Adopt a BP???

[Will]

I have a 'friend-of-a-friend' who is looking to give away his BP becuse he is moving and can't take him with him. I said I was interested right away since I was looking to get a BP possibly next year anyways, but I was looking at possibly breeding a few. Now I have a few questions before I actulally take this guy in. I haven't actually talked to him directly, but these are concerns of mine I got talking to my friend about him.

First is the fact that he got him from a pet store and has no idea if he is CB or WC. He's had him "a while" now, and he eats regularly, and for the most part he says he's fairly well behaved. Does WC or CB matter now that he is 'broken in'...? Obviously he'll be in quarentine for a good 3 or 4+ months once I get him, since I have quite a few other snakes right now and I have no intention of getting them sick if he is also.

Next concern is his diet. He is being fed hamsters right now, and I assume that they are live(first thing I thought was 'Good Grief, think of the food bills, no wonder he can't keep him anymore). I would look to switch him over to f/t mice as soon as I get him. How difficult will this be, and how would I best do this...? Keep in mind, I don't have a hamster to use as scent, and have no desire to get one(I had one as a kid, and they are THE most annoying rodent to have as a pet). Are they fairly easy to switch over...?

Last is the fact that, to be blunt, this guy is a pot-head. Not that there's anything wrong with that in itself, but you can tell he is by talking to him, if you get what I mean. I have no idea if he partakes in this hobby in the same room as the snake, I assume he is though and frequently. Does anyone know if this will affect the snake in any way(ie R.I.)...? Not that a BP that constantly chuckles like Beavis and Butthead wouldn't be hilarious.

Last concern is his health. He says he's healthy, and ultimately I'll make that determination when I finally go see him. I don't want to take him in and find I have a mountain of vet bills staring at me. Anything to look for when I pay him a visit, besides the usual quick eyes, nose, mouth, scale, and mite checks...? If and when I get him he will be in a separtate tank, probably in a different house from the rest of my snakes for 3 months or more, just as a quarantine. I have no experience keeping BPs, just Cali Kings, but I was looking at getting one next year anyways, and I do have room for him. Any thoughts on this...? Should I go for it, or pass...?

[lilyskip]

I don't think the CB/WC thing matters if he's eating regularly and isn't nippy. The nippiness thing you will see for yourself when you visit, but I would ask your friend to write out some kind of general feeding record (I'm sure he hasn't kept this himself thus far, from the sound of it). If you don't have moral issues with WC (see the Colubrid forum for more than you ever wanted to know about WC) and all other things look healthy, then that shouldn't be a problem.

I don't think the pot smoking would be a problem if the snake doesn't have RI symptoms when you see it (would this guy be able to tell the symptoms?) I dunno, tobacco/doobie-smoking herpers might be able to give you more insight on that.

He feeds it HAMSTERS?! LIVE?!?! Jeebus, that sounds awful. I hated my hamster too, but I don't think I could ever feed Judah live to a snake. Anyway, that sounds like the biggest problem. Is it possible for you to tell your friend to start feeding it rats and see how it takes it? From what I gather, the switch from hamsters or gerbils to rats or mice is a LOT harder than a switch between mice and rats. That would be *my* biggest hesitation here. The switch (if possible) will probably be pretty costly, and I imagine would require the purchase of at least one hamster (dead, prob.) for scenting purposes. If you're willing to go in for that, though (or if i'm wrong on the difficulty...?) then the biggest thing is to see the snake itself...

[snakehunter]

if you find it is hard to switch, try freezing a hamster, and when feeding time comes snip a lock of hair off of the hamster and sprinkling some hairs on the mouse/rat

[Andy_G]

If he doesn't smoke around the herps, the herps won't be affective, if he smokes around the herps, the herps won't be too healthy.

[unknownclown]

Since Im going thru a far from wonderful ordeal with protozoans and bacterial infections here. I would highly suggest getting your new snake screened. I had no way of knowing by just looking at my snakes what was going on and I very well could lose a BP after all this.