Ardith, I'm so sorry. I'm so glad however that you shared this and have
us to talk to and sort things out. I think the thing that grinds salt
into my would about this is the horrible, twisted message this father
is teaching his daughter. Some future we'll have with those teachings,
eh?

When my oldest son, Chet, was little he begged for a snake. Begged and
begged. I finally let him get one. We were not herp savvy and were
tricked into buying an import. Upon getting this poor creature, we had
vet bills for parasite treatments and pneumonia right off the bat. We
had to give Titan shots each day for six weeks. It was doubtful he'd
survive. He would not say so, but I"m sure as a little kid, Chet felt
like he had a defective product. He was ripped off in more ways than
one. He resisted saying what he knew was wrong. But he finally said
it, "Can we take it back". I welcomed this opportunity. What a life's
lesson he had. No, you cannot take him back. If you take him back he
will die slowly because that store does not care. Sean was defective
when he was born too. Did I have the thought of "can we take him back"?
Sure. It's only human. But you let that thought fleet in and right back
out of your mind, accept it with open arms, and move on.

He then passionately jumped into nursing Titan back to health. After
nights of lost sleep because he had to wipe the mucous out of his mouth
so he could breath, he began a long road ahead getting him to eat also.

Ball pythons can live over 30 years. Chet swore he "got that" as a kid.
I know he didn't. Once again, an opportunity for a lesson. Years past
and I'm sure he got tired of the food bills and work. But alas, he
has 15 more years to go. Snakes can be rehomed, they don't have the
emotional part of the brain that recognizes owners (most of the time).
That is not the issue. The issue is as long as he is a minor (he is
almost 19 now and still with Titan), the snake stays, he has to pay
for it ... he has to care for him. He'll remember impusle buying and
it's hardships for a very long time. But most important ... he learned
the word "commitment"

Wolfy

[Posted in FML 5729]