Will my python ever recover?

[Bogertophis]

Your snake looks absolutely beautiful & fine.

[leosantare]

Fine? I disagree. Her spine is literally bulging out. Do you see a lack of muscle?

If you honestly think her body condition is fine in the previous pictures, then her body condition was incredibly spectacular just over a year ago.

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[bcr229]

It could just be that with the increased exercise your snake has lost fat but gained muscle, and thus is more toned and fit than a few months ago which is why it's thinner but not lighter. Most snakes in captivity are pretty sedentary even when they have a huge enclosure to use.

I had a BRB escape on Saturday night. I found him early this morning though if I'd walked into my living room 30 seconds later I'd have missed him, he was moving that fast. Over the 36 hours he was missing there was evidence (stuff knocked off tables and counters) that he'd gone up and down the stairs and into at least five different rooms.

[mlededee]

Ari is going to visit me next month. If her body condition doesn't improve/gains weight by then, I will relinquish her to him.

I am curious if Ari visited?

What did he think about her weight and condition at that time? Did he give you any other insight, tips, things to try or change, etc?

[leosantare]

No, he didn't visit but acknowledged something was wrong in the pictures. Ari first thought she was dehydrated, but her skin goes back fairly quickly and she has had 2 back to back perfect sheds.

He did help me make a humidity box and recommended carnivore critical care. I just started the critical care but as suspected, I can't fit much down the rats mouth before it comes spewing out.

This seems so bizarre to me. The only thing that makes sense is the antibiotics destroyed her gut that was mentioned.

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[leosantare]

I contacted redlineshipping and was all set to send her to Ari. He wanted me to try the critical care first and then I got her 8.1kg weight.

This was the picture he saw something was wrong. From a month ago,

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[mlededee]

Is putting the critical care in the rodent's mouth the method Ari recommended? It is certainly true that there is a limited amount you can administer this way.

Did you ever get her regularly taking the probiotics? Did Ari have an opinion on the idea that the antibiotics may have imbalanced her gut flora? It can take many months to re-establish gut flora with probiotics after antibiotic use. I would be interested to see if several months of consistent use makes/made any difference.

I can see some areas of loss of mass in your photos. But because she is still shiny and iridescent, eating well and regularly, having perfect sheds, and now maintaining her weight...those things don't necessarily point to her being sick. People lose muscle tone with age, especially if they aren't active and so I wonder if that is part of what is going on here. She is certainly not underweight at this point.

The only other thing I can see that is of concern from your photos is the fact that her enclosure is right next to a window air conditioning unit. And so I wonder if the AC blowing cold air right onto/into her enclosure messes with her temperatures at all or maybe creates inconsistencies. Or, if the unit is harboring mold, bacteria, or any other bad junk that AC units tend to grow inside...perhaps by chance that is having a negative effect on her. If it were me, I would at least move the enclosure to not be so close to that and give it a good cleaning just in case.

I encourage you to continue to communicate your concerns with Ari and to get his feedback on things. He definitely has more experience with this species and I am glad that he can take her if both of you decide that is the best course of action.

[leosantare]

Yes, giving the critical care in the way I described was Ari's recommendation. Ari doesn't think the antibiotics are the reason. As knowledgeable as he is, he really doesn't know what is wrong. I did try the Nutribac for quite a while but didn't see any improvement, so I stopped. Do you recommend I go back to the Nutribac and discontinue the critical care?

I did confirm that about 275g every 9-10 days is appropriate for her. I used to feed one rat this size but changed it to feeding two smaller rats that total 275g. I thought this might help with the impaction. Do you recommend I go back to feeding one item or continue with two items? Some say it's better to feed 2 smaller items because of the fat content, and others say, like my vet, it's not a concern.

At least we can acknowledge now she has been losing body mass. Yes, 8.1kg isn't a terrible weight but she should be 9-10kg. I can't say for sure, but she was probably 9+kg before this all started.

Any idea what can cause her to lose body mass like this? I'm not saying for sure, but it seems unlikely to me that it's from lack of excerise.

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[leosantare]

The air conditioner is only in the window for half of the year. It's put away for the colder months now. I only have it so the room doesn't get too hot in the warmer months.

I thoroughly clean the entire enclosure every month. I can't move the enclosure, it takes up the entire room just about.

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[Caitlin]

I think there are some positives here. The snake is maintaining body weight; it's arguable whether the weight is optimal for her but it's holding steady and is at a reasonable level. Her iridescence speaks for itself and this along with stable weight, the fact that she's eating, and perfect sheds indicates that overall health is likely at least OK and possibly quite good. The muscle mass loss is slight - and it's at least arguable to call it 'loss', as it may be a shift in metabolism and body composition as she gets a bit older combined with the fact that she is apparently getting more exercise now. Her body composition may be changing a bit, and not necessarily in a bad way - as you know, it can take a LONG time for a snake to manifest physical changes. It takes a long time even in humans to see a muscle:fat ratio difference due to diet or exercise changes; it takes much, much longer to see this in a snake.

Overall, I am just not seeing the indications that I would expect to see in an animal with a metabolic, immune system, or food processing disorder.

But I still want to be respectful of your concerns, and I understand that anything you read here is still not real evidence for you. If you are interested, message me and I will give you the phone number of an exotics veterinarian that I would trust with any of my snakes under any circumstances. She collaborates with the University of Colorado and University of Florida veterinary schools when laboratory testing is needed that is more complex than her local labs can provide (identifying specific viral strains of arenavirus or serpentovirus; muscle biopsy to identify metabolic disorders, etc.). I realize she won't be working directly with your snake, but she could review records, consult with you, and recommend specific further assessment or testing if it seems necessary.