# Plop: the pet store rescue (pic heavy)



## Gizmothefreaky (Apr 10, 2011)

So here is the story of how i came to own Plop... 

My friend works at a local big chain store as the reptiles and fish manager, she also operates a reptile rescue in the area. I go and pester her at work and stuff because it is fun to talk to her and she lets me play with the animals when it isnt too busy. One day she shows me this skinny little ball python, says he came from the supplier a little underweight, but they were working on fattening him up, i felt bad, but he was way too expensive for me, so i kept an eye on him...

Fast forward a couple months, three people have quit at the pet store, and they cannot hire more people, so the employees that are left are SWAMPED, and the reptiles are not getting the extra attention they need... The ball python has been getting worse and worse... He hasnt been shedding properly, nor has he been eating, and he seems dehydrated despite the constant access to fresh water. 

He is now so bad looking that they have reduced his price to get a quick sale, but i still cant afford him, so i have a talk with my friend, and since he has been there for months now and she knows me, she agrees to drop the price further, into a range i can afford. They cannot just 'adopt' him to me, since he is one of their more expensive snakes, but i got a discount of 50%, which was enough that i could get him out of there. So i buy him, and bring him home. 



After i got this poor baby home, i let him warm up before setting him up in some warm water to soak, it took an hour to get him fully saturated, so that i could work on getting the dead skin off... 



When i first started working on his shed, i thought it wouldnt be that hard... Little did i know that he had retained three sheds, and that i would have to work on him for hours... By the time i got all three layers off his head and neck, his body had tried out too much to work on comfortably.

 
(You can see where i stopped right by my thumb.)

There were so many layers of skin stuck on his head that his nostrils and heat pits were plugged... When i pulled out the skin he immediately perked up and started acting like a totally different snake! I soaked him another hour and worked the shed off the rest of his body carefully... 



It took over three hours total to get all of the dead skin and crap off... And he thanked me by using my laptop as a toilet. lol!! Im not upset at him, he obviously felt so much better after i was through that he was comfortable enough to relieve himself, so i am proud.













After all of the excitement i tucked him away in a temporary KK for the night, and in the morning when i checked on him, he looked great!



He even pretended to be a tree boa for a while! lol



Now i have moved him to a bigger container that i can keep warmer. He has two hides and fresh water, and tomorrow, after he has fully settled in, i will be offering him his first meal of some nice fat pinkie rats (because they have a higher fat content than mice), and we will jump start his weight gain! 





So there it is, i hope you enjoyed my little story, and keep checking back! I will update with pictures and news as he comes along!  


Sir Ploppicus Scalybottom (Plop) thanks you for visiting!


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## RainbowhLizzie (Sep 15, 2013)

You are amazing for spending 3 hours to scrape the crud off of him! He has such a great home now!

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## Gizmothefreaky (Apr 10, 2011)

He is such a sweet boy too, through all of that, as neglected as he is, he didnt hiss or strike at me even once, he isnt even head shy, which is amazing. I am just hoping he will be a good hearty eater for me... I have had some pretty stubborn balls in the past that were not so great at the whole eating thing. lol!


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## Taeanna (Apr 2, 2013)

Perhaps it is just me but the picture of him soaking is just plain adorable. he seems to say 'yes this is my bath and no...I am not coming out ever'

Such a cutie


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## Gizmothefreaky (Apr 10, 2011)

Yeah lol he loved the soaks, when I went to get him out the first time he shrank back like 'nuuuu... aww man!' And almost seemed to pout when I started working on him, the second time was better because he was feeling much better by having his head clear.


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## Morguex (Oct 24, 2013)

Giz you are amazing and very caring 

Plop looks so much better and I'm sure he would smile and say "Thank you" if he could.

Please keep us updated and here's to hoping he make's a full recovery, hope you and Plop have many happy years together :-D


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## Gizmothefreaky (Apr 10, 2011)

Oh I will definitely keep everyone updated! I'll get pictures of him eating today and update with those, fair warning lol.


