Fuzzy Stuck?

Okay, I'm sort of new to this ball python game so please forgive me of any real or implied ignorance. :)

My son's python (Misty) is almost a year old (next month). She's been a dream to own and my son is nuts about her. We started her on frozen fuzzies about three weeks ago. Although she shed as recently as November, after two fuzzies, she started shedding again last week. While replacing her water Sunday night, she was out and about, sitting on her log (her typical "hey, I'm ready to eat" spot), and being very active. She had lost the skin around her face and about 1/8" inch past her head. It was her normal weekly feeding time so I decided to go ahead and feed her. Although a little more active in her feeding box (a separate container) than she normally was, she quickly took the fuzzy. She didn't have any issues with the first two fuzzies from the past couple weeks but this one seems to be stuck about 1/3rd of the way down. She's very lethargic and keeps her mouth open a bit. We've touched her and she's moved around a bit but I'm concerned that, because the rest of her body hasn't completed shedding yet, the tightness of the skin is preventing the fuzzy from moving further along. Also, her mouth seems, well, swollen and puffy. Has anyone experienced this? I'm probably being paranoid since, in the wild, there is no one there to say "hey, don't eat yet" but since we're going on the 2nd day of her being this way, I'm worried. Part of me wants to take her out -- gently, of course -- and soak her a bit to assist the shedding. The humidity and temp are perfect (about 86 on the warm side and running 60%) but perhaps it's not enough.

I've googled about every word combination I can think of and can't find anything specific to this. In general, the thought is to just give her time. A friend of mine with a 13 year old python recommended this site so I thought I'd give ya'll a try. Any insight would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

Have you got a Under Tank heater? I'd use that. Soaking her will help too but keep an eye on here. While seemingly unbelievable, I have heard of snakes drowning during a normal soak

Yes, we do have an undertank heater. I'm thinking of trying the soaking tonight, taking care not to use too much water. I may post a pic then to give an idea of what she looks like. Last time she did something like this was when a pinky went in sideways a bit but it only took her a day to down it. This is taking way longer. Probably overreacting, but still.

Thanks for the reply!

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Originally Posted by BadMojo

Yes, we do have an undertank heater. I'm thinking of trying the soaking tonight, taking care not to use too much water. I may post a pic then to give an idea of what she looks like. Last time she did something like this was when a pinky went in sideways a bit but it only took her a day to down it. This is taking way longer. Probably overreacting, but still.

Thanks for the reply!

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If your concerned about hydration, you can add pedialyte to the soak

A picture would help us. Also, I would suggest bumping her hot side to 91-93 degrees F. 86 is just too cold for a hot spot IMO.

And Fuzzy what? Mice or Rats? Either way, I think you are feeding her too small of a rodent. Feed her a pray item that is the thickest part of her body, maybe even a bit bigger. Even better, feed her 10-15% of her weight every feeding. (ex., if she is 500 grams, feed her a 65ish gram rodent.)

Keep us updated.

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Originally Posted by Sarin

A picture would help us. Also, I would suggest bumping her hot side to 91-93 degrees F. 86 is just too cold for a hot spot IMO.

And Fuzzy what? Mice or Rats? Either way, I think you are feeding her too small of a rodent. Feed her a pray item that is the thickest part of her body, maybe even a bit bigger. Even better, feed her 10-15% of her weight every feeding. (ex., if she is 500 grams, feed her a 65ish gram rodent.)

Keep us updated.

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Misty is on fuzzy mice and they actually are about the size of the thickest part of her body. The feeding itself isn't so much the concern, it's whether anyone has ever had an issue with feeding during shedding such that, because the skin hasn't really split and started to pull off, the mouse seemingly gets stuck. She snagged it perfectly, right on the head, and took it straight instead of sideways. But, again, it just seems to be sitting there at the top part of her body, about 1/2 way down her trachea but not to her stomach yet (at least, as of this morning when I checked before leaving for work). Again, we're going on the 2nd day like this.

