Rescued BP - is it Pastel?

He's been under my care for a couple of days, it was found in someone's backyard in 50 degree weather. When I picked him up, there was no movement and he was barely hanging on.

I brought him home, and placed him in a tub. Slowly raising temps on one side to 85 degrees and the other side 70 degrees.

He seems to be coming back slowly, still a bit sluggish though.

I'll be honest, I'm not very familiar with BP's, hence why I have joined this online community.

Here are three photos, I hope I am able to receive some input.

He's certainly brighter/lighter than others I have seen.

http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/9724/001smm.jpg

http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/7113/002sm.jpg

http://img697.imageshack.us/img697/5999/003sm.jpg

Doesn't look like a Pastel, but it does look like a really light normal. It could be another morph, but most likely it is a very light normal, very beautiful too.

And holy crap, that is a huge scar in its back.:O

EDIT: It kind of looks like a Fire to me, but I could be wrong LOL..

You don't normally find BP morphs slithering around the outdoors. Especially in the United States LOL.

http://www.constrictors.com/images/F...FireBall30.jpg
There's my reference LOL.. Google searched: Fire ball python

^.^

Quote:

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Originally Posted by revxus

He's been under my care for a couple of days, it was found in someone's backyard in 50 degree weather. When I picked him up, there was no movement and he was barely hanging on.

I brought him home, and placed him in a tub. Slowly raising temps on one side to 85 degrees and the other side 70 degrees.

He seems to be coming back slowly, still a bit sluggish though.

I'll be honest, I'm not very familiar with BP's, hence why I have joined this online community.

Here are three photos, I hope I am able to receive some input.

He's certainly brighter/lighter than others I have seen.

http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/9724/001smm.jpg

http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/7113/002sm.jpg

http://img697.imageshack.us/img697/5999/003sm.jpg

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What color are his eyes?

He's beautiful! He reminds me of Desert Ghosts. Definitely a unique snake.

Poor fellow, though--stuck outside in 50-degree weather! I'm glad you found him!

It's a light colored normal. It has horrible rodent scars, but they are healed up well. Keep him warm and well fed and he will still make a great pet.

Rick

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SiscoReptiles

It's a light colored normal. It has horrible rodent scars, but they are healed up well. Keep him warm and well fed and he will still make a great pet.

Rick

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Yeah, I probably will wait a couple weeks to feed him, that way he can settle in and start actin' like a Ball again. I noticed however, it may have a RI. When it flicks his tongue out, it looks like the end tips are stuck together. I've only seen that a few times, as he refrains from using much of that organ right now.

BTW, I'll take a close-up pic of its eyes and post it soon enough.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by revxus

Yeah, I probably will wait a couple weeks to feed him, that way he can settle in and start actin' like a Ball again. I noticed however, it may have a RI. When it flicks his tongue out, it looks like the end tips are stuck together. I've only seen that a few times, as he refrains from using much of that organ right now.

BTW, I'll take a close-up pic of its eyes and post it soon enough.

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You might want to have a vet give him a look over

Your temps are too cold in his cage. I would raise the warm side to about 90 and the cool side to a little over 80.

If your lucky he may just be dehydrated. Give him a bowl of fresh water and slowly get the temps up to 90/91 hot side and about 83/85 cool side. Humidity pretty hight too. About 65% at least.

If he does have an RI raising the temp and humidity will help until you can get him to a vet. Id definately get him to a vet though. Poor thing is underweight too. Id try giving a mouse in a week or 2. Dont try feeding him too much too fast though.

Put some neosporin on those scales of him!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SiscoReptiles

It's a light colored normal. It has horrible rodent scars, but they are healed up well. Keep him warm and well fed and he will still make a great pet.

Rick

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No, those look more like he tried to squeeze through something and didn't fit right, scraping his back.

If his/her ends of the tongue are stuck together that possibly can be an RI. I would definitely get a vet check up on him, and try to get a fecal as well to check for any internet parasites.

Ok, so we transferred him to a glass tank, added a water bowl and some moss to increase humidity a bit. Boy, was the little guy thirsty!

http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/9537/004zwv.jpg

http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/5462/005xi.jpg

http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/6861/006en.jpg

http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/1294/007fd.jpg

What's the humidity level in the enclosure at the moment?

And he does look like a thirsty boy! At least he got some water:D He probably would have died of dehydration.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CoolioTiffany

If his/her ends of the tongue are stuck together that possibly can be an RI. I would definitely get a vet check up on him, and try to get a fecal as well to check for any internet parasites.

