Few questions about a sort-of-rescue...

[jschwe]

So I'm relatively new to ball pythons (but quickly becoming addicted!!) and just the other day picked up a pastel female from a woman who was keeping her as a pet. This woman really did seem to love the snake and was sad to let it go (uncooperative landlord, i think she said), but the reason I say sort-of-rescue is because she really didn't seem to know much about taking proper care of balls.

She had her in what looked like at least a 30 g aquarium, with only a heat lamp (on top of a very tall tank) and a small HEAT ROCK which she gave me....gee thanks...so the snake would have 'something to remember her by'. The only hide was nowhere near the warm part of the tank. Little girl was curled up inside her hide and when I held her, she was so cold! When I asked about what she was feeding, the girl told me she was feeding her two f/t mice fuzzies ("she likes to eat two smaller ones, she won't eat a hopper they're too big") once a week. She had the (yet unnamed by me) snake for nearly a year, and claimed that she was at least a year old when she bought her from the pet store.

When my boyfriend and I brought her home, we weighed her quick before putting her away and she was 195g...like I said I don't have extensive experience with balls, but we have another little girl who was born earlier this year and is only about 20g lighter than that. She looks skinny but not horribly. Still, for at least a year, possibly older, shouldn't she be bigger than that?

So basically the questions I want to ask are:
what/how often is best to feed her? I have some small adult mice, would those be too big for her at this size? and also, we checked her over and she looks healthy, but she lived in a less than ideal environment. what should we be looking out for health-wise?

Sorry for the long post (and if I seem paranoid...) I just want to make sure we do whats best for this little girl!

[Kinra]

I recently picked up a rescue similar to yours, but mine is on 10 months old and 230g.

Honestly I would try feeding her adult mice. She is plenty big enough for them. Once every 5-7 days (probably closer to 5) will help put some weight on the poor thing. With my rescue I offered it a rat pup the day I got it and it took it (probably because it hadn't eaten in 2 weeks ).

You really want to watch out for all of the things you normally would during quarantine. Anything that is outside normal ball python behavior should be investigated. I'm not an expert though, I'm currently working with my first "rescue" as well and she looks healthy, just really small.

[Daybreaker]

Adult mice should be more than fine for her and at 195g that's what she should at least be on - fuzzies are much too small for even hatchlings IMO. I have a April '11 hatch who's 200+ and on rat pups/large adult mice. If she's shy and won't take it then drop down to a hopper.

Look for any scale rot and keep an ear out for any clicking or whistles as that could be a sign of RI. I would stick her on paper towels to make sure she doesn't have mites as well (easy to spot on something that is stark white and they can seemingly pop up out of nowhere).

Glad you got the little one into a good home by bringing her in. Are you sure she's a pastel? The petstores around here only carry normals, though we don't have any specialty reptile stores or anything. At if she is really around ~2 years old she's very very VERY small for her age (I would guess she should be at least 1000g +), but I'd bet that she was just a couple months old when the original owner picked her up.

I would sex her too to make sure she really is a little girl.

[Rawbbeh]

what/how often is best to feed her?
-Get her on a regular feeding schedule. Once a week is perfect.

have some small adult mice, would those be too big for her at this size?
-I would get her on rats. they tend to be more fatty and are better suited for BP's. I have a 100gram female pastel BP who is eating Rat "Pups" or "Crawlers" (same thing different names). You'd be surprised what they can eat. Typical rule of thumb is to feed something to her about the size of her thickest body section.

we checked her over and she looks healthy, but she lived in a less than ideal environment.
-Get her in an ideal environment with proper heating and humidity and hides. Then leave her be for a good 4 days or so to settle in. I wouldnt handle or feed her at this time. Just let her get accustomed to her new surroundings.

what should we be looking out for health-wise?
-start her off on paper towels. look in periodically for little black specs (mites). Also, check to see if you see any discharge from her nose or if you hear any wheezing, those are tell tale signs of a Respiratory Infection and needs to be taken care of at a vet asap.

[Skittles1101]

I'd personally start small, at 195 grams she should be able to take a rat fuzzie, I'd start there, once a week. Once she starts eating consistently I'd bump it up to every 5 days, then up the size to rat pups, and so on. I feed on a 5 day schedule until about 400 grams or so. With rats she'll gain much needed weight faster without being too much for being underfed for so long. You may need to scent the rats, I just thaw out a mouse n the same zip lock baggie as the rat and my mousers eat them.

I'd only check for mites, and signs or RI. If her tank wasn't properly heated she could have caught a respiratory infection. I'd also be sure to quarantine her away from all other animals.

Good luck, and congrats on the rescue...I'm sure she's in really good hands now

[jschwe]

Thanks for the advice guys! I'm gonna try to get her to eat one of the adult mice I have, if she'll take it. Otherwise I have some rat hoppers that our other baby girl is eating (all our others are on rats) if she's too shy. Should I try her tonight, or give her some time to settle in? Girl said yesterday was regularly her feed day, so she's probably plenty hungry by now...I'll also switch her over to paper towels.

Daybreaker-I'm fairly certain she is a pastel. Looks like one to me, also I know the place she bought her from is a reptile specific place that frequently carries morphs. I'll post pictures when I get some, didn't want to keep her out for too long though. Will also get her sexed to confirm she's a girl...didn't even think of that!

Another quick question, if she doesn't eat the mouse, I'd assume I just throw it out, right? It can't be good to re-freeze it..

[Kinra]

It really depends on the snake. I personally don't see any harm in trying to feed them. Some will take it some won't. My rescue hadn't eaten in 2 weeks so I tried to feed her and she ate. I've had some snakes come from breeders that eat even after being shipped and others that make me try several tricks before they will take food. So as I said, it really depends on the snake.

I don't refreeze anything. If they don't eat it I will toss it or offer it to someone else (I don't offer refused quarantine food to my collection or the other way around).

[Skittles1101]

I'd personally save the mice in case you need them to scent your rats Eating mice for 2 years, even as infrequently as she was getting them, may have made her a mouser

Post a pic of her! Then you'll know for sure if she's a pastel

I refreeze once without issue, if it's refused a second time I toss it.

[Cendalla]

It looks like you have great advice and are off to a good start. I'll just add congratulations on the little BP. I hope you enjoy her Good luck!

EDIT: Pictures please! EDIT:

[jschwe]

So I FINALLY got home at like 10 tonight. Checked her again and she still looks healthy as far as I can tell. Much better than when we brought her home. I took a few quick pictures of her, and then she happily took a f/t small adult mouse. Yay!

Oh, and we also settled on the name Pandora. Here she is
(sorry the pics are a little big...)