Devastated. Advice would be much appreciated.

[mysnakesau]

Letting the seller/breeder know when one loses a snake or obtains a sick one, should be about halting further complications. Your dead or sick snake could be their first indication that something could be wrong in their collection. They can then quarantine all their collection until they are certain the threat has passed.

 

[Bel03]

Did the seller say much else? Did they have any ideas on what was wrong with it......surely it showed some kind of symptoms in his/her care if it only lasted another couple of days......:?

I realise that sometimes things happen & there isnt always really much of an explanation for it, but surely a sick snake would be showing symptoms before just dying......from what you have said here, you didnt 'cook it' or anything, so it just seems strange that the previous owner wouldnt have noticed something......

Im not having a go at anyone either by the way, im really curious to know how often things like this occur? Its just that i already worry enough about my pets without adding 'thoughts' that at anytime without warning they could just die! That is terrible!

 

[graffix]

It was sold to me as a fussy eater, but I was told it did eat and was otherwise healthy.

Maybe it's just me, but I would have taken this as a heads up this snake has issues and by agreeing to purchase it you accepted any risk associated with such problems.

"Fussy eaters" are always a sticky situation to get into, even for experienced keepers. While the majority of picky eaters can become great feeders it has to be accepted that some will also perish. Not one single "trick" to getting them to eat works for all animals, this is where experience and sound knowledge comes in.

IMO, fussy eater translates to buyer beware.

Having said that 2 days is rather sudden assuming all husbandry practices were correct.

 

[Bel03]

Maybe it's just me, but I would have taken this as a heads up this snake has issues and by agreeing to purchase it you accepted any risk associated with such problems.

"Fussy eaters" are always a sticky situation to get into, even for experienced keepers. While the majority of picky eaters can become great feeders it has to be accepted that some will also perish. Not one single "trick" to getting them to eat works for all animals, this is where experience and sound knowledge comes in.

IMO, fussy eater translates to buyer beware.

Having said that 2 days is rather sudden assuming all husbandry practices were correct.

Did the seller mention how long it hadnt eaten for?

 

[graffix]

Did the seller mention how long it hadnt eaten for?

Did the seller also say how he was offering food when it did and didn't eat, did they say exactly what it was eating. Was it tease fed or just left quietly to hunt for itself. How regularly was it actually eating? Was it offered food during daylight hours or at night. How far behind its siblings is it developmentally speaking. The list of questions goes on and on when accepting troubled feeders.

But as I said above, 2 days is still very quick.

 

[Bel03]

Did the seller also say how he was offering food when it did and didn't eat, did they say exactly what it was eating. Was it tease fed or just left quietly to hunt for itself. How regularly was it actually eating? Was it offered food during daylight hours or at night. How far behind its siblings is it developmentally speaking. The list of questions goes on and on when accepting troubled feeders.

But as I said above, 2 days is still very quick.

I agree with all you said, buying a problem feeder can be a big risk, however i am thinking the op was aware of that. I just wondered about when it last ate, as i find it hard to believe it died just 2days after purchase, showing no signs of something being seriously wrong beforehand (besides being a 'fussy eater')

 

[Iskaldur]

I definitely didn't ask enough of those questions. I think he said it was the previous weekend it had eaten... nothing to have me worried. But I didn't even get a chance to try anything since it died before i could even try feeding.

I guess I have learned a lesson, no more fussy eaters. Just kind of annoying that I had to pay for a lesson as my birthday present! Though it's not quite my birthday yet... perhaps I can find a well established feeder before then.

Thanks everyone for the responses.

 

[PythonLegs]

Any seller worth a damn would have provided you with the information you didn't ask about anyway...has the seller asked you anything? Seems a little too accepting for my liking.

You can go ahead and get rid of the dead snake, it's past the point of autopsy once it starts to stink.

 

[Hoplophile]

Note that in Victoria the Wildlife Regulations (see below) prohibit the sale of an animal that cannot feed itself. While it is a regular occurrence with buyers taking on the responsibility it is still an offence. They were drafted for this very reason.

12 Wildlife that is not self-sufficient​

(1) Unless specifically authorised by the Secretary a person must not—(a) buy, sell, dispose of, consign, convey or transport any wildlife that—(i) cannot feed itself; or(ii) if a flighted bird, is too young to fly, or if a flightless bird, is less than 4 weeks old; or(iii) if a mammal, is not fully weaned; or(iv) is obviously diseased or injured; or​

(v) is an egg.

 

[Iskaldur]

I agree that things seem a little suspicious, but I can't prove anything. No, he hasn't asked me anything.

I figured it was probably a bit late for an autopsy, but it is a good thing I kept it since he wanted pictures.


If the laws in Queensland are the same, I don't think it would count anyway. As far as I was told, it could feed itself, but was "fussy"

 

[PythonLegs]

Yeah, the fact he hasn't asked any questions is a dead giveaway. When I was breeding colubrids I was horrified when a buyer wasn't happy with a purchase, even if they had a crappy reason. Ahh,those were the days (shudder).

 

[Nighthawk]

He didn't offer to contact the previous owner to see if there had been any issues with others in the clutch or provide information about his method of husbandry for the snake? If I were contacted with such an issue I would be doing all I could to find out whys and wherefores, not offering a half refund upon pictures of the animal. Unless he knows perfectly well why it died, but I'm paranoid like that. I'm also a soft-touch; I'd be offering a full refund or replacement, not to mention doing everything in my power to suss out why it died. Not doing so is just heartless and ill-thought out, what if it's something that could spread to the rest of your/his collection?

 

[Iskaldur]

Perhaps he knows it's not something that could affect the rest of them. Perhaps it was longer than he said since it had eaten. But I can't know for sure. He didn't offer to contact the previous owner. I'm no good at standing up for myself either. Even if I am kind of mad and upset. Still, it really might not be his fault.

 

[Darlyn]

I must be nastier than you, I would be asking for a full refund and if not
given I would go to consumer affairs. If he wants a pic maybe he doesn't
believe it's really dead?

 

[Iskaldur]

I would ask for a full refund, but I'm no good at things like that. I doubt you're "nastier" than me, just better at standing up for yourself!

I figured the picture was for proof.

 

[Ramsayi]

I must be nastier than you, I would be asking for a full refund and if not
given I would go to consumer affairs. If he wants a pic maybe he doesn't
believe it's really dead?

I am not picking a side but you do know that we are talking about livestock? These do not ordinarily come with a 12 month / 30,000 km warranty.

 

[PilbaraPythons]

I am not picking a side but you do know that we are talking about livestock? These do not ordinarily come with a 12 month / 30,000 km warranty.

But don't you think that there should be at least some warranty time in specific cases?

 

[jakedasnake]

like wokka said contact a vet. they should be able to determine the cause of death.

 

[dickyknee]

But don't you think that there should be at least some warranty time in specific cases?

For sure , but where do you draw the line ?

I sold a guy 2 geckos last year , 1 did die with in a week of purchase and I offered a replacement no questions asked as I was aware that they were keeping it correctly etc , if it had been a month I would not have offered a refund so easily if at all .

 

[Bel03]

I absolutley agree that with any pet, you dont have a 'warranty' period, but the poor girl had it 2days! Offering half a refund is better then none, but imo it sounds only reasonable you be returned all that you paid! The fact they asked you no questions is just not right! The other case on here with a well known breeder & the 2 woma's he sold is a perfect example of what is 'normal' on the sellers part. Even while his name was ran through the dirt a bit, he still tried offerring help & support.......& imo finding out how/why that snake may have died would be pretty big, especially when you have a collection of your own to look after!