new ball python : malnourished

Update: well there's been a change for the better
i assist feed him a small furry today and put him in his tub and left him with the furry just in his mouth and saw him spit it out. I decided to leave him be for a while and when I came back an hour later the furry was consumed😄
atleast now he has something in his belly.
i will feed him again in 5 days unassisted and see I he does the deed.
thanks everyone for the help

Great to hear! You are making progress.

Post a pic of him so we can see that full belly.


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the furry was to small to be seen lol
im going to try a hopper in 4 days and then ill post a pic then

Omg I'm following this. The first 50 posts just made me want to cry, but then you said he ate and I have hope now that he will recover
Keep it up Lil baby snakey! We want to see you get big and strong!

Not sure if u fed him again,yet, but I'd recommend feeding the same size for at least three feedings before making the jump up to the next size. Unless it was waaaayyy too small for him

I fed him again yesterday, same size. Didn't make an outline on his belly so I didn't post. I'm getting help from a local breeder at the moment and he said we should consider rat pinks for his next feeding. Comments?

I'd say maybe one more successful feeding of the size ur giving him now then bump it up
I'd say three is a pretty safe number
If he can keep food down for that long, then he's ready for bigger meals

I am so happy to hear he's eating for you!

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Originally Posted by Memo

I fed him again yesterday, same size. Didn't make an outline on his belly so I didn't post. I'm getting help from a local breeder at the moment and he said we should consider rat pinks for his next feeding. Comments?

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Is he still assist feeding or eating on his own?

0.2 Normal

I am still assist feeding

Don't give up hope friend! :colbert:

You're doing such an amazing job of trying to help this guy recover. Lots of hopes for y'all. :gj: :gj: :gj:

i too have a slightly malnourished snake, but she is nowhere near as skinny as yours. mine has eaten once in the week and a half ive owned her, but in that feeding she was intimidated by her prey so i had to offer smaller and she took it. are you heating the head of the mouse/rat with a hair dryer? thats what i read to do with f/t mice and it seemed to work. just put the hair dryer pointed at the f/t mouses head for 10-20 seconds and then offer it. another thing you can do is called pre-scenting, where you place a warm(not hot) f/t prey item near the enclosure or in a small container in the enclosure. this kicks the animal into feeding mode. lol this thread is awesome i cant wait to see her get bigger.

Update us! Hit us with some pics! :D

Been following this thread religiously.

Now following this post as well

I fed him a rat pink just two days ago (assist fed). I will post pics tomorrow. He's currently at a weight of 61g or so. I'm starting to get my hopes up with him.
So I've been bit by the ball python bug lol. I want to get two more with future breeding purposes. Hatchling size. I want to get them from a reputable breeder so I could be able to enjoy a snake without so much stress.
Any suggestions?

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...age_352158.jpg

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http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...age_361382.jpg

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...age_383766.jpg

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...age_383766.jpg

sorry for the crappy pics. ill try to take some better ones on his next feeding date.
also sorry for the double post

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is his tail section normal? i believe he's constipated or something lol

Hi,

He is v v skinny in the body which makes his tail section look huge.

I have found in the past they don't seem to absorb the nutrients as well when force or assist fed - I believe it is down to the stress involved.

Once he starts eating on his own he will seem to get much more good out of each feeding.

It's a tricky thing to judge as the best way to move them forward from assisting is letting them get hungry on their own for a week or so but, at his current body condition, I wouldn't try doing that just yet.

I would assist every 4-6 days to try and build him up a little first.

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Originally Posted by dr del

Hi,
It's a tricky thing to judge as the best way to move them forward from assisting is letting them get hungry on their own for a week or so but, at his current body condition, I wouldn't try doing that just yet.

I would assist every 4-6 days to try and build him up a little first.

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I agree

Hey I have a question for everyone: would a snake like this still be pooping, or would it be making use of all the prey for energy? By the way I'm glad he's doing better! Keep up the good work!


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Starting to look a Lil better. Great job so far

I'll be really excited to see some comparison pics about 6 months from now, when he's much bigger and at a healthier weight. Try to invest in a DSLR or something, because we're going to want to see some high resolution images once he's all better! :D

So does he have a name? I feel that he is becoming quite the celebrity :)


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My mother named him Petuñio lol

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Originally Posted by Citrus

Hey I have a question for everyone: would a snake like this still be pooping, or would it be making use of all the prey for energy? By the way I'm glad he's doing better! Keep up the good work!

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My Brazilian rainbow boa litter had two "yolk babies". They pooped while being assist fed.

