Need some advice on my new addition

I posted earlier that I got a new BP in this morning. I noticed that he looked thin, but it wasn't until I got home from work and had more than a few minutes to look at him that I realized just how thin he was. He looks like some of the rescues people post pictures of. He's very triangular. Most of my 2010s haven't really filled out yet so I can see their spines, but they eat well, are mostly round and have been gaining weight just fine. This guy just looks like he's been severly underfeed. He has no roundness to him. The seller I bought him from had great reviews here and on fauna classifieds, so I'm not sure what to think. My next feeding is this Saturday and usually I would skip the first feeding for my new addition, but he's so thin I feel like I should offer him food anyways.

I'm guessing he's thin for one of three reasons: 1.) he's a bad feeder, 2.) there is something medically wrong with him or 3.) the seller wasn't feeding him properly. He seems healthy, no signs of RI or mouth rot. He's active when held, which is actually unusal for me as most of my younger BPs like to ball when distrubed. I'm not sure what to do, I can't have a fecal done until I feed him because I doubt he has anything in him. What should I do? Should I try to feed him Saturday? Take him to the vet? Any advice would be great, thank you!

My camera batter is dead, I forgot to charge it when I left. These are the best pics I got this morning that show how thin he is:

http://i1139.photobucket.com/albums/...i/IMG_0513.jpg

http://i1139.photobucket.com/albums/...i/IMG_0514.jpg

He really does not look that thin, don't worry so much. Try feeding him and giving him a different schedule from your others, like every 4-5 days as opposed to 6-7 days (or whatever your schedule is). He'll gain weight fast.

Small snake look thin when they empty out. Any responsible breeder wouldn't have fed him for at least a week before shipping him. Just feed him and make sure he puts some weight on. Snakes are sometimes stressed from shipping so I would really encourage leaving him alone so you have the best chance of him eating. I see people fretting sometime too much and stressing the snake out more. If you let them settle in they will eat for you most of the time. I leave my finicky ones alone as much as possible and I've been getting them to eat at least every week, sometimes more often! Good luck!

Regards,

B

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Originally Posted by Simple Man

Small snake look thin when they empty out. Any responsible breeder wouldn't have fed him for at least a week before shipping him. Just feed him and make sure he puts some weight on. Snakes are sometimes stressed from shipping so I would really encourage leaving him alone so you have the best chance of him eating. I see people fretting sometime too much and stressing the snake out more. If you let them settle in they will eat for you most of the time. I leave my finicky ones alone as much as possible and I've been getting them to eat at least every week, sometimes more often! Good luck!

Regards,

B

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I have some small snakes, but none of them look this thin, my female spotnose actually weighed less when I got her.

The breeder didn't really have a week to not feed him; I bought him last Friday and he was shipped yesterday. I also normally unbox them, get them setup and run away to work. When I get home I take them out for a few to check them over to make sure they are fine, then they get left alone until they eat for me.

I'm probably over reacting, but the more snakes I get the easier I panic, my entire collection is technically in quarantine so they are all in the same rack. One sick snake and I could lose them all (minus my boa who is in a different room) and I'm rather attached to them. I may have plans to breed them in the future, but they are pets first. :)

Thanks for making me feel a little better. :)

It doesn't look that thin. You can try feeding it this weekend if you want just does freak out if it doesn't eat.

Make sure you don't handle him for at least a week. Any new reptile should be left alone for the first week so they can settle in. It will be stressful enough for then getting a new home. THey don't need to be stressed out more by getting handled. If you are worried about the wieght I wouldn't handle him until he gets eatting.

I'm starting to feel that maybe all of my others are fat since the consenses seems to be this one is not thin... :(

Having them all in the same rack is not quarentineing. If you have one boa in a different room then that is the only snake that is quarentined. You should always have proper quarentine procedures because like you said, "One sick snake and I could lose them all". That is true.

WHat is the age of it?

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Originally Posted by van_garret2000

Having them all in the same rack is not quarentineing. If you have one boa in a different room then that is the only snake that is quarentined. You should always have proper quarentine procedures because like you said, "One sick snake and I could lose them all". That is true.

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I know it's not proper quarentine, but I would have run out of rooms long ago if I tried to keep them all in separate rooms; I live in a small 2 bedroom apartment. I got my first BP in October of last year and completely messed up quarentine when I got my spider in February and took them both to the vet on the same day (didn't think that one out completely when I made the appointment) so I "put" my original BP into quarentine. Since then I have been adding 1-3 new snakes every few weeks so I just reset the quarentine timer. As soon as I manage to go at least 60 days without adding a new BP I will quarentine them in my spare room. So I think I am actually quarentining properly, I just keep resetting the clock, which is what I've read you are supposed to do when you add a new animal to your quarentine room.

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Originally Posted by van_garret2000

WHat is the age of it?

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He's a 2010, I don't have an exact hatch date.