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Whoops I just caught an error in that post LOL. I meant to say internal parasites, my bad!:oops:

Ohh the poor thing :( well good that he is under your cair now :) keep us updated. I hope he turns out to be a very healthy ball

Quote:

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Originally Posted by revxus

Ok, so we transferred him to a glass tank, added a water bowl and some moss to increase humidity a bit. Boy, was the little guy thirsty!

http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/9537/004zwv.jpg

http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/5462/005xi.jpg

http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/6861/006en.jpg

http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/1294/007fd.jpg

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I dont think its a pastel but a nice looking normal :gj:

Looks good so far. I would keep the moss in there to keep the humidity high until you find out if he is sick or not. Even if its up to 75% or more. That will work wonders if he is sick or dehydrated.

Just keep an eye on his belly and scales. If you see any sign of irritation or redness take out the moist bedding and use newspaper. Just make sure he has a dry side and that not all the bedding is constantly moist.

You should not see that problem though. While treating RI keeping it more humid than normal helps alot.

Call up the vets in your area and try to find an exotics vet with experience with snakes. Find out the cost of a check up and mouth culture. A fecal sample will be nearly impossible since he wont go until he starts eating regularly so dont worry to much about that just yet. Watch for sign of RI including sounds when breathing, yawning more than once a day or so, discharge or mucus from the mouth or nostrils, tongue is white or grey instead of pink, rubbing his mouth and nostrils on the glass alot, holding his head to the side or stargazing (looking straight up) for long periods..

You have done a great job so far. Its awesome you rescued this little guy :gj:

Wow, poor thing looks like he's been through a lot! So good to hear you're helping him!

Well, about 3/4 of the screen lid is covered by a towel, to keep humidity in but according to the hygrometer it reads 80% on the side with the moss, the other half I just have dry mulch with the water bowl on the dry side, which is also the side where the screen isn't covered by the towel so it's not all humid inside the glass tank.

Anyway, he seems to be a lot more active after soaking up some water and gulping it down. Since weather has been cold here, I didn't think the water would have made him so active, but he's doing much much better by the minute. He's definitely exploring his new home, well at least temp until I find someone to adopt him.

I've got two other BP's rescued, I'll post up some photos later. Funny how I'm used to rescuing native species found in homes and backyards, instead I've found 3 BP's runnin' loose without owners!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by revxus

Well, about 3/4 of the screen lid is covered by a towel, to keep humidity in but according to the hygrometer it reads 80% on the side with the moss, the other half I just have dry mulch with the water bowl on the dry side, which is also the side where the screen isn't covered by the towel so it's not all humid inside the glass tank.

Anyway, he seems to be a lot more active after soaking up some water and gulping it down. Since weather has been cold here, I didn't think the water would have made him so active, but he's doing much much better by the minute. He's definitely exploring his new home, well at least temp until I find someone to adopt him.

I've got two other BP's rescued, I'll post up some photos later. Funny how I'm used to rescuing native species found in homes and backyards, instead I've found 3 BP's runnin' loose without owners!

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It's great he's doing a lot better.

At least you can actually find native species AND non native species.. No matter what I do I can't find anything! LOL. I've only seen 3 snakes in the wild, other than that, nothing besides the zoo:P

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Originally Posted by Beardedragon

No, those look more like he tried to squeeze through something and didn't fit right, scraping his back.

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I disagree, but that doesn't make your opinion worth less than mine.

I will go on to state that I ran a reptile rescue for several years and saw the worst of the worst. The scarring is indeed consistent with rodent damage.

A ball python that does not eat, and if left unsupervised, may become prey to rodents. The snake will ball up and protect their head, allowing the rat to chew away at it's back. The always happens to the back, along the spine, and sometimes the end the tail. The damage can go all the way to the spine and ribs, and will often leave the snake alive but in dire pain. The more severe animals will get put down by a vet or will die of infections or skin necrosis.

Your theory of the snake causing damage crawling under something is, to me, less likely based on my experience running the rescue and raising balls. They will squeeze into tight areas and if they get stuck or gouged by something they will pull back where they came from. Any scraping in the circumstance would be more superficial and would not scar as badly.

Burns would be another theory, but all burns I have seen have been on their bellies or sides as they wrapped around something hot. I have seen only very few burns on the back from climbing logs or vines to close to a basking bulb, but never so severe to scar white, they typically scar black.

These are my thoughts based on my experiences. I am not saying your opinion is less valuable, just clarifying the rational behind my opinion.

Rick

So, let me get this straight... indeed these are scars, but will they ever heal and how will they heal? I think I've only dealt with one scarred serpent, but it was a Dum's and it went away over time, darkening and almost became unnoticeable unless you knew there was a scar there.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SiscoReptiles

I disagree, but that doesn't make your opinion worth less than mine.

I will go on to state that I ran a reptile rescue for several years and saw the worst of the worst. The scarring is indeed consistent with rodent damage.