I only ask because my pastel still hadn't pooped since I first got her and has eaten twice.


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Citrus

I only ask because my pastel still hadn't pooped since I first got her and has eaten twice.


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Don't worry about it. Balls can go a long time without eating. Instead of thinking of it in terms of weeks, think in terms of meals. He's eaten two meals - do YOU poop after every two meals? Nah, planty of people can go several meals without having to go! Sometimes balls can go a month or two without going. He'll be fine. :)

well I guess the tail thing wasn't normal after all. Petuñio died today at an unknown time. I think he tried to poop but couldn't and was blocked . His vent was open with white stuff( I guess poop) partially out and a 3-4 inch bulge at the end of his tail. R.I.P Petuñio

As of my reptile carrer idk yet

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well I guess the tail thing wasn't normal after all. Petuñio died today at an unknown time. I think he tried to poop but couldn't and was blocked . His vent was open with white stuff( I guess poop) partially out and a 3-4 inch bulge at the end of his tail. R.I.P Petuñio

As of my reptile carrer idk yet

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well I guess the tail thing wasn't normal after all. Petuñio died today at an unknown time. I think he tried to poop but couldn't and was blocked . His vent was open with white stuff( I guess poop) partially out and a 3-4 inch bulge at the end of his tail. R.I.P Petuñio

As of my reptile carrer idk yet

:( sorry, you tried

You did a good thing by trying to keep him alive and bring him back to health.

Best of luck with the next one. :(

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Originally Posted by Reed12321

?...The frozen one can always be put back in the freezer, and the longer the rat pup lives, the weaker it'll get (without it's mother's milk that is). That's a little inhumane, but if the rat is weak and unable to fight back a lot, then your snake may be more willing to try to eat it.

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I must disagree with this advice. It is inhumane to starve a rat. When you have live animals in your possession they should be properly cared for, even when their eventual fate is to be a prey item. If the snake is too weak to handle the prey, I would suggest a smaller prey.

Fortunately, the OP has been successful at getting the snake to feed. No doubt we can all agree this is good news.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DennisM

I must disagree with this advice. It is inhumane to starve a rat. When you have live animals in your possession they should be properly cared for, even when their eventual fate is to be a prey item. If the snake is too weak to handle the prey, I would suggest a smaller prey.

Fortunately, the OP has been successful at getting the snake to feed. No doubt we can all agree this is good news.

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Sorry, I missed the end of the post. Unfortunately, the snake did not survive.

I don't see an "I'm a dumbass" icon to add to my post, but if there was one I would add it. Moderators, can we add one? I'm sure it will be widely used.

nonetheless; kudos to Memo, the OP, for making the effort.

Cried for Petuñio. Poor baby. You tried. :tears:

Sorry for your loss Memo. How you did, I was sure he'll make it. It wasn't just feeding the problem in his case, you couldn't do more.
Don't give it up the reptile keeping please. The hobby need more people like you. Now you have everything to keep a little ball in your home, so I'm sure you can get a healthy little one from a trustworthy breeder.

that sucks :(

So sorry :'(. Don't be discouraged or hard on yourself. It's difficult for even experienced keepers and vets to bring a snake back to health in the condition he was in.

Sucks indeed.

I'd say you did far more than you were prepared for, took on a losing battle, and did your best.

No shame in losing when you have tried, tried, and tried again to do your best.

The white stuff was probably a urate, which is their pee (it comes out as a piece of chalk). Don't beat yourself up too much, you tried your best. Sometimes there is just nothing you can do. I just lost a BEL who was very difficult from the second she hatched. I think it was an incubation malfunction. But anyway, she didn't eat, I had to assist feed her and she still didn't make it.

Memo you tried harder than a lot of people would have with that snake. You gave it a chance and there aren't many who would have. That snake was really in bad condition but you had him eating and happy as far as a snakes emotions go. Don't be discouraged, I say when you're ready to give it another shot and get the prettiest damn snake you can find.


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Thanks for the advice everyone and I'm probably going to end up trying again with a well started snake in the near future. Thanks for the help

Memo....plus one on your rep, well earned.

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Originally Posted by Memo

Thanks for the advice everyone and I'm probably going to end up trying again with a well started snake in the near future. Thanks for the help

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Memo, please do try again. Everything in this thread indicates you will be a fine snake keeper. My first snake, 22 years ago, was also a difficult and frustrating experience. A couple of months later I acquired 2.0 farm hatched normal (that's pretty much all that was available in bps for less than 25k at the time!). I still have them both! Plus a few others, LOL.