A snake is in my house!

[Happi Bun]

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Pet snake that is...

Introducing, Sage! Although the gender is unknown at this point, I'm just calling the baby a 'she' and gave a unisex name. Sage is an Amelanistic Corn Snake. I was holding some of the baby corn's at Petco. They were acting like most babies do; quite defensive. Then the employee plops this little one in my hands saying it's the calmest of the group. She was right! Sage was very content with human interaction.

I was then told she has mites. The employee even suggested not buying from them as all their snakes have them. I was in love though! She said Petco would pay for the vet care so I was pretty much sold. Even though I researched a lot in the past, even joined a corn snake forum back in 08, I had forgotten quite a bit. So I fell for a lot of misinformation from the employee while buying a set-up. I got it all fixed now thanks to the knowledgeable members at a popular corn snake forum.

This past Monday Sage went to the vet assigned by Petco. I recognized her name, she is well known and recommended for exotics. Her knowledge was very impressive, so that was good. I was concerned Petco would send me to some cheap idiot. She couldn't see any mites, but they are likely still there. So Sage got a shot of Ivermectin and will be getting a second one in two weeks.

Sage weighs 5 grams; so tiny tiny baby. The vet also mentioned her being thin, poor thing, she was only being fed once a week instead of the recommended twice a week for babies. I'm glad Petco is losing money on paying for my babies vet care, she obviously hasn't been cared for properly by them. I was able to get her to eat F/T on Tuesday without any problems.

 

[SnowyShiloh]

She is pretty! And wow, 5 grams? You should get a picture of her in your hand or next to a quarter or something. How long is she? I hope her personality isn't mellow because of her illness.

 

[Nela]

I LOVE cornsnakes. She's gorgeous. Hope she gets better soon. Congrats on your new addition :biggrin2:

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Awesome. If I remember my conversions right, that's a little more than a 6th of an ounce--very tiny.

 

[Happi Bun]

Thank you!

She is probably around 10 inches, give or take? Yes, very tiny. I will try get a comparison photo for ya. I honestly don't believe her great personality is due to being ill, though I could be wrong. The vet seemed to think she was healthy other than supposedly having mites and being underweight. She doesn't act lethargic or anything; just non-defensive.

She will still tell you off when she isn't enjoying something. I was giving her a look over today and gently restraining her. Oh boy, did I get cursed at in snake language. Her tail started rattling and she took a lovely dump right on my shirt. She has a great appetite so far. She is getting her second F/T tomorrow morning.

 

[Violet23]

Lol, Im glad you're enjoying have a great reptile in your place. She's so pretty! And what corn snake forum are you on, Im thinking of joining one myself (and maybe getting a corn snake in the future)

 

[DeniseJP]

Beautiful corn snake. I have one - not sure of the sex but he/she is mellow except when waking up from hibernation and then he/she hissed, turned into a rattler and was not afraid to strike. Once he/she was warm, he/she was much happier. His/her name is Scratch.

Enjoy your new snake!

Denise

 

[Happi Bun]

I'm never getting any kind of animal from a pet store again, not fish or anything. From now on I'm also going to try my hardest to not purchase supplies from stores that sell animals either. I'm done with their BS, ignorance, and poorly treated/ill animals.

Shiloh was right about her mellow personality being because she is ill. They lead us to believe she wasn't as sick as she truly was, according the to the vet. I had noticed she was acting very lethargic and just saying on the warm side all day and night. She literally would not move at all. I know I was doing everything right with her care, so it wasn't me. When I called Petco they said, 'Well she should be active during the day and have a UVB light because they aren't nocturnal.' I couldn't even believe they said that, do they know nothing? First of all, I replied that she isn't active at all, day or night. I would get up every hour and check with a flashlight. Also, Corns are for the most part nocturnal and do not require a UVB because of it. She also had diarrhea all over her cage and stopped drinking water. Petco said to bring her back or pay for the vet bills myself since the guarantee was expiring. Seriously? You play down how sick this snake is then expect me to pay for the bill? It would be seriously expensive because there aren't many reptile vets around close by. So with a heavy heart I returned her back to their care. Thankfully they use a knowledgeable vet.

Never again will I buy from a pet store.

 

[JadeIcing]

I don't know what to say. *hugs*

 

[Happi Bun]

Thanks Ali. I guess I shouldn't be surprised it turned out this way. Everywhere I read recommends avoiding pet stores. For some reason I thought it was different with reptiles? Why would it be... I learned my lesson and wont make it again.

 

[JadeIcing]

It's worse, look how they house cresties and leos. It is why I couldn't buy from a petstore and jumped when Ren joined the forum.

 

[Myia09]

I wish I would have seen this thread earlier.

Erika, Mites are serious. They can cause serious problems. The treatment can be "easy" but sometimes if you have a serious infection it is too late. Sometimes infection can get into the eye, causing blindless, and if the snake isn't well fed, it can cause internal problesm as well (lack of immune system)

It is hard sometimes when you see "the one" at a petstore, but yes, please I wouldn't reconmend you buying them from a store, especially petco. The fact he was so non chalant about mites (Which is probably from lack of cleaning cages) so hows ignorant they are. Why they would even sell her to you is unfathonable in my opinion.

I suggest a couple things. The fourms you belong to probably have a classified section, and try looking on there. Kingsnake.com also sells snakes. But corns are really cheap to come by..you might want to ses if there are any reptile expos in your area. I have seen corns for as cheap as $15 at expos, if you don't want to pay for shipping.

Sorry for your loss...I try not to buy anything besides litter and occasional toys.

 

[Happi Bun]

Thanks Myia. I know I was wondering where all the reptile peeps were after I posted this last week.Thankfully I had the common sense to get my Crestie Taji at a reptile expo last year. I have never had any problems with him, he's 54 grams of big and healthy. Not to mention the breeder/hobbyist he came from is an active member on one of top Crestie sites. When I first brought him home he had me worried because he was sleeping at the bottom of his enclosure. She knew he liked to do that and was able to ease my mind.

 

[Daenerys]

Are you on cornsnakes.com? I am a member on that forum and the people there are FANTASTIC so if you are looking to get another corn snake, definitely try and buy from one of the breeders on there and they can also let you know of any reptile shows in your area as most make the rounds to their local shows on a regular basis. I have 5 corn snakes myself, all from breeders on that forum, and I could not be happier with them