Hellppp

[KinggNathan]

I Rescued a Ball Python from a friend that was in bad shape . Very dehydrated & had snake mites for a few. I have now gotten rid of snake mites and helped gain his energy back some . Somewhat still weak will not strike at prey only will lightly grab and pull away . Why is that & how could I get more energy into him ? Also the stomach of him is very yellowish what could be the cause of that ? & he has bad red blood marks from mites being attached . How would I heal and get rid of them?

[Bogertophis]

What are you trying to feed him? mice, rats? size/age? live or f/t? I'd be offering live for maximum interest on his part (esp. if he was fed live before) BUT nothing
bigger than young hopper (mouse) w/ eyes barely open, or rat pups (eyes closed). What was he fed before? (rats or mice? best to stick w/ whatever worked for now).
You might also try f/t since he's not up to constricting live, it sounds like? (even if he didn't take it before, he might now?)

Hydration is essential to life, more than food, for a snake in bad shape & dehydrated. A snake cannot digest without adequate hydration, so you need to encourage
him to drink, keep up the humidity in enclosure, & maybe give him a gentle soak in lukewarm water (not deep, NO swimming needed) before pushing food. Mites
cause dehydration & can cause organ failure, nothing to be trifled with. Not aware of mites leaving bite marks-? but use either Betadine (povidone-iodine) dabbed
on & let dry, or get some Vetericyn gel (water-based, made for snake use) from pet stores or Amazon (I think Petco carries it, etc). Don't know why his stomach is
yellowish- especially without seeing it. That's rather concerning...best bet might be a qualified herp vet. Good luck.

[KinggNathan]

I feed Him 1 Small Mouse Once a week using F/T. Never was fed live from my understanding .Do not know the age or weight but no where near as big as my 1 year old regular. ( see pictures ) only rescued about 2 weeks ago which Was a rescue from a Male friend who girlfriend had him as a pet but was misscarrying for him and was scared. Was very weak & had mites bad living in wet/damp substrate. Got rid of mite completely & i keep him in a rubber maid with a undertank heater sprayed with water once a dy to keep Hydration and Humidity Up. No mites donot leave Bite marks but there are Red ( Blood / clots ) where mites was attached under scales on belly. ( see pictures) The belly has always been yellowish not sure if its from mites or actually scale rot? (See pictures) Trying to help as much as i can without herp vet but will definitely make app if needed thanks .
My 1 Year old Regular Ball
The Rescue Ball size

Rescue Ball Underbelly
not sure if I uploaded pictures right i tried & will also inbox them to you as well

[bcr229]

If the snake is eating f/t then keep it on f/t. Do not worry that it's not expending a lot of energy to "kill" its f/t prey; snakes are smart and won't waste energy if they don't have to.

You can offer the f/t feeders damp/wet to help rehydrate the snake. How much does the snake weigh?

The pictures didn't show up so I'm only speculating, but a discolored belly could be anything from a burn to scale rot to discoloration due to lying in its own waste for long periods of time. Soaking the snake in a weak solution of betadine/iodine and lukewater won't hurt. Add enough betadine so the solution looks like weak tea. Vetericyn is another good option and they just came out with a reptile-specific formulation. For bad scale rot or burns you can get silvadene (silver sulfadiazine) online at Mountainside Medical; they are the only place I know of that will sell it without a prescription, and if you have reptiles it's good to have some on-hand.

Finally, you really can't eradicate mites fully in two weeks because an egg can take up to 30 days to hatch, so if you miss an egg you end up with another full-blown infestation in 2-3 months. I would continue to treat for mites for another few weeks.

[Craiga 01453]

Just dropping in to say I hope the rescue snake has been kept far, far away from your other snake and you've followed strict quarantine.
I'd hate to see your good intentions create more problems for you as well as your other snake.

Good luck

[KinggNathan]

Thank you so Much . Please explain how to upload pictures i would love to get more input from you guys about the situation once pictures are shown

[KinggNathan]

Yes the rescue has been kept away. Never put them together the rescue is in different cage but same room. Will that still cause problems?

[bcr229]

Yes the rescue has been kept away. Never put them together the rescue is in different cage but same room. Will that still cause problems?

They should be as far apart as possible. Different rooms, different levels of the house, etc.

[Craiga 01453]

Yes the rescue has been kept away. Never put them together the rescue is in different cage but same room. Will that still cause problems?

Unfortunately yes, they should have been kept as far away as possible. Sharing a room everything the rescue brought into the room could very easily have found its way to the other snake.

I would seperate them asap and begin a very strict quarantine process moving forward. I have no hands on experience with mites, but like bcr229 said they can't be eradicated in just a few weeks. You may need to start over and treat both animals.