A ball python that does not eat, and if left unsupervised, may become prey to rodents. The snake will ball up and protect their head, allowing the rat to chew away at it's back. The always happens to the back, along the spine, and sometimes the end the tail. The damage can go all the way to the spine and ribs, and will often leave the snake alive but in dire pain. The more severe animals will get put down by a vet or will die of infections or skin necrosis.

Your theory of the snake causing damage crawling under something is, to me, less likely based on my experience running the rescue and raising balls. They will squeeze into tight areas and if they get stuck or gouged by something they will pull back where they came from. Any scraping in the circumstance would be more superficial and would not scar as badly.

Burns would be another theory, but all burns I have seen have been on their bellies or sides as they wrapped around something hot. I have seen only very few burns on the back from climbing logs or vines to close to a basking bulb, but never so severe to scar white, they typically scar black.

These are my thoughts based on my experiences. I am not saying your opinion is less valuable, just clarifying the rational behind my opinion.

Rick

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Burns could be another thing, but it would be pretty hard to get on his back. another thing to look at is that it is on the thickest part of his body, the toughest part to get through something. Also look at the scales right before the white and after, they look damaged ( But not scared) as well. What ever the reason, they look healed so it is not something to worry about, id still get it checked over by a vet though when ever you get around to taking him.

We can agree to disagree. :)

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Originally Posted by Beardedragon

What ever the reason, they look healed so it is not something to worry about, id still get it checked over by a vet though when ever you get around to taking him.

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This I agree with 100%.

Rick

I have to say, I side with the person who says it may be a scrape from escaping his enclosure--a loosely latched screen top, for example. Notice how the scarring is over the widest part of the snake's body, and runs the length of the top of the spine. You can also see how it fades rather than stops both at the beginning and the end--lighter scars being seen at slightly smaller diameters of the snake's body. While rodents will bite and chew at the same area, the fading out on either end of the scar is less suggestive of that--at least in my opinion.

If the snake were most of the way out when the damage began, he could pull back, but it would probably be unsuccessful--or he could instead choose to continue forward, since he's almost out anyhow. That might be how he wound up in a back yard in the first place.
It looks like it was a pretty nasty wound, either way, but it looks like it's fully healed now.

If that is a normal, it is one of the most beautiful I have seen. The pale coloring and mild blushing is super fantastic. If I lived close to you, I'd beg to be the new owner. :D Thank heavens you found the poor thing. It surely would have perished without your kind and generous care. Major kudos to you, for rescuing it.

I give you many thanks for taking the little guy or gal in and giving it the care it needs. I live on the complete other side of the country, so i am of no help to you but i can only say that he will probably appreciate the warmth, food, and water A LOT!

Oh, if only snakes could speak... :taz:

I have to say is not a bad looking scar, "Fashion Wise" :P. I think it gives him/her personality!

But a nasty wound none the less...

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Originally Posted by WingedWolfPsion

I have to say, I side with the person who says it may be a scrape from escaping his enclosure--a loosely latched screen top, for example.

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If you take a screen top and press it down on your hand and pull your hand out from under it. It will not damage your hand.

What would likely happen is that the ball would lift up the cover and force it's head out. If it got stuck it would pull its self back into the tank, perhaps getting it's neck pinned and stuck from the pressure of the clips, but the cover would not gouge through several layers of the derma. There are several layers that need to be damaged for the scar to appear white instead of black.

Rick

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SiscoReptiles

If you take a screen top and press it down on your hand and pull your hand out from under it. It will not damage your hand.

What would likely happen is that the ball would lift up the cover and force it's head out. If it got stuck it would pull its self back into the tank, perhaps getting it's neck pinned and stuck from the pressure of the clips, but the cover would not gouge through several layers of the derma. There are several layers that need to be damaged for the scar to appear white instead of black.

Rick

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Not going to debate how THAT snake received its scars, but I have a couple animals housed in 40 quart tubs with lids that have a lip that hangs down from the lid - and the snakes squeeze between that lip and the locking lid indention. They have rubbed the color off the scales in what I call "tub rub". Not all snakes housed in this particular tub do this, but two have done it.

So - it is possible to happen from rubbing in the enclosure. I know for a fact that neither of them were burned or injured by prey - I've raised both from babies and watched them actually try to squeeze between this gap and seen that lip running down their neck while they were doing so.

:soapbx:This guy rescued a couple balls and came here for some additional input even though he seems to know enough to get by.. And here you people are arguing about how and why the snake got scraped along its back??

Does it really matter? That already healed up injury has absolutely nothing to do with the rescue and care of this snake.

He never even asked for any advice other than is it a pastel. Quit being so critical. Its alive. Thats all that matters.

