Buggsie's (Ongoing) Road to Recovery - A Rescue Story

[SmoothScales]

[Note: Buggsie is a rescue and has been with us for a little over a week. I'm waiting till now to post about him because I was afraid he was to far gone. Even now, with him showing improvement, I worry that he's been to far gone for to long and may suffer organ failure. I've started a diary for him on the SSS FaceBook page and will post updates there first. You can read it here. I'm posting in the picture section because it is going to be a picture heavy thread, but I hope that someone may learn from this shared experience - even if that someone is me.]

Even I don't know when Buggsie's story begins - those that passed him onto me didn't get all the information on him when they received him - so I'm in the dark on all of the details. However, I do know he found his way to a big box pet store that shall remain nameless within this thread and I'm sure we can all extrapolate how that went. There is a reason, after all, that so many of us are against buying animals from them. Buggsie's treatment at this store was no different. Based off of the timeline I was given when he came to us, Buggsie could be a Sept hatchling or older. I say 'he', but the truth is we haven't popped or probed him as he is distressingly skinny and we haven't wanted to risk the stress it could cause, or the danger because of his condition. Upon arrival, his initial weight was 76 grams. His spine was prominent, as well as other obvious signs of undernourishment.

Sold to a large pet store, most likely as part of a bulk lot, Buggsie didn't fit into the store's plan. Animals are expected to follow the corporate guidelines, eating what they are told to, and living in what is available regardless of the individual animal's husbandry requirements or needs. Buggsie didn't eat for them. A month went by, and he still would not eat. At this point, the pet store gave up. They offered him for adoption with the expectation that he would die.

Some friends of mine run a rescue from their home, and Buggsie went to live with them in November. However, as well meaning as my friends were, they also couldn't get Buggsie to eat. He stayed in the corner of his terrarium, jammed into it as far as he could go and when a a tiny rat was offered, he shied away. As he continued to refuse to eat, Buggsie grew skinnier and skinnier.

[December] Here is where SSS enters the story. While visiting, I saw this tiny little snake and was distressed by how underweight he appeared. I asked about him and we discussed ways to get him to eat. I thought he felt intimidated by the open space of his terrarium. Compared to his size, it must have appeared to be a massive, dangerous place to him. She listened to what i had to say, and a few days later I showed up with a 6qt Sterilite tub, a small UTH, a hide, and a thermostat.

It was the basic kit each beginner should get instead of the massive glass tanks that a pet store will tell you you need, and I set it up in her closet with instructions to let Buggsie get comfortable for a few days before trying to feed him. I was concerned he would even make it long enough to get a meal in his new home. A few days later, Buggsie ate two mouse pinks. A couple days after that, he repeated his feeding and we were both ecstatic.

[January]​This was short lived, however, as once again he started refusing meals and absolutely wouldn't touch anything bigger than the mouse pinks. In retrospect, he probably didn't have the strength to eat anything bigger at the time. It was quite disheartening, though, to have him refuse after having eaten so little and my taking over care of Buggsie was discussed.

This is when we discovered he also had mites. As they say, for every mite you see, there are fifty that you don't so even though we only saw a few we knew on top of everything else, he would need mite treatments. This was a bit of a set back, and I was hesitant to bring mites home where they could potentially find their way to our own healthy snakes, but I was concerned for Buggsie's very life if he didn't start eating soon. His journey to SSS
was postponed until he could get at least his first mite treatment to kick start being rid of them.

I was honestly pretty down about the delay as Buggsie seemed very weak to me. When picked up, he would barely move and any part of him that wasn't being supported would drape as though he didn't have the strength to carry it.

At that point, he might not have had the will to survive the stress from changes in his environment. We waited for Buggsie's mite treatment to be delivered to the rescue, as they didn't have any on hand. Safe in his shoe-box, he ate two more mouse pinks. We waited some more. He ate another two, slightly larger, pinks. The delivery finally arrived! Buggsie received his first treatment, and then came home with me.

Here is where Day 1 begins of Buggsie's (Ongoing) Road to Recovery.

"Day 1 - Arrival. He wants nothing to do with anything. A quick weigh revealed him to be 76 grams! Pictures were taken to document his condition. I had hope for him and thought his could be an educational story.



"Day 1 - Belly Documentation." The little guy had no energy. When I moved to uncurl him, it was no more difficult than unrolling a sock. Snakes are sometimes referred to as 'noodles', and Buggsie would've been an overcooked noodle for all the resistance he offered.



"Day 1 - After putting him back down after the belly shot, he just sat there."
This was heartbreaking. Here was a living thing that had all but given up. I was determined to give him a fighting chance.