BTW, I do agree about the hotspot. The problem is logistical. We have the humidifier on the hotspot side so the mist cools it down a bit. We'll probably move the humidifier to the other side to alleviate.

A picture would help a lot. I too am confused why a year old bp is eating fuzzies. Not even hoppers? Sounds to me like it might be more than just a shed problem if this snake is that drastically undersized? Sounds like husbandry is right though......
I don't feed my snakes during shed, so I have never come across this problem myself.

I think the snake should see a vet. At least make a call and conference with one over the phone before you do anything else. I have never experienced anything like this, nor do I remember a post anything like this in the 2 1/2 years I've been a member on this forum. Even the most experienced members here may never have dealt with the problem, or at best have seen it only rarely, so I would think any "advice" you get is more guessing than anything, and I would not want to trust my snake's life to that. (And, yes, I am including my own "advice" in that as well.)

Somethings just do not make sense here. OP, please don't take this as an attack, but as an honest attempt to try to establish for sure what is going on. I just can't see how a year old BP could get a fuzzy mouse stuck 1/3 of the way down its neck.

First let's establish that you do in fact have a BP, and what you are feeding it is in fact what most of us would call fuzzy mice. Sometimes clueless pet store employees will misinform a customer, and the customer never has a reason to question it, so they may think they have a BP when they really have a boa, or a corn, or... If you could post photos of your snake, that would tell us for sure, as well as letting us see the lump in the neck that you believe is a stuck fuzzy. If you can't post photos, try goggling "normal ball python" and then click on "images", just to be sure. (If you are SURE you have a BP because you have some knowledge that I don't know about, such as a book or whatever, obviously you can skip this.)

Try taking a look at this webpage to see what most of us consider fuzzy mice:
http://rodentpro.com/catalog.asp?pro...el=frozen_mice
Are the mice you are feeding to your snake about that size? Most BPs can start on the next size up, hoppers, right out of the egg, and some even start on weanlings or adult mice, so you can understand why we are surprised that a year old BP would have any issue at all with a fuzzy mouse.

My final question is how sure are you that it is the fuzzy that is stuck in her neck? Is it possibly something like a tumor? Or some other item other than the fuzzy? From what I know, if a snake tries to swallow something that is too big, it will usually regurge it. Regurge is usually considered a bad thing, but it might be better than having a food item stuck in the neck.

I think if it is an item stuck in her neck, then getting the shed off right away (right AFTER you call the vet, and make sure they agree) would probably be best. Because of the object in her throat, I would NOT want to use my hands at all.... I'd hate to push it in a direction it should not go. Either soak the snake or put her in a damp pillowcase. If you soak her, make sure the water is shallow enough she won't drown, and observe her while soaking. With either the soak or the pillowcase method, make sure she stays in her proper temperature range. Since she is so lethargic, she might not get the shed off, but even if she doesn't, the soak may soften the skin enough to allow the fuzzy to move down her throat.

I really hope you are able to get this resolved. Please keep us updated!

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Originally Posted by mr. s

I don't feed my snakes during shed, so I have never come across this problem myself.

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I feed my snakes when they are in shed all the time. It does not cause this problem with appropriately sized prey items. It might be possible that it would cause issues with prey items that are very large for the snake. But, in this case, the fuzzy is probably too small for the snake, so I think there must be something more going on than just the shed issue.

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Originally Posted by kc261

I think the snake should see a vet. At least make a call and conference with one over the phone before you do anything else. I have never experienced anything like this, nor do I remember a post anything like this in the 2 1/2 years I've been a member on this forum. Even the most experienced members here may never have dealt with the problem, or at best have seen it only rarely, so I would think any "advice" you get is more guessing than anything, and I would not want to trust my snake's life to that. (And, yes, I am including my own "advice" in that as well.)

