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Reptile vet bills, commissions to cover them
11 years ago
So, this week I have my first reptile mishap. About a month ago I 'adopted' a young ball python from a pet store, it caught my eye since it was a unique color morph so I asked to see it. At first I did not think it was strange to see the price marked down so much, but immediately knew why once I had them in my hands. She/he was extremely underweight, shedding poorly, and all around in bad shape. I had taken in an underweight snake before and brought it back to health before rehoming before, but not one this thin. Regardless, I bought the snake that they were essentially trying to get rid of, and wasn't surprised when the feeding chart they gave me noted that the snake had only eaten four times since SEPTEMBER. They claimed that they had it since then, and it refused food. Well, what a load of crap.
I brought it home and set up a small temporary enclosure and let the thing settle for a day. The next, it eagerly ate. And then ate again a week later without fail. I let the snake soak in warm water often which took care of the bad shed stuck on and what seemed to be two layers of retained eye caps. She/he put on some weight, and was looking 100% better, until the next shed.
I fed the snake again on Tuesday night. Again, ate with no problems. Appropriate meals, even though it took a long time to eat. I gave it two fuzzies, and after the second one, I noticed something strange. Now the snake had begun to go into shed, and I fed it anyway due to the low body weight. It looked like something had bitten the snake. But this wasn't possible. On further inspection the skin had split in three places, one being a large centimeter long hole. I immediately cleaned the wounds, which weren't even bleeding, and disinfected the enclosure. I put the snake back for the time being to research the problem as it was not showing signs of pain nor bleeding. I found that most people with this problem keep the cuts clean with Betadine solution, and as long as they don't get infected they heal well.
The snake remained active and friendly which I thought was a good sign, though the cuts reddened. Yesterday I went to work and scheduled a vet visit on my break. Which was good, because when I returned home to retrieve the snake it had begun to bleed a little. The vet was nice and positive about the situation, gave the snake some fluids, antibiotic, and vitamins. The cause of the skin tear was past malnutrition. The most shocking part of the visit was when they weighed him/her. 97 grams. For a snake that was received at the pet store in september. And it had been eating for me for a month before that. It bothers me to think about how thin the poor thing was. The snake has been friendly and tolerant of the treatment thus far, still very active and curious without aggression from being poked at.
The vet said I was doing a good job, so I left with a special ointment to use on the sores and was instructed to resume care as I had been. I also left with a negative dent in the credit card I had just paid off. And there is another appointment on Monday. While the second visit will not be as much as the first was, I anticipate having trouble paying this off quickly, which is alarming considering I just began putting aside money to try and throw at my student loans that are now bloating with interest.
So, if anyone has wanted a commission from me, please let me know. I am willing to do almost anything. I care deeply for my reptiles and want nothing more than to give them the best care, even if it means a high vet bill. I wasn't advertising commissions because I am preparing for AC, but this is important. I can also deliver things at the convention.
Note me, comment, or email at nicsarf@gmail. I wont ask for handouts, that's not me at all.
Thanks for reading.
Edit:
Here are some pictures from the vet visit, I don't expect anyone to doubt me but I still want to put them here.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ifmh1n8a8.....h/IMAG0056.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/mblndfgwy.....v/IMAG0061.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/tkz68s7xb.....v/IMAG0058.jpg
I brought it home and set up a small temporary enclosure and let the thing settle for a day. The next, it eagerly ate. And then ate again a week later without fail. I let the snake soak in warm water often which took care of the bad shed stuck on and what seemed to be two layers of retained eye caps. She/he put on some weight, and was looking 100% better, until the next shed.
I fed the snake again on Tuesday night. Again, ate with no problems. Appropriate meals, even though it took a long time to eat. I gave it two fuzzies, and after the second one, I noticed something strange. Now the snake had begun to go into shed, and I fed it anyway due to the low body weight. It looked like something had bitten the snake. But this wasn't possible. On further inspection the skin had split in three places, one being a large centimeter long hole. I immediately cleaned the wounds, which weren't even bleeding, and disinfected the enclosure. I put the snake back for the time being to research the problem as it was not showing signs of pain nor bleeding. I found that most people with this problem keep the cuts clean with Betadine solution, and as long as they don't get infected they heal well.
The snake remained active and friendly which I thought was a good sign, though the cuts reddened. Yesterday I went to work and scheduled a vet visit on my break. Which was good, because when I returned home to retrieve the snake it had begun to bleed a little. The vet was nice and positive about the situation, gave the snake some fluids, antibiotic, and vitamins. The cause of the skin tear was past malnutrition. The most shocking part of the visit was when they weighed him/her. 97 grams. For a snake that was received at the pet store in september. And it had been eating for me for a month before that. It bothers me to think about how thin the poor thing was. The snake has been friendly and tolerant of the treatment thus far, still very active and curious without aggression from being poked at.
The vet said I was doing a good job, so I left with a special ointment to use on the sores and was instructed to resume care as I had been. I also left with a negative dent in the credit card I had just paid off. And there is another appointment on Monday. While the second visit will not be as much as the first was, I anticipate having trouble paying this off quickly, which is alarming considering I just began putting aside money to try and throw at my student loans that are now bloating with interest.
So, if anyone has wanted a commission from me, please let me know. I am willing to do almost anything. I care deeply for my reptiles and want nothing more than to give them the best care, even if it means a high vet bill. I wasn't advertising commissions because I am preparing for AC, but this is important. I can also deliver things at the convention.
Note me, comment, or email at nicsarf@gmail. I wont ask for handouts, that's not me at all.
Thanks for reading.
Edit:
Here are some pictures from the vet visit, I don't expect anyone to doubt me but I still want to put them here.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ifmh1n8a8.....h/IMAG0056.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/mblndfgwy.....v/IMAG0061.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/tkz68s7xb.....v/IMAG0058.jpg
I'm glad its eating ;;
Yeah, he/she is getting much better. Just needed the push of help from the vet. I'm glad I took the risk in buying it, this snake is super sweet. Even the vet's staff loved it.
You bring me pie. Now.