Rescue Burm

BurmBaroness · 02-21-03, 07:11 PM

Just thought I'd share this, so that young people who feel they are ready for a snake, expecially a large one, might see what happens as life changes. My friend's brother has a friend, who is 18. A couple of months ago, he bought a baby albino burm, thinking he would be able to handle it, and keep this animal for the extent of it's natural life. Then, in the last couple of weeks, he lost his job, found out his wife is pregnant, then got evicted from his apartment. Now they are living with his parents, who said NO to the burm. He told my friend, who called me, and I picked it up ealrier this evening. The snake has been well cared-for, which is good, as it's not sick, dehydrated, or underweight. This is a tragedy, though, because when you are young, especially, life can change very quickly, so if you are considering owning a pet, especially a large snake, let this be an example of just what can happen in a few weeks time. With so many burms in rescue, that should be the first place a prospective owner should look. If you are a kid, even with parental consent, they will probably not let you adopt a large boid. THIS IS WHY. That should be another light bulb going off in your head that maybe you should reconsider a large boid. They are not easy to handle, after 6 ft should not, and probably cannot be handled alone, expensive to feed and house, and require alot of time and work. OK, sorry this is so long, I just had to get that off my chest.

Weather1 · 02-21-03, 08:21 PM

Great post. I hope many people take your advice

Tim_Cranwill · 02-21-03, 08:24 PM

Well, that's all very true and valid, but what lesson is there to learn? Don't get girls pregnent and get evicted if you own a large snake????

Like you stated, the snake was well cared for and is in good health. It sounds like the guy had things under control.

Anyway, just wondered what ANYONE, what ever their age can do to prevent a situation like this.

Best of luck to you and the burm.

The_Omen · 02-22-03, 01:37 PM

It means just what I said in another post.

Get yourself established in life FIRST!

Tim_Cranwill · 02-22-03, 01:40 PM

Ok, give me some notice next time you're about to run into some unexpected trouble in life.

Andy · 02-22-03, 01:41 PM

I truely hope you dont believe that a snake cant and shouldnt be handled alone if it is 6 ft. long.

BurmBaroness · 02-22-03, 02:42 PM

I am saying that after 6ft or so , it is NOT a good idea to handle a large boid when you are alone. If for some reason the snake decides to rough you up a bit, or is holding on to you in a position that you cannot unwrap alone, who is going to help you if you are the only one there?
I would think that would be common sense......

The_Omen · 02-22-03, 02:54 PM

Quote:

Ok, give me some notice next time you're about to run into some unexpected trouble in life

Play your cards right and you can eliminate 90% of the BS that life throws you without batting an eye.

For this kid, he was not established in his work as well as in a home.
If in a home, that ou have purchased, a LOT of things are needed for an eviction. Not just one missed payment.
For work, no excuse,
Jobs are every where and trust me, minimum wage is STILL better than ZERO wages. You may not like washing dishes at the local diner, but hey, it does pay more than sitting on the arse at home and going further into debt.

He may not get rich on a minimum wage job, but with he and his girl working, they may have been able to eek along.

Apparently, there are a few here that cannot possibly open their eyes and forsee things that can happen.

That's where experience comes in.
If anyone has a question to ask, ask away.
They will get a no BS answer from me.
When the young either fail to ask about things to those with better life experiences, or ask and totally ignore such advice, they are destined to one or two things.

A hard time at succeeding or a too proud to admit defeated status.

Human pride really gets in the way of many things.
Don't let pride interfere with another animals life.

The end.

Pythonian · 02-22-03, 02:55 PM

I don't own any big snakes (blood and a ball) but i would agree with burm baroness i have been around snakes long enough to know what they can do ... if you pissed off a snake that is 7 feet long.. there is a good chance ur gonna be in a lot of pain.

Mike

The_Omen · 02-22-03, 03:15 PM

for the handling of large boids after the 6 feet mark is attained.
The recomendations that no constrictor should be handled alone (afetr 8 feet long) is a very valid one.
Some will say that a 6 footer can be handled alone easily. In some cases, yes.
But if you look at everyone around you, you will see that not everyone is an Adonis or an Amazonian.
Some people are smaller statured than others, so the 6 feet suggestion is a good buffer for everyone.

An example, a few years ago, a fire crew sawed the head off a burm that was constricting it's owner, killing the snake with a hack saw.

Why?

Because all the strong MEN were not strong enough to uncoil the snake.
Do you think YOU would be able to unwrap a six footer from around your neck or torso before blacking out?

Remember, snakes are a LOT stronger than they appear and can crush you by accident without even realizing they are doing it.
Their strength is not always evident due to the lack of limbs, meaning tools of leverage that we humans possess, but they are more muscular pound for pound than we are.

just food for thought.

marisa · 02-22-03, 04:44 PM

Hey even my 4 foot corn can turn my hand purple if it wants, and it has. I can't imagine two more feet in length of snake, plus like so much extra girth wrapping around me. It would be scary if I was alone.

Marisa

Lisa · 02-23-03, 04:08 AM

Actually getting a minimum wage job can be tough. I tried when I was out of work, places paying minimum wage wouldn't even consider me because they knew (and i knew) that as soon as i got a better offer i'd be gone. They don't want to spend time training you (and paying you) when you're just going to bail on them, leaving them in the lurch.

bbkaren · 02-24-03, 08:49 PM

I don't know about other areas, but here in NJ unemployment is $475 a week, why go back to work (esp. for minimum wage)? Seems like he shoulda had plenty of time to take care of the snake lol

And there's really very little excuse for an unexpected pregnancy in this day and age--plus (again I don't know if it's true in all areas, but here in NJ) it takes at least 3 months to get evicted from anywhere, by law. No surprises there on either count. Immature people are almost amusing, they way they're always "shocked" that these things "keep happening" to them.

To mess up that bad, you gotta really put effort into it. It's all about cutting corners and pushing your luck...so in my estimation the end result is he probably would've started cutting corners with the snake too so it's just as well the animal has been put somewhere safe. Anyone can take good care of a snake for a few months. I'd cringe to see the shape that snake'd be in in a few YEARS.

(Ah, and the guy's married at 18. Now that's maturity--There's not another baby involved, is there by chance? Just a stab in the dark.)

Actually I think having kids should be a prerequisite: you're ready for a snake after you've raised a couple kids--you've sacrificed and persevered through the worst--so you're used to making concessions (Not the least of which is being bitten and pooped on!) for another living being. Compared to kids, a snake is cake.

lol not sure where I was going with that--time for my ritalin I guess.