Too thin?

[PecanPied]

I’ll apologize in advance for the scattered responses, and I appreciate everyone’s help SO so so much

Vet: the vet states that it’s an exotic pet veterinarian, one of only two that I’ve found within hours of me and I’ve had extremely horrific experience with the second, so I’ve been made to settle for this. Based in responses and looking back on our experiences, I may begin looking for any exotic vets even if they are a few hours out because I’m worried.

Vet appointment: she did ask for a stool check and it came back completely clean, no concerns at all

Feeding: he eats a small rat from “arctic mice” every other weeks. At this point, I’m looking into trying a closer feeding schedule, per forum suggestions. I was initially told by (prior vet) that I had to put him on every other week because “more time between feedings makes them live longer and healthier”. Typing it out, I’m realizing I should have asked questions much sooner.

Photos: I’m currently on my phone (at work), could someone tell me how to add photos to these posts? Thank you

Temperature: he has a warm side and cool side, one in the 80’s and one in the 70’s

Again, I really am thankful for *everyone* who’s commented. I know this is all very basic knowledge, but I really really appreciate anyone taking the time (and patience!) to explain. My prior BP passed in a rather traumatic fashion, so I’ve been particularly wrapped up in trying to avoid anything less than “the ideal” for my current BP. Hence… the everything about this

[PecanPied]

Here are some recent photos I have of Pecan (BP), thank you for everyone's patience

[Bogertophis]

...Photos: I’m currently on my phone (at work), could someone tell me how to add photos to these posts? Thank you

Temperature: he has a warm side and cool side, one in the 80’s and one in the 70’s...

Photos can wait until later when you're off work, not to worry. (& that ^ ^ ^ didn't work- we cannot see them)

From this info ^ ^ ^ I'd guess that IF he's actually too thin (& we're not sure about that yet), but if he is, it might be that he's not warm enough to have a good appetite & process his food better. The temps. you want should roughly be 78* lowest & 90* highest- a snake's metabolism & appetite totally depends up heat provided & it sounds like yours might be too cool. Hey, this happens in nature too, so don't melt-down- you can fix this. Okay?

[Armiyana]

The quick and dirty way for me to add photos is to post them on imgur. Once it's on imgur, copy the .jpg URL link and use the photo insert in the post options. It will ask for the URL.

I might not get back to this right away as I'm about to leave my hotel room at a convention. So busy and no reception... But someone else will be sure to reply and I'll check back with thoughts later too

[PecanPied]

Thank you so much! I got to a computer and put some photos in the thread, I'm going to work on his temperature as well

Edit: here's the photos on flickr, I'm fighting for my life on this I swear
https://flic.kr/p/2pqKzQN

https://flic.kr/p/2pqCH5y


https://flic.kr/p/2pqK85c

[PecanPied]

https://flic.kr/p/2pqKzQN

https://flic.kr/p/2pqCH5y

https://flic.kr/p/2pqK85c

This is about the best I can do for photos, I REALLY hope these work. They're all pretty recent, I tried to find ones that show off his body.

[Homebody]

I don't see that you have anything to panic about. So, any changes you make should be gradual. Temps should be increased one degree at a time over hours or even days. Use your heat gun frequently to test. Same with feeding. If you decide to shorten the interval between feedings, do so gradually. It seems to me that you're doing things just about right. Little tweaks will get you there. Dramatic changes are likely to cause problems.

[Bogertophis]

What he said ^ ^ ^ ! Easy does it, be patient- this is not an emergency, just somethings you can & should adjust.

[PecanPied]

Thank you again to everyone, I'll be keeping this all in mind and will start making gradual changes to improve

[Armiyana]

I definitely think he is a bit thin, but I agree it's not an emergency.

I think the suggestion of trying to see if he'll take meals a little closer together may help. But I wouldn't really try sizing up rats because small rats should still be fine for him.