug in. Here's a link to the Bean Farm who carries them. We use these exclusively.

http://www.beanfarm.com/cgi-bin/sto...xt=8&ppinc=heat&exact_match=off&user4=Heating

Hope that helps.
 
Thanks so much for the link! Great prices on those things too! Wow! And you use these without any problems? I get nervous thinking about it because I don't want to over heat him. But he will move down to his cool side to that hide if he gets too warm right? This would be awesome because then I can keep him in my bedroom. I don't like the thought of moving him to another room in our condo because there are 5 of us living here and all the activity would just keep him in his hides. Now, Kimberly said she likes to cover about 1/3 of the bottom of the tank. So, I should just measure the tank length and order one for 1/3 of that, right ???
 
Another thing to consider is that alot of condo/apartment complex prohibit snakes. I would have been kicked out of my old apartment faster than I could even imagine if they saw what my 2nd bedroom was being used for ;) So posting a lost OR found flier could jeopardize a dwelling situation for both parties.

Joe makes a good point... its pretty hard for a snake that size to escape both an enclosure AND a condo. I am all for pets being returned to their families, but in this case, I think we can apply the "finders keepers" method. There could be a million "maybes" that could go into affect here as to why the owner isn't doing anywhere near as much as you are to recover this snake. Holly, its not fair for that person to lose a snake, but its also not fair for you to be the only one actively working towards finding said owner. Don't beat yourself up because of it. You're doing exactly what I would have done :)

The only thing I could suggest (and this is just because I hate newspaper) would be to pick up some aspen bedding. Nothing against newspaper or those who use it , but a) it sounds like Mr. Billy is in a sort of display enclosure and b) I'm sure he would enjoy the little slithery frolick. I know mine do.
 
Why would you feed the snake a frog when rats and mice are available? Are all pet store employess idiots?
 
There we go assuming again... I said, MY BROTHER suggested throwing one in every once in a while for variety. Maybe he is a snake geek, I don't know. I would certainly never call him an idiot. I do know that when he kept snakes, they were the healthiest and most docile snakes anyone had. He tried to let them eat what they would in the wild and didn't buy his snakes from stores. He bred them or caught them.
Do you have anything constructive to say at all?? :shrugs:
 
Is Aspen bedding like the Repti Bark? The guy at the pet store showed me some. It sure is pretty. Do the snakes really like that? My brother was explaining that if I get any kind of substrate like that, I will need to feed Billy in another area or take him out of his viv, lay some paper down and put him back in, then put the thawed and warmed mouse on the paper. That way he won't get any of the bark or loose substrate in his mouth. Then wait til the next day and take the paper out and he has his bark or whatever all nice and clean underneath. Sound good? Which is better, the Aspen or Repti Bark???
 
I'd rather use aspen. Its cheaper, and seems to work great with corns. Reptibark is ok also, but I just prefer to use aspen. Just make sure you do not use cedar or pine. I guess which one you pick is personal preference. If you do use a different substrate, then yes... feed outside of the enclosure. Ingesting substrate can lead to impaction, and it also gets the snake used to eating outside of his enclosure. That way, a hand reaching into the viv does not necessarily mean food ;) Using a paper towel isn't really necesary., That's just your brother's technique. I use plastic bins or deli cups as feeding containers. Place snake in container, thaw mouse, give mouse to snake, put snake back in viv.

I wouldn't even bother to feed him a frog. While variety can sometimes be good, I tend to vary between live and frozen only. In the wild, a snake the size of yours would probably stick to wild mice and rats. They are nutitionally fulfilling, readily available, and much cheaper as well. I'm sure a wild corn may eat a frog, but if given the choice, they'd turn to mice or rats first.
 
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