Re: New obsoleta from Kentucky

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Posted by hotshot on September 19, 2002 at 09:34:42:

In Reply to: Re: New obsoleta from Kentucky posted by K.E. on September 19, 2002 at 06:52:56:

K.E.
Im glad to hear that the snake is doing good. I dont buy reptiles from pet stores for obvious reasons. We have one here in Elizabethtown that if you were to see the condition of their reptiles you would be very pissed. I talked to the owner about volunteering my time, at no cost to him, to get his reptiles straight. His answer was no, he didnt care about them and could make more money selling dog food!! He wasnt going to put anymore money in the reptiles and said the person in charge of the reptiles was doing just fine. I guess that is why half of the lizards dont have UV lighting, I found a green snake dead in its cage, the water bowls are all nasty and full of feces, etc. etc.
I have found that most pet stores dont care, and if they do care they just dont have the knowledge needed. There is only one pet store I will frequent here, it is in Radcliff, and is the only pet store in Radcliff. The owner really cares about her animals and tries to get things right.
As far as your snakes, you have some really kick @ss looking snakes. This last fall my wife said she saw a pretty good sized snake that was really light colored. She said it had markings like my black rat, but was really light colored. I was at work so I didnt get to see it. It was hanging out by the bird feeder, probably trying to get an easy meal. I looked for it all summer but never saw it. So I dont know if it was a lighter colored black rat or if it was a gray rat. My black rat has retained most of his patterns and colors, although he has gotten a little darker. A typical KY black rat. He is 13 months old and just measured at 38"!! He probably is going to be a pretty decent sized snake.
Brian

::K.E.
:: Have you seen the albino black rat snake they have, if it is still alive. Last summer I was in there and this thing had severe mouth rot and when I asked why it hadnt been treated, the answer I got floored me. The manager said he had been trying for some time to get it cleared up by scraping it out and applying hydrogen peroxide. This snakes head was all swollen up and it couldnt close its mouth all the way, and you could see all the infection all in its mouth. I felt so bad for the snake, but what can you do. I was talking to a local pet store owner here in Elizabethtown about the condition of the snake, I didnt mention the name of the store, but the person knew exactly which store I was talking about. Evidently more than one person has complained about the store to the city officials, but nothing has ever been done. On top of that, the price tag on the snake was $600. They are way overpriced and alot of the tanks were really nasty, so I havent been back since. Hope I havent offended you, but first impression is a lasting impression. Brian Baker

::::K.E.
:::: Hey you didnt get this guy from Pet's Palace in Louisville did you?
::::Brian Baker

:::::This guy was collected as a hatchling ten years ago along Dixie Highway in Jefferson county Kentucky. He has been living in a local pet shop until two weeks ago. He was marked at $3000.00, but I use to work there and worked out a deal with the owner. What do you guys think? Dwight, this is the founder animal I have been telling you about! K.E.

::::Yes, as a matter of fact I did. This snake came in when I worked there about ten years ago. I was a dumb kid back then, and bred it to an amelanistic female that was found in the same area a few years before. Last year I was able to get these double hets from the store, but the owner would not let go of the founder. This year I produced enough baby pythons to convince him to work a trade. On a side note, I bred those double hets and you should see what I got!! Anyhow, I now plan to breed that guy with a normal female so as to isolate his traits and bring out a new strain/mutation. Tell me what you think of the store. K.E.
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:::Brian, You have not offended me at all. I have the snake you are talking about and it is now in perfect health. The snake was a double het that I got from them a while back. When I got it it was in fine condition and even bred. That store has a problem with staffing. When things get bad stuff can fall through the cracks. It also sounds like there was somebody doing the wrong thing when treating, but probably did have good intentions. When I worked there I was so in to the herps that the owner expanded the collection and we had a ton of fun. When I quit and went to the zoo, I kind of left him hanging. I guess that his collection suffered because of my departure. I hear that since that time he has reduced his collection to a more managable size. First impressions can be bad, but so can second and third ones. I hope that if you go there again that things are better.
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