Somethings just do not make sense here. OP, please don't take this as an attack, but as an honest attempt to try to establish for sure what is going on. I just can't see how a year old BP could get a fuzzy mouse stuck 1/3 of the way down its neck.

First let's establish that you do in fact have a BP, and what you are feeding it is in fact what most of us would call fuzzy mice. Sometimes clueless pet store employees will misinform a customer, and the customer never has a reason to question it, so they may think they have a BP when they really have a boa, or a corn, or... If you could post photos of your snake, that would tell us for sure, as well as letting us see the lump in the neck that you believe is a stuck fuzzy. If you can't post photos, try goggling "normal ball python" and then click on "images", just to be sure. (If you are SURE you have a BP because you have some knowledge that I don't know about, such as a book or whatever, obviously you can skip this.)

Try taking a look at this webpage to see what most of us consider fuzzy mice:
http://rodentpro.com/catalog.asp?pro...el=frozen_mice
Are the mice you are feeding to your snake about that size? Most BPs can start on the next size up, hoppers, right out of the egg, and some even start on weanlings or adult mice, so you can understand why we are surprised that a year old BP would have any issue at all with a fuzzy mouse.

My final question is how sure are you that it is the fuzzy that is stuck in her neck? Is it possibly something like a tumor? Or some other item other than the fuzzy? From what I know, if a snake tries to swallow something that is too big, it will usually regurge it. Regurge is usually considered a bad thing, but it might be better than having a food item stuck in the neck.

I think if it is an item stuck in her neck, then getting the shed off right away (right AFTER you call the vet, and make sure they agree) would probably be best. Because of the object in her throat, I would NOT want to use my hands at all.... I'd hate to push it in a direction it should not go. Either soak the snake or put her in a damp pillowcase. If you soak her, make sure the water is shallow enough she won't drown, and observe her while soaking. With either the soak or the pillowcase method, make sure she stays in her proper temperature range. Since she is so lethargic, she might not get the shed off, but even if she doesn't, the soak may soften the skin enough to allow the fuzzy to move down her throat.

I really hope you are able to get this resolved. Please keep us updated!

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kc261, thanks for responding and no, I'm not taking anything said as an attack. And believe me, I know this is unusual because I couldn't find anything on the interwebs about it.

We definitely have a ball python but, after talking to my wife just a few minutes ago, I was informed that Misty is only about 8 months old, not a year old. She was on pinkies until 3 weeks ago because, frankly, she was looking for food about three or four days after eating. Again, the first two fuzzies went down without any issue. Fifteen to twenty minutes and she was on her way again. Unless they are labeling the box wrong, they are definitely fuzzies. They match the size of the pic you linked to.

I completely agree that this is an oddball situation. So, let me lay the timeline. Sunday night I was doing the normal water change thinking she wouldn't come out because she had been getting ready to shed. As I'm changing the water, she comes out of her rock and starts going all over the place in her tank, going to all the normal places she usually goes when she knows it's time to eat. Perhaps it was Pavlovian versus actual hunger, but, either way, she had shed the skin off her head so I figured it was okay to feed her. After going through the normal motions, I presented the fuzzy and she snatched it immediately. After abound 30 minutes, she had it in her throat but it wasn't going down like normal, despite a text-book strike. We gently put her back in her tank to let her finish (she eats in a separate container). As of this morning -- and even this afternoon, after talking to my wife -- the fuzzy is still in the upper 1/3rd of her body. She keeps her mouth open a bit and you can smell the mouse. It literally looks like the dead skin that hasn't come off yet is strong enough to not allow the fuzzy to continue on down. Essentially, the path is pinched. I can't describe it any other way. Just imagine the fuzzy being completely past the neck but not any further and that's the way she looks.

We're going to try soaking to see if that loosens the skin and lets things progress normally. If that doesn't do anything, then I'll probably have my wife call a reptile vet tomorrow and do a consult. Perhaps it's just coincidence and something happened with the fuzzy on the way down...like it got hung on something...instead of it being related to her shedding. I don't know. Right now, I'm just grabbing at straws.

