Omigosh...I need help

I just adopted a ball python. The owners said they'd had it for 6-7 months and were feeding it pinkies and fuzzies! It looks so thin and pathetic. I grabbed it and ran. It has a lot of retained shed on its head and I'll try and get some pics. My question is should I soak him/her first or let em settle in first. There is fecal material in the cage should I take that into the vet or wait for fresh ones? I am just so upset! The poor thing! I've had mine for less time and she's at LEAST twice this new ones size. I've gotta go get a new accurite too. UGH! How long for quarantine too?

OK Christie, first of all, thank you for rescuing that poor little baby! Second of all, while I am FAR from an expert (HELLO ADAM, GET IN HERE & HELP!!!!!) I will try to help a little bit. Typical quarentine is 90 days I believe.

I don't think that it would be a bad thing to get the fecal matter in the tank to the vet although they may want a fresh one. I would DEFINATELY get the snake to the vet ASAP. I would even go so far as to call in for an emergency appointment if possible.

I would think that soaking now would be a pretty good idea. I know that the snake is probably stressed about being moved but if the retained shed has been there for long enough, it could cause circulation problems which could lead to some serious troubles down the road.

Good luck in saving the BP. Keep us posted!

I would go ahead and soak it. The BP I rescued awhile back, had horrid retained shed on him. Though I wanted to give him some rest, I just had to soak him. Honestly, in an hourlong soak, all the skin came off. So yeah, I would def. soak!
I would definately quarantine for as long as you can stand it. At least 2 months, in my opinion. Are you planning on taking him to the vet? It might just be a good dieda to let him settle in before doing that, unless you can get him in right away, which is tough.
I am really glad you got the poor little guy. it burns me up to see how people neglect their BPs. I wish you luck with him.

Christie, good for you! You may well have saved that poor snake from a very miserable existance. I'm far too new to give you any real advice, other than I've asked about quarantine when we get our next snake and I believe was told 60-90 days and a clean vet check before the new snake can live even in the same room with the established healthy one.

I did find this link to a site with some advice on quarantine procedures if it might help.

http://www.ssnakess.com/caresheets/bp/care.html

I too hope one of the really experienced people log on soon and can give you real life solid advice on what to do when and how.

Good luck with the new snake. I'm sure we all think you are wonderful for taking on this big job of rehabing this snake.


~~Joanna~~

If you haven't already, his cage will need to be completely stripped down and disinfected. Use a very simple setup after that - paper towels for substrate, water bowl, simple hides. Think minimal.

After that soak, I'd just give him a dark, warm, cozy place to settle into for a few days.

The first thing to do is to get him a few wholesome meals.

First of all thanks for all the help. I've just gotten the new guy into a nice clean cage. First thing it did was run over to the water and get a drink. Did I mention the original water was pink?!?!?! Grrrrrrr. I've never had to soak so but if memory serves (and it rarely does) it's in room temperature water or slightly warmer and for an hour right or less if shed comes off. The previous owners must had handled it a lot because it's a pretty relaxed little guy. They said they'd had it for 6-7 months and it's only about 24" long and 165g. None of the shed seems be encirling the bp so I'll try the soak. It seems to be mostly around the head. Anyway the gameplan is this....First run to get some mice (I only have small rats right now of course). Then grab another accurite from walmart. Come home soak and attempt to feed the poor thing. Leave alone and try and get a vet appt for next week. Sound good? Here are a couple pics!

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...inedsheddl.jpg


https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...thin_thumb.jpg

When you soak him, if you have a shoebox size rubbermaid tub with a lid, those will work well. Add about 1/2"-1" of lukewarm water, place snake inside, put lid on, and put the entire little tub into the snake's enclosure on the warm side. I'd leave him for a good hour since it looks like his entire head and eyecaps are retained. You can put a towel or something rough in the tub(wet towel :) ) as well as the water, so he can have something to rub on.

Did the previous owners say when the last time the snake ate? I'd get him settled into his new home first and leave him be for a week or so, and then try to feed him. This is alot of stress on the little guy/girl all at once, so working with him/her in baby steps will help minimize it.

I commend you on rescuing the poor little guy/girl from that place. We all know what would have happened to the snake if you hadn't.

May be wrong but to me the eye caps dont look retained, it looks like it starts at the middle/back of the head and proceeds down the neck, And if thats the case its easier on you and the snake.

Chris

It does look like his whole head is retained since the scales on top of his head are incredibly dry, and his eyes are not normal, and very dry as well. Whatever is retained, the soaking will help get rid of it. Hopefully he'll drink while soaking and get him/herself hydrated.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

It does look like his whole head is retained since the scales on top of his head are incredibly dry, and his eyes are not normal, and very dry as well. Whatever is retained, the soaking will help get rid of it.

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That's what I was thinking as well. My friends ball retained some shed on her head and that's what it looked like.