:2cent:

That snake is light in color unnaturally. Feed him a nice small rat once a week for a few months and he will get his proper coloration back. The reason he is that color is a lack of nutritional supply, dehydration, and improper temperatures.

People need to stop this whole 'scarring' dispute. I hardly even felt like reading over it, it looked too immature. This snake was a rescue, so I was not surprised to see this animal in such a state. This man is on this site asking for our help, all we can do is correct his mistakes and make sure that the animal is healthy from now on.
Also, I see burns on backs all the time from wrapping lighting fixtures and heat rocks.

It looked like it was healed so I wasn't concerned with it at all. I'm far more concerned about the nutrition that this snake is getting/had received.

Unfortunately, unnecessary debating comes with being part of a forum with people all over the world, a broad and immense pool of knowledge.

I've had my share of debating. And unfortunately, that's one of the reasons I left the "herp world."

Now that I'm back into herping, and back in the forums I only wish that the other rookies aren't discouraged from enjoying the hobby of keeping reptiles.

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Originally Posted by revxus

Unfortunately, unnecessary debating comes with being part of a forum with people all over the world, a broad and immense pool of knowledge.

I've had my share of debating. And unfortunately, that's one of the reasons I left the "herp world."

Now that I'm back into herping, and back in the forums I only wish that the other rookies aren't discouraged from enjoying the hobby of keeping reptiles.

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No one should be discouraged. If anything (and if it were me stuck in a heated debate as a rookie) those people would benefit from just reading the husbandry forums so they know exactly how to care for these guys and then just ignore everyone else.

Im sort of a rookie myself. Had many different types of snakes & herps in general many years ago but had an accident and had to get out of it for a long time. Im back & im re learning everything because it changes all the time. What was right back then is no longer right in many eyes.

No reason to be discouraged. In my eyes you're an awesome person for rescuing these guys & doing all you can for them. You have the right idea on how to deal with the forums & the people on them, and you look to be taking great care of these BPs you took in. I looked at the pics in your other post of the first one too.

Keep finding them! They need more people like you around to save them :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by blackcrystal22

That snake is light in color unnaturally. Feed him a nice small rat once a week for a few months and he will get his proper coloration back. The reason he is that color is a lack of nutritional supply, dehydration, and improper temperatures.

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This is very interesting, I did not know that this was caused by improper care and neglect. I thought this only applied to other high-maintenance reptiles like iguanas and bearded dragons.

You learn something every day! :)

I was not arguing, just discussing. Isn't this a discussion forum? I never acted immature and if you read back through my posts I was always polite and respectful of other peoples opinions even if I did not agree with them.

I will not reply further.

Rick

I have a VERY light normal BP. The colors and the blushing look similar. If it weren't for that scar I would say they were the same snake.

My pont being is I am no expert but I don't believe the light color is from malnutrition. My light girl is my best eater and fastest grower. I could be wrong I'm no expert.

Mike

looks alot like a granite or possibly has some xanthic genetics

That's no rodent scar... either he was trapped under something and had to squeeze himself into cutting his back to get out, something had a hold of him (bigger than a rodent), or sustained another form of injury.

I have seen a similiaur scar on a friends Ball python that was also found (he found it in his barn actually), that had crawled through some old chainlink fence wrapped up in the barn to hide, and had cut itself... the scars resemble those almost down to a T. He resucicated the poor fella, just as you have, and its still kickin' strong 8 years later =)

good job on the rescue, btw... in those temps, your new friend wouldnt have lasted likely a day or two more, especially during night.

Most reptiles turn dark in color when temperatures are below optimal and they are stressed or ill. Light colors usually indicate good health, and higher external temps (they lighten to reflect more light and reduce internal heating). I haven't noticed my ball pythons changing color much, though, regardless of their condition--and I have taken in a couple of rescues that weren't in good shape. Females brighten up when they are gravid--that's about it.

This snake doesn't look like he's in that bad of condition--he could use a bit of weight, but he doesn't look emaciated in the photos.

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Originally Posted by gerbster1

looks alot like a granite or possibly has some xanthic genetics

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Perhaps someone's genetic experiment?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by revxus

This is very interesting, I did not know that this was caused by improper care and neglect. I thought this only applied to other high-maintenance reptiles like iguanas and bearded dragons.

You learn something every day! :)

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It can be, yes.
There was another rescue that was very light on this forum. I don't know if anyone remembers it or not, but it was lacking in nutrition. When it was fed well and up to size it got it's normal browns back.
Because your snake is so skinny with such a viable backbone I suspect that this is indeed the case.

I do not see any axanthic in that snake. There is too much yellow coloration. The only reason it looks 'granite'-like is because the scales are lacking some color. I predict it will fill out and look more normal patterned when it eats. :/