"Day 1 - Spine documentation." He was so pointy! And when you sat him down on his belly, it was even worse - there was no meat on him to speak of. You saw nothing but spine! I would carefully pick him up, very conscious that I could feel his tiny little ribs under my fingers. That was a new experience for me, as our ball pythons are all of a healthy weight.



"Day 1 - Front shot. Hang in there, buddy!"



"Day 1 - When I picked him up to give him a mite treatment before putting him in his new home, Buggsie just draped over my hand." It was really strange. I'd never had a snake that did that before! I was much more used to feeling them tighten around my arm or wrist and look about or start wriggling.




"Day 1 - This poor guy, I was afraid he wouldn't be able to hold his head up enough to drink out of the water bowl!" I felt like this was a real concern and worried that he would drown in his water bowl for the rest of the day.




"Day 1 - he looked a little more lively and flicked his tongue out after sitting in my hand for a few minutes before his mite treatment. With nothing more I can do for him, I reach out to a Paint morph breeder. The original rescuer thought Buggsie was a Paint, but the breeder confirms my thoughts - he is a normal." This didn't mater in the least bit to me. Buggsie needed help, and he was going to get it no matter what he was. He was placed in quarantine, on a shelf all by himself far away from our snake rack [Note: As far as we can get him!], and when I placed him in his small tub, he moved at a glacial pace into his hide.



The next day was rat day for the rest of our snakes. We weren't hopeful, but brought Buggsie a rat pink just in case. To our surprise - and delight - he ate the pink! This was something he hadn't done before, instead leaving the rats in his tub in favor of mouse pinks.

"Day 2 - We weren't to sure he would eat for us because he'd only had roughly 36 hours in his new home, but we put a rat pink in with him and left him alone. A few minutes later, we heard the pinky squealing, and [later] lifting off his hide revealed a small lump in Buggsie's sides."
"Day 2 - If you look closely, you can see a dead mite on the paper towel. The treatments are working!" I felt wonderful! Not only had little Buggsie eaten his rat, but the mite treatments were working! We gave him a few days to digest, and then treated him again, as per directions.



"Day 5 - The day after a mite treatment, Buggsie eyes us warily." He still looks super skinny, but seemed a little bit more lively. Instead of the slow crawl back into his hide, he's got a new quickness to his movements.



"Day 5 - He moves a little more, tucking his head in to avoid us."
"Day 5 - We quickly weigh him, because we don't want him to expend to much energy unnecessarily. He's up to 94 grams! I was shocked at how much weight he had gained from one little rat pink! I'm sure he was putting the nutrients to good use, especially since he gained more weight than he ate!





"Day 5 - He sits so still, it's easy to line up close up shots."




"Day 5 - Hours later, we offer him another rat pink. I was impatient and wanted to see if he would eat it quickly, so I removed his hide to watch. Less than 2 minutes later, he wrapped it up!" I was so happy to see this! I really couldn't wait to see if he would eat for us again, and the little kid in me won out. After dropping the pink in and not seeing any movement from the hide, I picked it up to find Buggsie flicking his tongue. He started looking around and as soon as he realized where the rat pink was, he did his best to coil around it.



"Day 5 - His scales look so small - I realize he's put any energy he's had toward staying alive and has had no extra for scales. With the influx of food, I'm sure he'll shed soon." I had noticed it before, but seeing him wrapped around the rat pink made it really obvious - his scales were super small and there were lots of gaps between them. Growing new ones had fallen down the line on the list of priorities when you're busy trying to keep your vital organs working. There are also a few damaged scales along his neck and back that look as though they've scraped off on something, but the skin underneath looks undamaged. While I'm curious about how that happened, I will likely never know.




"Day 5 - Buggsie wraps his rat pink with more of his body in an attempt to kill it. He did get it, after a few minutes of squealing. Having not eaten for so long has definitely affected his strength. Even with the influx of new energy from the first rat pink, Buggsie has to double wrap his meal before he can put enough pressure on it.




"Day 8 - As I suspected, Buggsie has gone blue! I'm actually quite concerned by the timing because I had hoped he would get another meal or two before going into shed and possibly missing meals. He is able to ball pretty tightly while poking his little nose out."




It only took a few meals for Buggsie to go blue, and I both look forward to it and dread it. I'm afraid that he hasn't recovered enough strength that if he doesn't eat while in blue, the shed itself will exhaust him to much. I've added a damp paper towel to his tub to raise the humidity. Who knows when the last time he shed was and what kind of conditions he's been in since?

