Albino Burm with a happy ending

[DavethePython]

Hey all , been away lots lately , riding season is here and I am out on my harley every chance I get . Today though I got my first ever encounter with a beautiful Burm . He is 8 to 9 feet and in awesome looking albino. Here is his story . Very tragic with a happy ending.

Long story short , he was found by Shawna in a near dead state after 6 months with no food or water in a Rubbermaid bin . Her and her boyfriend rescued him and brought him back to health. To both their credit they are not particularly fond of snakes . So after an amazing job of nursing him back to health they arranged to have the Vancouver aquarium take him into their collection . And as I am heading down there tomorrow I agreed to deliver him . Much less stress on the poor animal this way. He is so awesome. Just had him here a couple hours and I am already attached to him . So I can only imagine how Shawna feels . But they have done the right thing . Oscar will have a long and happy life in his new home with top quality care that he needs. Can't wait to go visit him .

[Snakefood]

He's a beaut Dave, and lucky to have you!!

[DavethePython]

thanks Snakefood , but I cannot take the credit . My friends did all the work. I am happy to be able to deliver him to the Vancouver Aquarium tomorrow though. They did the right thing. Perhaps if they had not sent him there I would keep him. But a deal has been done . Including that I and the others involved in this will get private visits with him hopefully . Lucky for you , you can go see him if you like as well.

[dave himself]

Nice looking burm and a big well done to your friends for rescuing him

[DavethePython]

Never had any experience with a Burm before . Never even seen one outside of TV . So it was pretty cool to be able to handle this big guy. Once I got over the initial nerves it was smooth sailing from there. Although he is aptly named Oscar the Grouch lol . His favorite hide was a trash bin and he like to throw some attitude around now and them lol.

[limey]

Stunning snake... albino burm's are gorgeous. That's a sad story indeed, but glad it ends well! Never handled a burm either, would love to though. Best wishes mate and good luck to Oscar in his new home.

[Snakefood]

thanks Snakefood , but I cannot take the credit . My friends did all the work. I am happy to be able to deliver him to the Vancouver Aquarium tomorrow though. They did the right thing. Perhaps if they had not sent him there I would keep him. But a deal has been done . Including that I and the others involved in this will get private visits with him hopefully . Lucky for you , you can go see him if you like as well.

I will go and take good pics of him for you so you can see he's doing well!!

[DavethePython]

Well we are here in Vancouver but nobody seems to know anything about him . Tries the zoo as well and they were no help. We are trying to reach the contact but unable too . We do not have his info yet , all we know is his name is Dave and he works with the reptiles , but where is anyone's guess . Looks like we may have to smuggle him into our hotel room tonight . What else can I do with him ? He needs to get to a water source soon , he has not had water in over 12 hours , and I do not know how long he should be able to go without water . Feeding wise he is good for at least another week , so no worries there.

[Snakefood]

that doesn't sound good at all!! hope the smuggling goes smoothly for you, I guess the bathroom is his temp home for tonight!!

Keep us updated

[DavethePython]

Well looks like we have a predicament. Appearantly there is nobody anywhere here in the lower mainland who is expecting this snake. We finally got through to our contact here and he has no knowledge of it either which makes no sense at all as our friends had his name and number . So it looks like we now have an albino burm. Problem is I can not get him back to Prince George until July 7th . If possible are there any forum members in the lower mainland who can house him until then ? All he will need is heat and one feeding which I will happily pay you for his food. If anyone can help please let me know ASAP . Thanks so much.

[Snakefood]

I personally cant as I have no enclosure big enough (unless you have one and I can talk hubby into it!!LOL??) but I know a guy, let me see if I can get ahold of him ASAP and I'll get back to you!!

[DavethePython]

I think we have a place in Chilliwack but of that falls through I will let you know. If need be I will provide a Rubbermaid large enough for him to spend 3 weeks in . Thanks , I just knew someone in this community would pull through . This site has the best people on it. I guess I am now the proud owner of an albino Burm .

[Snakefood]

I'm in langley and my buddy is in Abby, way closer than Chilliwack.

PM me your ph # and I may be able to get an answer for you tonight.

[DavethePython]

It is times like this I am even more great full for the good people here on this board.

[Reptilegal]

Awww!!! In the second pic his eyes look so sad! Like he's saying "why did I get abandoned? What did I do wrong? Didn't my owner love me??" :(
I'm soooooo glad he is being cared for and loved now

[DavethePython]

Since the plan for the aquarium fell apart it looks like I will be taking him home . I never thought I would be I into the giants but he is so awesome and gentle with just a little attitude thrown in . But any guy this size that lets you stroke his head has got to be a good friend right.

[Snakefood]

Awww you 2 will be a great match!!

[DavethePython]

I simply cannot believe how fast I attached to a snake I was so unsure about at one point. Oscar is just so cool , and this may sound dumb but you can see how gentle he is in his eyes. Don't get me wrong , I would never get over confident and let down my guard with him , but he really has expressive eyes. And while I was driving him to Vancouver I had him In a clear plastic container that I could keep an eye on him . His bin was seatbelted into the passenger seat because I have heated seats in the front of my car so I did not need to worry about a heat source for him . What was really cool was when I talked to him , he would poke his head up to the lid looking at me like he was listening to me . None of my other snakes seem to do that lol. It is lime he knows he is on for a better life now.

[DavethePython]

Oscar is home and looking no worse for wear after a long 72 hours or so of traveling back and forth.

[Norm66]

I just read this and honestly from the first post I was thinking you should take him in yourself. LOL. I'm glad it worked out for him and you because you will really enjoy him.

Congratulations on your new adoptee!

[DavethePython]

Well I think I would have taken him in but there was supposed to be a sale to the zoo. What it appears happened is someone made a side deal that fell through or so
Something because even the guy our friends were corresponding with Claim not to know anything , yet we have his name and personal cell number . So our friends who did the right thing got screwed . But it all worked out. I have plans for Oscar to use him for education and shows etc. I am hoping that by taking him around to shows and stuff I can deter people from making uneducated choices when purchasing a snake by showing them what they are in for. If I can get to just one person and get them into something that are better prepared for then I have done some good. When he is finally too big for me to care for he will go to an approved facility of my choosing where he can live a long and happy life and still continue to show people what magnificent creatures they really are.

[limey]

Sounds like a happy ending to me.

[DavethePython]

Yeh it is . I am so excited to work with him and to show him ( I and when I can get the permits ) I really hope I can use him to educate people that Burms may bee cool when they are small but they get really big and may not be the right snake for them . I do not want to see any more stories like oscars .