Thanks again for the response. I'll try to get a picture up tonight after I get home.

I am no expert but I highly doubt it is the skin keeping the fuzzy from moving further down. It sounds to be like the food item is simply stuck and she seems to be in discomfort from how you are explaining her actions. I think it is time to look for a herp vet.

But please, feed her larger prey after this. A fuzzy mouse is not big enough for her. My 7 month old male BP eats prey five times that size every 5 days - to give you a better idea of what she should be eating.

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Originally Posted by Sarin

I am no expert but I highly doubt it is the skin keeping the fuzzy from moving further down. It sounds to be like the food item is simply stuck and she seems to be in discomfort from how you are explaining her actions. I think it is time to look for a herp vet.

But please, feed her larger prey after this. A fuzzy mouse is not big enough for her. My 7 month old male BP eats prey five times that size every 5 days - to give you a better idea of what she should be eating.

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Yea I would have thought it woudn't go downn the snake would atleast regurge it or something.
And agreed on the feeding my 3 are only 5 months (oldest one) and getting down 5-6 times a fuzzy size.

I have to agree with the other person....it has nothing to do with the shed. I feed mine all the time while they are shedding and have not had any problems. This is a really weird thing and I have not read about anything like this before.

Ok...here are my thoughts. Someone mentioned one time that the nails on FT can be stronger and harder to digest than live. I would be concerned that maybe a claw somehow got hooked and she cannot get it down. I would say try to work it down as they do with an assist feed. But if something is stuck....you need NOT to be pushing on it. I would make an appt. with a vet ASAP.

The only other thing that I can think of is when you feed her in the other cage.....is there any type of substrate down that could of gotten into her mouth.

Either way....VET should be seen right away!! IMHO

I had that happen once on a corn I had 10 years ago. He was acting hungry all the time so I upsized his prey. But it didn't go down to his stomach, you could see the lump was too high on his body. The next day he regurged. He escaped from his cage a couple days after that and I didn't recover him, so I can't tell you how mine turned out.

I agree you should talk to a vet asap. If something did go wrong and the prey is stuck, it could start to rot in there and that will kill your snake!

I'm not sure why you are feeding her prey that is so small, perhaps on the incorrect recommendation of someone?

A pinky mouse { one with no hair} is MUCH to small for all but the tiniest ball babies. A fuzzy mouse { one with just a light coat of fuzz} is okay for newly hatched maybe, but after that any healthy ball should take a hopper mouse
{got all it's hair but eyes still closed usually}. By the time they are as old as yours, they should be eating a large adult mouse or fuzzy rat.

I'm not saying you intentionally underfed her, but that is what has happened. If you get her though this okay, I highly recommend slowly increasing the size of her prey until she's eating what she should be.

My 8 month old balls eat rat pups and weigh in at around 400 grams and are easily 30" long. I only feed them one rat every 5 days, but I believe they would take two if I let them. lol

I certainly hope for the sake of both your family and your snake you can get her over this quickly and easily.

Gale

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Originally Posted by angllady2

a hopper mouse {got all it's hair but eyes still closed usually}.

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Actually, most people seem to define a hopper mouse as one that has its eyes open, but is not yet old enough to wean.

I'm not comfortable with all the people recommending this snake be put on larger food. First, I think the bigger concern is what is wrong, resolving it, and if the snake will even survive. But more importantly, we all agree that this is HIGHLY unusual, and we really have NO idea how a BP could get a fuzzy mouse stuck in its throat. Yet you people think it should be fed something even bigger??

Maybe this snake has some sort of deformity that makes its esophagus (or the snakey equivalent if it isn't called that) very narrow. It may never be able to eat an adult mouse, but it might be able to do just fine on multiple fuzzies. Maybe this snake would already be dead if chance didn't put it in the hands of someone who gave it what would in most cases be too small meals. Maybe it has some sort of tumor, or a foreign object lodged in its throat, preventing the passage of the fuzzy. It might also just be a truly bizarre one time situation that will never repeat itself, and the snake could eat a small rat next week just fine. We don't know!