"Day 8 - Buggsie is able to tightly grip my thumb and resists my efforts to uncurl him to look at his belly. I'm unwilling to force him due to his condition." Maybe I'm underestimating him? Although I wouldn't force him, he did put quite a bit of strength into not letting me see his belly.



"Day 8 - While gripping my hand, he no longer drapes or dangles, but keeps his body close. A quick weigh shows his continued weight gain after only two rat pinks and he is now at 102 grams. In the past week, he's urinated twice, but I don't expect a defecation anytime soon. This was pretty unexpected. I didn't think he'd be able to hold himself up after only two meals. We only had him like this for a few seconds for the picture, but it surprised me!



"Day 8 - After providing a mite treatment, a few more pictures are taken of Buggsie while his tub is also cleaned and treated. He sits still, but doesn't seem to have the same resigned attitude. While waiting for his tub to be ready, Buggsie seemed much more interested in what was going on around him. Even though he didn't move or try to slither away as our other balls would, he flicked his tongue frequently which is something he hadn't done the first few days.


"Day 8 - Last quick snap before placing him back in his tub."



Looking at this last picture, I can imagine what it would look like if he were a nice, healthy, plump hatchling and it makes me sad. He didn't have much of a chance when he arrived at that pet store, and it took him months before he finally felt secure enough to really start to thrive. I pray that we got him in time because he may be just a normal, but I can see he's beautiful.

[Note: Seeing the change in him just over the last week with only two feedings, I really do believe Buggsie will survive this and thrive, even if I am concerned it is to little to late, I believe he has shown a will to live.]

Tomorrow is rat day, and despite being deep in blue I hope he eats. He needs it.


[Note: If anyone experienced with rescues would like to offer advice, tips, or just share experiences they've had with similar situations, please feel free! I would like this to be an educational experience for anyone who wishes to follow Buggsie's story.]

[Note: If this is in the wrong section, Admins please feel free to move it. I will continue to update on Buggsie's progress, both on SSS FB and on here.]

[DellaF]

Glad you stepped in and rescued the little guy. I hope he continues to thrive.

[Magalo]

Wow! Thanks to you for taking care of this little soul. He seems to have gotten so much better after only a week under your care. Hope we'll get more good news for this little guy.

[CantHelpIt]

Amazing job. I must say, he's adorable

[SmoothScales]

Wow! Thanks to you for taking care of this little soul. He seems to have gotten so much better after only a week under your care. Hope we'll get more good news for this little guy.

Thank you! Part of me is afraid it's a temporary reprieve before he gets worse, and I'm prepared for that. At least, I tell myself I am, but I've gotten attached to the little guy so really I'm not.

Amazing job. I must say, he's adorable

Thank you. He is, isn't he? Although I secretly hope 'he' is a 'she', we just started calling Buggsie a 'he' before he had a name. He'll have to get a bit more plump before we risk checking!

Glad you stepped in and rescued the little guy. I hope he continues to thrive.

So do I! Seeing any animal in that condition is just heartbreaking and I really wish the big chain stores could be held more accountable for how they keep their reptiles.

[MysticMoon001]

Omg! I am literally in tears reading this. So glad this little guy has someone like you to care for him. Fingers crossed that he eats for you during his shed. I hope to hear more good news about him.

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[Herpo]

In a few years, you'll be able to start a line starting with Buggsie. You know, the Survivor Line. With your care, I'm sure he'll make it.

[se7en]

go buggsie!

[SmoothScales]

"Day 9 - Due to a scheduling conflict, we are unable to meet our rat supplier today. Arrangements have been made for rats tomorrow."

"Day 10 - Buggsie ate! Even though he is deep in blue, we offered him a small rat pink - 13 grams. He was very quick about coiling around it and when checked on later, he had consumed it. I feel quite a bit of relief about this because he will soon have to expend a lot of energy shedding."


I can't begin to express the weight I felt lift when Buggsie wrapped up his little rat. I'd really like to start giving him a little bit larger prey, but at his current weight, 13 grams still falls into the 10-15% and I would be hesitant to put something larger in with him until he gets stronger. Even as small as a 13 gram pinky is, it leaves quite a lump in Buggsie's sides. With the expectation of feeding him yesterday, his mite treatment was scheduled for today. However, I would rather push it off a day so that he can digest undisturbed and not risk a regurge. However tomorrow he will be treated as well as his tub and hide, and we'll take a few photos of him to share. He still hasn't passed a waste, and when he does it will be bagged for vet testing.

I've considered recording a small video of him showing how he's doing if people would be interested in seeing more than just pictures. Let me know and if there is enough interest, I'll make it happen.

[Herpo]

I would be very interested in a vid. Following Buggsie's journey all the way.