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## BlueLacee (Dec 8, 2013)

you are a good person for spending those three house. Although I am not a huge fan of snakes (im fine with them as long as they don't touch my or pop out somewhere)... he is super cute


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## AmbiantNight (Feb 12, 2014)

So glad that Plop has a fantastic new home with you.


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## CosmoTheCutie (Feb 8, 2014)

OMG he's adorable I love snakes! He's very lucky to have found such a great home. Good luck and keep us updated


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## thekinetic (May 22, 2012)

Aww you can see in his eyes he's happy! ^_^


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## cheekysquirrel (Jan 7, 2014)

He looks so much better already! And he's pretty cute for a snake... I'm not a snake person. Probably because my mum's cat found a few baby dugites in our garden and I was scared he'd get bitten... And I know they have to eat, but I have a soft spot for rodents, especially after I had pet rats...
But, my hang-ups aside, I hope he lives a long and happy life with you


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## Gizmothefreaky (Apr 10, 2011)

BlueLacee said:


> you are a good person for spending those three house. Although I am not a huge fan of snakes (im fine with them as long as they don't touch my or pop out somewhere)... he is super cute


He is really sweet boy and i am happy to hve him and help him.  



AmbiantNight said:


> So glad that Plop has a fantastic new home with you.


^///^ Thank you! I do what i can... 



CosmoTheCutie said:


> OMG he's adorable I love snakes! He's very lucky to have found such a great home. Good luck and keep us updated


I just love him to bits! He is a beautiful snake and i cant wait until he gets bigger. 



thekinetic said:


> Aww you can see in his eyes he's happy! ^_^


Yep! He is such a sweet baby! 



cheekysquirrel said:


> He looks so much better already! And he's pretty cute for a snake... I'm not a snake person. Probably because my mum's cat found a few baby dugites in our garden and I was scared he'd get bitten... And I know they have to eat, but I have a soft spot for rodents, especially after I had pet rats...
> But, my hang-ups aside, I hope he lives a long and happy life with you


It is a wonder what a little TLC will do for an animal... No matter what kind, if they are starving and hurting, you just have to relieve their pain and its like they are halfway there already! 





And to avoid having to do a double post lol, i fed him last night... I missed most of the action because he is a shy eater, but he ate THREE pinkie rats last night, i am amazed, he just didnt stop, he probably would have eaten more, poor baby. He was such a hungry little trooper. 

I did get a couple photos of the first pinkie, and then the other two he refused to eat until i left him alone with them. lol 





Here he is cuddling with his meal... I covered him up and walked away, when i came back, i saw this... :



Down the hatch!! He kept acting hungry and searching for more so i left the other two pinkies in with him overnight... When i checked on him this morning he was nice and fat and happy... 





Happy Plop is happy. :3 


And i am sorry to all those rat lovers out there, if you are upset, please dont throw me hate. I love rats just as much as anyone else, but Plop needs to eat much more than there needs to be three more rats in the world. I dont keep rats right now, but when i did i bred both a pet line and a feeder line, i understand both sides of the argument. Believe me. Okay? No hate. Please.


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## Valentino14 (Feb 12, 2014)

This is coming from someone who is terrified of snakes... he's pretty cute! I would just never be able to get close to him lol. You are incredible


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## cheekysquirrel (Jan 7, 2014)

No hate from me :-D I just couldn't personally do it. Then again, I'll admit to feeling a bit iffy about giving Rygel frozen brine shrimp- because SEA MONKEYS  I still do it though.
That being said, thank you for not doing what other people may do, showing super-graphic pics and video of him eating. That, for me, would be upsetting.
Glad to see he's doing so well <3


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## Gizmothefreaky (Apr 10, 2011)

Valentino14 said:


> This is coming from someone who is terrified of snakes... he's pretty cute! I would just never be able to get close to him lol. You are incredible


I know plenty of people that are terrified that still like to see pictures. Ive even turned a couple into snake lovers lol! So no worries.  



cheekysquirrel said:


> No hate from me :-D I just couldn't personally do it. Then again, I'll admit to feeling a bit iffy about giving Rygel frozen brine shrimp- because SEA MONKEYS  I still do it though.
> That being said, thank you for not doing what other people may do, showing super-graphic pics and video of him eating. That, for me, would be upsetting.
> Glad to see he's doing so well <3


I would never have put up anything that was too graphic, i know there are super sensitive people on this site... And it helped that these were literally the only pictures i got of him eating because he is a shy little turd. <3 him though. lol


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## Taeanna (Apr 2, 2013)

Awww look at that protruding spine! I bet hes so happy to have that evil old scale coat off and some food in his belly. 
Before long he wont be able to go anywhere without his mum to look after him.