I don't think ANY additional food should be offered to this snake until it has seen a qualified herp vet, who hopefully will be able to figure out what is going on.

AFTER that, if the vet gives the ok, then I wholeheartedly agree that at least most 8 month old BPs should be eating prey items that are several times the size of a fuzzy mouse. I do think it is always a good idea, and especially in this unique case, to step up the prey size a little gradually.

If fuzzy mice are the same size as the animals largest width then theres something seriously wrong. I fed fuzzy rats to my hatchlings and those are twice as big as fuzzy mice. You need to bump up that feeding already. Pictures would help alot with this.

No one has said anything about the mouth being swollen and open a little.. I believe this warrents a vet visit to a vet. An exotics vet that has experience in snakes. Something is wrong and we cant tell you what it is.

It is true that an 8 month old which is that small is not the norm. I have an 8 month old which eats small rats weekly. The shed issue can be fixed with a soak but the fact still remains that something is wrong if the snake has its mouth open a little and you see swelling. As well as the mouse appearing to be stuck. Or it could be that the snake is sick and it only just now started showing signs.

Is there any mucus? Strange noises? Raspy, hissing, clicking?

Please take the best advice possible and get it to the vet. Make sure all husbandry, heat, hides, bedding, humidity, is correct. Post some pictures for us and keep us updated on her situation.

Is she in a tank? If so, the humidity was probably to blame.
Its very hard to keep a steady humidity in tanks.

Okay, I've read through all the subsequent posts and I really appreciate all the information. Like someone said, I'm a little worried about the idea of feeding larger prey since a fuzzy is as large, if not larger, than the biggest part of her body. She's never looked too thin nor has she acted this lethargic before. She's always been active. Perhaps she's just a runt or unusually small for her age.

Here is a picture I took tonight after her soaking. Something just seems off about her neck area, like something has been dislocated or broken. When we pick her up to move her from the soaking container to her tank, she moves around but differently than she did before. https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...8/img_0746.jpg

I'm of the mind, like others have noted, that this is coincidence and not related to the shedding. I'm leaning more to it being an issue with the fuzzy. Although she struck and, to my eye, swallowed it perfectly, I'm thinking something got hung on the way down. I can't imagine a fuzzy having anything extraordinarily hard to allow that, but at this point I can't seem to wrap my mind around anything else. Someone asked if her feeding area had any substrate that may have gotten lodged in her throat. The answer would be no. Her feeding area is always clear of substrate for that very reason. It was completely empty.

I appreciate the concerns expressed. My son isn't devastated, but he is very concerned. I, like others, hope she gets through this. I'll post as things progress. Hopefully we'll have a happy ending but my gut is telling me otherwise.

Thanks again.

Ok seriously...you need to get her to a vet ASAP!!! Screw the shed issue ....there are much bigger problems here. I don't know what they are but I feel pretty confident in saying that this is a life threatening issue by the looks of her in that picture.

She doesn't look good. :( Part of that is the stuck shed, but I think she is also skinny. Hard to tell from the angle of the picture.

What concerns me most is that she looks swollen right behind her head, then it appears to get slightly thinner, then there is the area that I presume is the stuck fuzzy. I don't know what would cause that, but it doesn't look good.

Please take her to a vet. The vet might be able to save her, and if not, he can at least end her suffering.

You said your son isn't devastated...yet. It may just be because the reality of how bad of a situation this is hasn't sunk in yet. I don't think you said his age; perhaps he is too young to truly understand.

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Originally Posted by kc261

Please take her to a vet. The vet might be able to save her, and if not, he can at least end her suffering.

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This is the most important part right here!!:tears:

That is one of the sickest snakes I have ever seen. It is WAY to skinny.
I hope it survives.

