Man I need big time help!

[enchantress62]

So I was looking for a new bp since I had to give up my beloved Baloo last year. A friend at work told me about a room mate she had that left without notice and abandoned his pet snake at her house. She wasn't sure but thought it was a bp. She said there were babies but didn't know how many or if they were even still alive. Long story short I went to her house and sure enough the snake was a bp and there were 2 hatchlings but since she didn't know anything about reptiles they had not been taken care of since the roommate left 2wks ago. Her brother wound up taking the adult female and one of the hatchlings and I came home with the other hatchling. Here's the delima. My friend said that the hatchlings were maybe 6wks old and as far as she knew had never eaten. She's been feeding the adult female what the roommate left behind but didn't know what to feed the babies. The one I brought home is really tiny, about a foot long and about an inch wide at the largest part of it's body. It looks dehydrated to me and I'm worried about it being so little. I've only had 1 bp and she was healthy the entire time so I need advice about nursing this little one into good health. I took some pictures so you all could see. It's definitely trying to shed so I'm leaving her alone for a few days. It's in a viv with plenty of water and I'm diligently watching temp/hum level but how long should I wait to feed it and what should I try to feed it? Any and all advice is much appreciated.

[adamsky27]

To be honest it doesn't look like its in too horrible of shape to me from the pictures provided. Give it a few days to settle in and offer it a live mouse. They hardly ever refuse those. I know there are plenty of exceptions, but that's that I would do.

[meowmeowkazoo]

Quarantine it for a while. I would also move it into a small sterilite bin, maybe 6-8 quarts big with a heat pad/thermostat, paper towel substrate, and a small hide and water bowl. The plastic mouse igloos at petsmart work well, or if you have small medication boxes those work even better (like the box an asthma inhaler comes in). You could also use empty towel paper rolls or paper towel rolls. A nice small snug hide in a small enclosure will help encourage it to feed.

If all goes well you should see it roaming around looking for food after a week or two. Mice are especially palatable to ball pythons, and a hatchling should take a F/T adult mouse eagerly enough.

[enchantress62]

Okay, I was a little excited yesterday so the title of this post sounded like I was in distress. Sorry about that. Skarlette, which I have now named her/him (hoping it's a girl) lol doesn't seem to be unhealthy just young and since I have never seen a hatchling this young before I didn't know if the thinness was a sign of dehydration or just being young. Plus I've heard that it's hard to get them to eat at first so I'm a little nervous about that. I will do as suggested however and give it a go. Small, warm container and live mouse right? I was planning on waiting until Sunday to try feeding. He/She has some loose skin around the neck so either she's just had a bad shed or she's just getting started either way I don't want to stress her out.