Lethargic young ball python

[jenerren]

Hello all.

My daughter has a young ball python and my concern is this: I was out of town from Sunday until Thursday evening. I came home to find that my power had been out and I'm not sure for how long. (Based on the snow storm that happened in my area, my power had probably only been out for a day and a half before it was turned back on). That means that the snake aka Pye, was without his heat for IDK how long. He appeared to be dead but when my fiance picked him up he felt some slight movement from him. Our power was restored about 8 hours later and so we hoped for the best and turned his heat lamp on and his under tank heater on. We laid him on his rock and placed the heat lamp directly over him. He has been moving but very slowly and he appears to not be feeling well. I actually just walked to his tank so I could give a better description of him and he reacted to me moving in front of his tank and his lil tongue was flicking, which it hasn't since we got home. That is an excellent sign of improvement, I am assuming! So basically, I am asking for any help/tips for this guy. I feel horrible that he nearly perished because the power went out My daughter is 8 years old and this is her first snake. She has such a passion for reptiles of all kinds and I'd love for this guy to hang around for much longer. Thank you in advance for any help!

[StillBP]

as long as he live he should warm back up lots of people have had a cold snake warm right back up if he does not show any signs of improvement tho i would contact a good herp vet

[LittleTreeGuy]

I've heard of reactions like this during shipping when it's colder outside. Make sure his cage temps and humidity are in check, and give him time to warm back up. The snakes I read about were totally fine after they get back up to temp.

[Sauzo]

For future you might want to invest in heat pads from Ship Your Reptiles. They sell packs of 10 of the 72 hour ones that get to around 100F which you can wrap in a towel or stuff in a sock and wrap up and those will keep your snake warm in power outages. You can also check MR Heater who makes propane heaters designed for indoor use like houses and tents. Those hooked up to the big BBQ bottles of propane last I think 96 hours so that should be plenty of time to heat a reptile room. Also like others said, just warm the snake up and make sure the husbandry is right and watch for any signs of RI like bubbles/mucous from the nostrils or mouth, or wheezing/pooping while breathing.

[Crowfingers]

How long has it been since he last ate? Without heat, they can't digest, so he could have an upset stomach if he had recently eaten (not sure if you could do anything about it, but it could explain some of lack of energy). If he did eat recently, I'd also let him fast (just for a few days longer than usual) or until his behavior gets back to normal. If not, then he should perk up and get back to normal once he's been warm for a while.

[jenerren]

Thank you all for the responses. I'm so relieved that he made it! He seems to be doing much better now. I did take your advice crowfingers and waited on feeding him. He was out and about last night, like he was searching his tank for food, so she will be feeding him this evening. And yes Sauzo, that is an excellent idea! I will be looking into that so this doesn't happen again.

[Crowfingers]

Great! That's good news. I'm glad he seems to be better