Oh my gosh... She looks bad. There is definately something wrong with her throat area. A vet would be able to open her mouth and check that out. I would ask for a culture as well. If it has nothing to do with the fuzzy then its an infection or severe irritation/swelling caused by something else. That snake really is too thin in my opinion. Even for a baby. But that aside. Are you going to take it to a vet or just wait it out? From the picture it looks like the fuzzy might be farther down the body and in the right place. Its hard to tell though. Did you watch the snake eat the mouse and watch it go down?

I dont know what else to say. They may not cost much to buy but these snakes can live 30 years if taken care of properly. I do hope you dont just wait it out because from the looks of that picture, she wont make it without some intervention..

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Originally Posted by Foschi Exotic Serpents

Oh my gosh... She looks bad. There is definately something wrong with her throat area. A vet would be able to open her mouth and check that out. I would ask for a culture as well. If it has nothing to do with the fuzzy then its an infection or severe irritation/swelling caused by something else. That snake really is too thin in my opinion. Even for a baby. But that aside. Are you going to take it to a vet or just wait it out? From the picture it looks like the fuzzy might be farther down the body and in the right place. Its hard to tell though. Did you watch the snake eat the mouse and watch it go down?

I dont know what else to say. They may not cost much to buy but these snakes can live 30 years if taken care of properly. I do hope you dont just wait it out because from the looks of that picture, she wont make it without some intervention..

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agreeing 100%.

this animal needs to see a vet immediately.

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Originally Posted by Foschi Exotic Serpents

Oh my gosh... She looks bad. There is definately something wrong with her throat area. A vet would be able to open her mouth and check that out. I would ask for a culture as well. If it has nothing to do with the fuzzy then its an infection or severe irritation/swelling caused by something else. That snake really is too thin in my opinion. Even for a baby. But that aside. Are you going to take it to a vet or just wait it out? From the picture it looks like the fuzzy might be farther down the body and in the right place. Its hard to tell though. Did you watch the snake eat the mouse and watch it go down?

I dont know what else to say. They may not cost much to buy but these snakes can live 30 years if taken care of properly. I do hope you dont just wait it out because from the looks of that picture, she wont make it without some intervention..

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Yes, I watched the entire time. We don't keep a lid on the feeding area so it's sort of required.

As far as the thinness, well, I don't know what to say. She's been perfectly healthy up until the time she ate that last fuzzy. She may seem small but the pic is a little deceiving (not a great camera and the photographer isn't so hot either), she's actually quite chunky and, because she hasn't completed shedding yet, the skin looks sort of sickly. She looked the same way last time she shed but, once she was done, she looked great.

I must say you seem to be ignoring our constant plees to get that snake to a vet! That snake looks severely starved and dehydrated and needs to be seen by a qualified Herp Vet who can treat her or at least put her down humanely. If you don't, you allow her to suffer until she dies and that is very irresponsible.

I am sorry if I am coming off as harsh but things like this tend to rub me the wrong way.

take it to a vet or find someone on here to pass it off to. i wouldnt like it if i had food in my throat for two days. if ur dog was choking wouldnt u go to a vet

I must agree.. Take it to a vet.... tomorrow at the latest..

I don't know what you think "chunky" is but these are VERY thick snakes. Now if that was a 3 or 4 month old snake, I could understand but that snake looks as skinny as a hatchling. An 8 month old snake should be nearing 3 feet and around 1.5"-2" thick.

The snake needs to be seen by a vet. It looks very un-well.

Vet,

No question about it that isn't normal.

Can you open her mouth? If so can you see the back end of the fuzzy?

The swelling at the very start of her neck makes me wonder if it isn't an infection like mouthrot?

If, when you open her mouth, you can see any sign of the fuzzy you could maybe try removing it or massaging it back up but there are definite risks doing that and I can't in all concience say it is a good idea. :(

If you see what look like patches of cheese inside her mouth or red inflamed looking areas then it might be a massive infection.