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## Valentino14 (Feb 12, 2014)

Gizmo- even pictures creep me out! I can't even stand eels that move like snakes. Lol I would LOVE some help getting over this phobia, though! 
This snake is really just adorable. In most of the pictures... And no one is blaming you for feeding him the food he needs! He's your loved pet.


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## Gizmothefreaky (Apr 10, 2011)

Taeanna said:


> Awww look at that protruding spine! I bet hes so happy to have that evil old scale coat off and some food in his belly.
> Before long he wont be able to go anywhere without his mum to look after him.


Oh yeah, i know he is... As son as he was all cleaned he was a completely different animal, happy and eager to explore. And now that hes eaten he has so much spunk, its terribly amusing. lol 



Valentino14 said:


> Gizmo- even pictures creep me out! I can't even stand eels that move like snakes. Lol I would LOVE some help getting over this phobia, though!
> This snake is really just adorable. In most of the pictures... And no one is blaming you for feeding him the food he needs! He's your loved pet.


Well, keep an eye on this thread hun, you will see tons of adorable pictures!  Maybe even a video or two.


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## Chesh (Feb 17, 2012)

Just *finally* catching up here. . . congrats on the new addition to the Gizzy zoo! Plop is beautiful - and very lucky that you found him when you did! Subscribing for updates! Keep up the good work, momma! ^___^


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## Agent13 (Apr 23, 2013)

Awww! Great job with your ball python ! Looks like your husbandry is fantastic . I too work with a reptile rescue and it's hard to find enough homes for them.. Nice to see others . 
Almost looks like a couple butters my kids looked at and wanted sooo bad at a reptile show recently . 


Sent from Petguide.com App


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## Gizmothefreaky (Apr 10, 2011)

*Maybe? graphic eating pictures ahead, sorry!*

So i fed Plop again, and he ate in front of me this time, very happily i might add... But i swear, he does not know how to ball python... like... He struck at, and then proceeded to chew on the pinky, mind you i feed them live for their nutrition to be at its highest, and swallow the little thing while it was still alive... :/ He did it with the second one too... The third he didnt eat until later in the night, but im sure he ate that one live too... I dont know what is with him, but you can see in these pics he is nomming away, barely even wrapped around the pinkie, in one he is coiled around his own head, like really Plop... Come on, that is NOT helping at all. lmao! 








And then the latches on his other tub both broke, so i went ahead and upgraded him... Even got color coded hides, just for my amusement. Red for warm hide, blue for cool hide. XD 




So that is my update for the day, lol, hope you guys enjoyed!


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## Gizmothefreaky (Apr 10, 2011)

Chesh said:


> Just *finally* catching up here. . . congrats on the new addition to the Gizzy zoo! Plop is beautiful - and very lucky that you found him when you did! Subscribing for updates! Keep up the good work, momma! ^___^


Yay Chesh! Thanks for visiting. lol And thank you so much for the comment, i think he is pretty special myself. :3



Agent13 said:


> Awww! Great job with your ball python ! Looks like your husbandry is fantastic . I too work with a reptile rescue and it's hard to find enough homes for them.. Nice to see others .
> Almost looks like a couple butters my kids looked at and wanted sooo bad at a reptile show recently .


I really want, like my grail snake, is a piebald killer bee ball python, with only the head having pattern. *drool* I want one so bad... And i want a normal killer bee BP, and/or killer clown BP. ^.^ I love BPs more than any other snake, but i have also had corns and they were alright.


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