Going To "Rescue" One

[JNieporte]

A co-worker wanted me to take possession of his kid's ball python that was obtained from the pet store about 6 months ago. A quick visit to his house (he lives about a mile from me) showed a young BP, about 2 feet long. It was in a ten-gallon aquarium with newsprint as bedding (nothing wrong with that, just describing the enclosure) and no water dish. There was a hide made from a cereal box, but it was really grimy. No thermometers or hygrometers, and just a sheet of plywood as the cover. No means of holding it down. He had a space heater facing the tank and had it on as a heat source. There was shed in the tank; no idea how long it was there. I didn't see any mites or parasites, but the snake had some bite marks. Nothing huge (in terms of size). He said they were feeding it (baby) white lab mice, one every week and a half. I couldn't see any ribs, but it was definitely malnourished. Urate was scattered around, but I didn't see much fecal matter.

I asked to hold it, and it felt really weak and jagged (probably jagged due to some scales still being on it). It didn't show any interest in me; no tongue flickering and no crawling. It just sat on my arm and didn't move much. Nothing was coming out of its nose or mouth, and it wasn't wheezing. Respiration rate looked normal as compared to the ball python that I have at home.

I realize that this snake is probably sick, malnourished, injured, and dehydrated. He wants $30 for it, and I'm going to buy it from him on Tuesday. Hopefully this little guy (or girl) can get its strength up. I'll be giving him some aspen bedding and a flower pot-hide to use until Tuesday, so hopefully that will keep the snake alive until I can get it in my custody. And yes, I'll post pictures I don't think anybody was trying to neglect the snake; they just didn't know what to do for it and now it's sick. At least they're getting it into a better home.

[DutchHerp]

You're awesome for rescuing this Ball Python. Please keep us updated on how it's doing, I hope it'll thrive in your care.

[JNieporte]

I'm hoping everything will go well. It's not as serious as some of the "rescue" stories I've read, but I think life will be a bit easier on the snake afterwards. Hopefully I'll do a better job than his kid did, although I've only had my first ball python for less than a month now.

[llovelace]

I'm sure once you get the little fella home with you he will be just fine

[JNieporte]

Just wanted to post an update on the situation. I picked up the snake on Tuesday and set him / her (don't know which yet) up in a 10-gallon with the right thing. Left him alone for a while. When I got to checking on him earlier today, he was slithering around the tank like he was hungry. I tried live, but he didn't want it. I tried a pre-killed, never-frozen mouse, but he didn't want that either. Thawed was a no-go as well.

He seems to enjoy whipping me with his tail, although he's showing absolutely no other signs of aggression. Upon closer inspection, there are no mites or parasites, and he left urates in the tank (but no poop). Overall, I think the little guy will be okay. Probably just scared and wants to be left alone.

A visit to the vet in scheduled for tomorrow.

[Toronto Python Gurus]

to get rid of the wheezing boost the temps to about 95F for a day or two and he will get rid of that no problem happened to a snake i rescued and the problem went away the next day after that i regulated the temps back to normal and he has been fine ever since, also look for wrinkles or wrinkly skin in the snakes body thats a sure sign the snake is dehydrated, good luck with him keep us posted and your a great person for rescuing him!

[Kaorte]

Just wanted to post an update on the situation. I picked up the snake on Tuesday and set him / her (don't know which yet) up in a 10-gallon with the right thing. Left him alone for a while. When I got to checking on him earlier today, he was slithering around the tank like he was hungry. I tried live, but he didn't want it. I tried a pre-killed, never-frozen mouse, but he didn't want that either. Thawed was a no-go as well.

He seems to enjoy whipping me with his tail, although he's showing absolutely no other signs of aggression. Upon closer inspection, there are no mites or parasites, and he left urates in the tank (but no poop). Overall, I think the little guy will be okay. Probably just scared and wants to be left alone.

A visit to the vet in scheduled for tomorrow.

Give him a week to settle in and I am sure he/she will be pounding down the mice! Usually the first few days of slithering around is more of a "OMG WHERE AM I" slithering around as opposed to an "OMG I AM HUNGRY" slithering around.

8D

[Oxylepy]

Yeah give him a week or two to get used to his surroundings, after that he should be okay. And as the previous poster said, the initial slithering is him trying to get to know his surroundings, or trying to find an escape route to get back to somewhere that he knows and is comfortable with. And even though you can't see any mites I would suggest using PAM with all new snakes, or heck on yourself when you go out hiking, lol, never know what you might bring back.

[JNieporte]

He ate! Holy crap, he struck fast. Three coils around, but he took about 40 minutes to get the whole thing into his belly (as opposed to 10-15 minutes for my other one of similar size). He immediately laid in the water dish for a few minutes, then went into his hide. I'm hoping to get photos soon.

Still no contact for two weeks unless I'm changing the water dish. And yes, I've quarantined him in a seperate room