But, seriously, it needs a vet as quick as you can get it to one. :(


dr del

Do you have a vet appointment today? That animal is in horrible condition.

Get him to a vet ASAP and if they can save him, then let's talk about improving his quality of life going forward.

I'm shocked that at 8 months old, it's only on MOUSE fuzzies. All my hatchlings here have a mouse hopper (eyes and ears just opened) as their very first meal - I don't even bother with mice pinks and fuzzies.

My youngest animal is six months old - and he's eating small rat pups (about 30 grams which is the equivalent of a large adult mouse).

Please note that I'm pretty upset with whoever has been advising you on how to care for this animal before you found us, not with you.

However, I am concerned that you haven't really said to all the folks here that are pleading with you to take this animal to a vet sooner rather than later, what your intentions are for this animal.

Any news?

I am curious to see what the OP decided to do, any resolution, etc.

I am also curious...

same...poor BP needs a vet and bad...whoever sold you that snake or whoever advised you is definitely in the wrong

Looks to me like the OP has totally abandoned this thread in hopes it will be forgotten. It's a shame, that poor snake is probably dead right now. I would be even more horrified if it was still alive and suffering. :(

I hope I am wrong. If not... I hope he learned his lesson and thinks twice about getting a "disposable" pet.

wow! that snake looks BAD and I'm a little bit ticked that you haven't bothered updating us after supplying us with a concerning description of a confusing and unheard of situation, and an even more concerning photo. It is better to admit to any mistakes and strive to learn and help this animal than completely abandon it. I'm not trying to attack you in any way, but the whole situation sounds pretty darn bad and I'm sure I'm not the only one wondering here about what exactly is going on. For the sake of this BPs health, the sake of all these concerned forum members, the sake of your son's pet, and for the sake of piece of mind- I certainly hope you are not present because the situation is being handled responsibly and that you will return to inform us all of the outcome.

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Originally Posted by kremmel

wow! that snake looks BAD and I'm a little bit ticked that you haven't bothered updating us after supplying us with a concerning description of a confusing and unheard of situation, and an even more concerning photo. It is better to admit to any mistakes and strive to learn and help this animal than completely abandon it. I'm not trying to attack you in any way, but the whole situation sounds pretty darn bad and I'm sure I'm not the only one wondering here about what exactly is going on. For the sake of this BPs health, the sake of all these concerned forum members, the sake of your son's pet, and for the sake of piece of mind- I certainly hope you are not present because the situation is being handled responsibly and that you will return to inform us all of the outcome.

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Well said! I've been wondering about this BP and also hope that the lack of an update is because the owner is taking care of the situation. Sadly, I don't think that's the case.

Not sure where the owner is located but I'll gladly take this snake off of their hands and get it the proper treatment and care it needs and deserves.

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Originally Posted by Sarin

A picture would help us. Also, I would suggest bumping her hot side to 91-93 degrees F. 86 is just too cold for a hot spot IMO.

And Fuzzy what? Mice or Rats? Either way, I think you are feeding her too small of a rodent. Feed her a pray item that is the thickest part of her body, maybe even a bit bigger. Even better, feed her 10-15% of her weight every feeding. (ex., if she is 500 grams, feed her a 65ish gram rodent.)

Keep us updated.

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x2

sadly I kind of agree with itskry.....This is probably one of the worst threads that I have ever read and it really affected myself, my husand and my son. It is so sad and it has been hard not to think about this poor snake everyday. :tears:

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Originally Posted by BPelizabeth

It is so sad and it has been hard not to think about this poor snake everyday. :tears:

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I agree. I have been searching for this thread every day since it was first posted, sometimes multiple times per day just to see if there was an update. I really hope that there is an update posted soon and that it's full of great news.

I don't think the snake could go this long without vet help and survive! My fingers are crossed!:(

Sad :tears:

I would assume this does not bode well for the snake...

