Health status of snake at local pet store causes concerns - East Idaho News
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Health status of snake at local pet store causes concerns

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CHUBBUCK – For the last week or so, McKee’s Pet Center in Chubbuck has been getting bombarded by locals about the health status of a snake.

Other than the fact that it’s a mite infested green-tree python, there are mixed stories about its background.

“We had a snake that came from a local individual that was struggling with taking care of it. So we brought it in and we’ve been working with it and we’ve been trying to get it back to health,” said Jim McKee, owner of the store.

“It was healthy, looked normal, nothing appeared visibly wrong with the snake,” said Kenneth Long, an ISU Biology student and snake caretaker, who claims to have been keeping track of the snake in the store for about four months.

The store doesn’t have the snake’s arrival date on record. Both sides have polar opposite views on the snake’s health on arrival. The snake’s in-store habitat, also disputable.

“They didn’t have the right heating lamp, or heating elements for the aquarium, they shouldn’t have been using a glass aquarium for this species, as well as having low humidity,” said Long.

The Chubbuck Police Department made a Facebook post tonight backing up McKee’s statement about a USDA visit, and the store is in full compliance.

What’s indisputable, is the severity of the snake’s condition.

“I would say I’ve never seen a snake with the mite infestation as serious as this one in my life,” said Matthew Murphy, a former reptile rescuer.

The result of all this, frustration on both sides

“It makes me feel frustrated that police and officials can walk in there and say everything is fine,” said Long.

“We love this community, love serving the people, love having a place where kids can go and enjoy animals, and would hope that people want to support that and come talk to us rather than beat us up without talking to us,” said McKee.

This article was first published by KPVI. It is used here with permission.

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