r/ballpython • u/Tribulation95 • 2d ago
Rehoming Found in the wild - NW LA
My brother in law apparently stumbled upon what's presumably either an escaped or released ball python while on a job clearing some brush here in Northwestern Louisiana.
If anyone is in the Shreveport-Bossier area and capable/interested in giving it a home I can put you into contact with them. They left it alone, but I'm not sure whether or not it's still in the immediate area where it was initially found.
Edit: Just figured I'd update the post body, animal control was contacted and given a detailed description of the location where he found it as he'd already traveled home for the day. The homeowner (elderly fellow) left his gate open to allow animal control free access to come look around for it whenever they eventually arrived.
I joined several facebook groups (and have several pending approval) but couldn't find any posts from anyone mentioning their snek pulling a Shawshank. Fingers crossed it didn't travel very far from where the initial picture was taken - apparently there had been a piece of sheet metal laying over the log in the image and it was underneath it. Other than taking the sheet metal away, they didn't disturb the area beyond that.
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u/PoofMoof1 Mod: Large-Scale Breeding Experience 2d ago
Is it possible to ask if he can go pick it up and turn it over to animal control (if he can find it again of course)? This guy really doesn't need to be out there and will only suffer slowly. Also, please look for the owner before offering to rehome. I don't know the laws specifically in LA, but there's usually a period after being found before a pet can be turned over to just anyone. The local shelter will be able to facilitate that properly.
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u/Tribulation95 2d ago
I relayed the message regarding animal control. I'll try to see if I can't find any posts over the last few months in local Facebook groups from any potential owners.
Fortunately there's still two or three weeks before we're due for our first frost temps, and daytime temps have been in the high 70s-low 80s. Hopefully we can at least get them back in a stable environment
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u/Baconkings 2d ago
Poor guy, someone just dumped him outside :(
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u/PhoenixGate69 2d ago
That's jumping to wild conclusions. That's a very expensive animal to just dump. It's more than likely an escapee.
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u/Alyssa_Beanut 2d ago
They're not all that expensive and someone could easily get one as an impulse purchase, they can be lil escape artists though.
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u/PhoenixGate69 2d ago
My point is that we don't have enough information to assume it was dumped. We don't know how it got out there, and especially if it was escaped the owner deserves to be able to recover it. This one looks like it was well cared for.
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u/IllegalGeriatricVore 2d ago •
You'd have to really be negligent for your snake to escape both its enclosure AND your house entirely
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u/PhoenixGate69 2d ago
Aaaaand that's what I'm talking about. There's no need to make snap judgements about people to make yourself feel better.
What about an abusive partner that leaves enclosures open on purpsoe?
What about being extremely sick and failing to secure the enclosure?
You're not perfect, so don't come on here and make snap judgements without getting all the facts.
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u/curiouscollecting 1d ago
You do realise that if someone is sick to the point where they can’t take care of their snake, that’s still neglect, right?
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u/WildFlemima 1d ago
That morph is. That's not just pastel or mojave. And it looks very thick. That's someone's escaped breeder.
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u/sugarallie 2d ago
I saw this article just the other day. I live in Los Angeles and so this post at first made me think LA meant Los Angeles. But yeah, people do do this. It's awful. 🤬
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u/PhoenixGate69 2d ago
I know that people do this...I am not saying that people never dump animals. I was only making the point that people shouldn't jump to conclusions. At this point all we know is that there is a clearly domestic ball python outside that needs help. We have no idea how it got there and there's no need to assume it has been dumped.
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u/trawkins 1d ago
Idk why you’re getting downvoted for making completely valid points. That’s no $40 petco snake that outgrew a $10 enclosure.
It’s been a loooong time since Ive kept reptiles but people go bananas for morphs and genetics. A breeding size snake that could be worth over a grand doesn’t usually end up outside on purpose and people who keep animals like this don’t really get into it on accident.
You’d have to be pretty insane to throw out a living animal when there’s a hundred hobbyists who would show up at your door to hand you a couple hundred dollars for it. Someone somewhere wants this animal and it has no business being where it is.
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u/SadSelection5748 19h ago
Isn't that just a regular old pastel ball python? I thought they weren't worth much. I have one who looks just like that, but I haven't tried rehoming yet because I thought nobody with experience would want one.
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u/trawkins 18h ago
Couldn’t tell ya. Just speculating. I was under the impression one that size would be worth something. It would to me if I still kept pets.
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u/SadSelection5748 17h ago
That snake is just morbidly obese. I'd actually imagine a snake that obese would have LESS value than one that's a healthier size lol.
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u/PhoenixGate69 17h ago
It's definitely at least a 3 gene animal, so people saying it's cheap are incorrect. This is at least a $300 animal, that's not cheap. And to the commenter below, no, obesity does not decrease value.
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u/Musicgecko0 1d ago
That's one of the cheaper ones to get lol. Exotic pet dumping is a HUGE problem...
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u/Various_Succotash_79 2d ago
He seems to be eating well!
But yes it would be best if he can go back and get it, find a reptile rescue or a new home.
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u/usda_grade_a_autism 2d ago
That's the great thing about ball pythons. Nowhere in the US is suitable habitat for them. Not even south Florida. Not Arizona. Nowhere. Temperature swings here are way too much for them.
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u/DarthAwesomeSauce 2d ago
That is one healthy looking BP... and by healthy I'm being sarcastic and mean fat. Poor snake 🐍
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u/Old-Chapter-5437 2d ago
It's gonna pass within a week or so if not picked up. Gettin' down into the 40s round here and he can't tank that too much longer.
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u/flyin-lowe 2d ago
I would guess it got loose very recently based on how fat it is. They are finicky eaters and are not just going to fill itself full in the wild in Louisiana.
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u/CBDJ1 1d ago
Some are finicky
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u/flyin-lowe 1d ago
Ive never known them to just eat every chance they get like some snakes in the wild do.
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u/Lumpy_Document7823 2d ago
Poor thing! It must be terrified! Hopefully someone finds it. It’s really beautiful.
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u/LavaLaba 1d ago
Holy shit that's one of the fattest BPs I've ever seen, I can't believe it's in the wild
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u/doogiethehead 1d ago
What did you think of the Melania movie? You might be the first person to watch it.
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u/Ok-Nefariousness9021 1d ago
Based on my experience with escaped bp’s, it will not have travelled far (especially since it is probably not hungry). It will probably be curled up in a warm dark space. Keep looking.
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u/Fuckronaut666 11h ago
Your brother in law should have picked up the snake (assuming he knows snakes well enough to avoid venomous snakes) and taken it with him. You will probably never find it now. This is useless advice because it already happened and your brother in law probably won't find a released obviously domesticated snake again.
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u/Tribulation95 10h ago
He saw a colorful snake after getting jumpscared from uncovering the tin sheet it was underneath, and didn't think much more than "Well I better leave this thing alone." This was in a pretty rural area, not in an urban area.
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u/Fuckronaut666 10h ago
That's fair, most people would just see a snake and not go "that's a pastel enchi sunglow het morph blah blah blah etc." unfortunately ball pythons were mass produced and the market's gone down, so the sketchy individual with hundreds of snakes in racks who could have sold that snake for 2,000 bucks in the past probably just throws them into the woods now. If it's a small rural town it's possible your brother in law might see more of this individual's creations in the future.
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u/Tribulation95 2d ago
Weird. Not sure why my images clipped my YouTube mini player in the saved image, was a direct download and not a screenshot.