Sorry to keep this thread active, but it does bother me.

I am going to assume the snake didn't make it?

I need some kind of closure here lol :taz:

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Originally Posted by RockyTop

I need some kind of closure here lol :taz:

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LOL I do too! I'm still checking this thread daily. It's so sad. I'm still praying that the snake has recovered and the owner learned a little bit about taking the proper care of his snake and is putting that knowledge into action.

It is human nature to brag about our accomplishments, and try to hide our failures. Which one do you think it is if the owner of this poor snake is no longer posting updates? :(

Sorry to re-open such a horrific thread but I did want to say, based on the pictures that a tape worm could be to blame for the size. I rescued a BP about a month ago that was suffering from belly burns, tape worm, and pin worms. The vet estimated his age to be 18 months to 2 years, however because of the tape worm he was about the same size around as a 6 month old snake, and he was eating 2 adult mice every 4-5 days. Sorry I don't remember what he was treated with, but it was a 1 time injection, and then a oral med for the pin worms. Since being treated for the tape worm, he has put on 100g and has moved up to rat pups, and is entering his second shed this month.

I know wild caught snakes from petstores can have a variety of different parasites, and that might explain the small size.

I have no idea what would cause the mouse to get stuck like that, but I find the whole situation disgusting and heartbreaking. That animal should have been to the vet already, If it were my snake I would have been packing him off to the vet within an hour, not posting 2 days later because the problem still hadn't fixed itself!
Truly heartbreaking!! :tears:

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Originally Posted by Ladyduke

Sorry to re-open such a horrific thread but I did want to say, based on the pictures that a tape worm could be to blame for the size. I rescued a BP about a month ago that was suffering from belly burns, tape worm, and pin worms. The vet estimated his age to be 18 months to 2 years, however because of the tape worm he was about the same size around as a 6 month old snake, and he was eating 2 adult mice every 4-5 days. Sorry I don't remember what he was treated with, but it was a 1 time injection, and then a oral med for the pin worms. Since being treated for the tape worm, he has put on 100g and has moved up to rat pups, and is entering his second shed this month.

I know wild caught snakes from petstores can have a variety of different parasites, and that might explain the small size.

I have no idea what would cause the mouse to get stuck like that, but I find the whole situation disgusting and heartbreaking. That animal should have been to the vet already, If it were my snake I would have been packing him off to the vet within an hour, not posting 2 days later because the problem still hadn't fixed itself!
Truly heartbreaking!! :tears:

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The only reason I don't think it was a tapeworm is because this person was feeding the snake PINKIE MICE for months. This was its first or second FUZZY MOUSE. Ball python hatchlings are started on hopper mice and quickly move to adult mice. This person was underfeeding their animal.

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

The only reason I don't think it was a tapeworm is because this person was feeding the snake PINKIE MICE for months. This was its first or second FUZZY MOUSE. Ball python hatchlings are started on hopper mice and quickly move to adult mice. This person was underfeeding their animal.

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I agree completely, my own thought is somewhere something had to have been wrong in the beginning for the snake to have ever been on pinkies. Of course maybe I am just not taking into account lack of education and utter stupidity!

Just my thoughts, but I wonder if malnurishment got to the point that the snake just did not have enough energy stores to finish swallowing. All animals tend to compensate and then crash, and when they crash they crash hard.
When we first rescued our little guy, feeding was definitely more difficult for him, and he was unable to hold himself upright while swallowing, he would bob and sway and even fall over, and feeding took about 20 minutes for a medium size mouse. Now he can and will eagerly swallow a rat pup in about 5 minutes and he holds himself straight up while he does it. According to our vet he wouldn't have made it much longer in the condition he was in, and it seems logical to me that feeding in itself may have been enough to push that poor little guy over the edge.


Sorry to keep posting, my mind just can't wrap around such an irresponsible situation. It makes me very angry when people don't bother to take 5 minutes to read a care sheet! :tears: