Can't believe some people..

This is gonna be kinda long as I'm adding as many details as I know so I can hopefully get some advice.. So thank you in advance to those who read it all :) lol

Okay well I have been looking for another bp for the last couple weeks, and I saw a het. albino on kijiji.. The ad said hes a healthy "puppy tame" 09' who's feeding on one large mouse every week, when he should clearly be eating way more... from the picture he looked a bit under weight and the cage looked dirty.. I figured he could use a home where he would be taken care of. So I replied and she wouldn't budge from $120 with him she said he would include water dish and two hides. When I got there to see him she pretty much threw him at me and grabbed the money and slammed the door.. I couldn't believe it. I put him in a bin and went home. When I got home I looked through the bag of "accessories" she gave me and the "two hides" was really just one broke in half.. and the water dish was an extremely small hamster food dish... when I checked him out he's extremely under weight and dehydrated, he's not puppy tame, hes really weak :( he has little pieces of shed stuck to him, what looks like a rotted scale on his stomach and he's wheezing badly and theirs bubbles in his mouth so I know he has a respiratory infection , he has some scars and hardly any muscle tone. I feel so bad for him :( I put him in a bin with 80% humidity and its all perfect temps.. poor thing looks relieved even now, I'm going to soak him tomorrow but not sure if that would be good with the respiratory infection ? I'm planning on trying him on a f/t rat pup for his first and gradually increase him so he gets used to it, and I figured I wont try for like a week ? I'm making an appointment with my vet first thing in the morning so he can get on antibiotics and whatever else he needs :( I feel so bad for the poor thing so if anyone has any advice on how i can help him more or make him more comfortable that would be sweet lol Thanks !

Sorry I don't have any pics posted.. He's very happy to have a FULL hide and has been hiding today lol will post some tomorrow!

I am glad to hear that the right person got him in the end. Good on you. Sounds like you are doing what needs done.

I hope he will eat and pull through for you. Pics and an update from the vet is needed ;)

As of soaking him, I would wait a week or so, just to not add anymore stress to an already stressed, weak and sick animal. As long as there is no shed covering his nostrils or constricting the tip of his tail, some stuck shed won't hurt any.
Again, let us know how things go at the vet. Good luck and kudos to you for taking him home and doing what needs to be done.

So glad you rescued the poor thing:( I cannot stand people who don't take care of their animals. His last owner is a criminal as far as I am concerned. If you adopt something, it is your responsibility to meet its needs!

I commend you for finding this poor little guy and being willing to do what needs to be done to help him. Hearing his condition made me want to cry. Such an innocent creature living miserably due to human negligence.

Best of luck to you and him! You are an amazing person for giving him a second chance.

Make sure you keep him away from your other snakes. Its a very nice thing you did, he's gonna be a lot happier now. Good luck on everything.

thank you everyone :) Your kind words mean a lot :)

and thank you heather, i don't think imma soak him, just let him rest till the vet visit:) and I totally agree Emily, makes me so mad that people just get animals for display :\ literally , she gave me a heat lamp with a normal bulb in it... :S

I really hope he pulls through and gets strong and healthy again :(
And i knew that but as i'm limited in room, he is in the room next to my other snakes, the doors closed and ive been changing my clothes whenever i go in that room, do you think that will be okay ?

thanks again everyone and i will keep posting updates on him:)

It's awesome that you rescued him. When you take him to the vet, I would try to get Ceftazidime instead of Baytril for the RI. Ceftazidime is more aggressive at treating RIs than Baytril and it is what my vet recommends. I have used it before with great success.

Good luck with him, I hope he recovers quickly. :)

okay sweet thank you :) i will be sure to ask ! Our appointment is today at 4:40 :)

Also if he does have an RI, drop the humidity: lower humidity levels are better for RIs and up the hotspot as well (I would worry about treating the RI now over the stuck shed). Also I would recommend putting him on injectable antibiotics and not opt for the soley oral kind.

Good luck with him!

I have heard that increasing temperature temporarily will help a little with the recovery process. Good on you for getting it to a vet and taking care of it!

Poor baby!! I am so glad he has you now, he really sounds like he needs some TLC. Keep us posted on his progress!

Glad you have him and can give him proper care. The lady you received him from sounds very rude. IMO sounds like a dozen eggs to her house?!? :D

wow I can't believe that!! I'm glad he went to someone who can provide him a good home! Good luck with everything, and it sounds like you have it all under control!

Cheers,
Chris./

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jmitch

Glad you have him and can give him proper care. The lady you received him from sounds very rude. IMO sounds like a dozen eggs to her house?!? :D

---

uh oh lol

Thank you everyone !:)
His humidity is lowered to 60 and his temps are boosted a bit , He was so good at the vet :) Even sick he's such a sweetheart, he just kept putting his head on my shoulder, i'm in love :P lol The visit went well ! The vet said if he would have been in those conditions even two months longer it wouldn't be fixable :( He's extremely mal-nourished which is why his scales have scars and imperfections so he will need some vitamins , and he's had really bad sheds which is why it looks like he has some scale rot (but he doesn't) he has no mouth rot luckly and all his teeth look good, theres some stuck shed on his eyes but its not too bad. He got an injection of antibiotics and he said i should see some improvement in 4 days with the RI and if not we go back for another shot. He said to try feeding him tonight even, as he certainly needs it, so wish me luck that he eats !:) I'm so relieved he's on the right track:)))

hahaha p.s. loving the egg idea, think i may LOL :P

Glad to hear that he isn't in as bad a shape as he seemed to be at first! Hopefully he snaps up a good meal and gets some rest, and that the RI improves quickly.

Before you know it he'll have had a good shed or two and look like a whole new animal!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Missy_Misfit

hahaha p.s. loving the egg idea, think i may LOL :P

---

Dont get caught! lol

I'm glad he's not as bad off as you thought. I hope he eats for you tonight. :please:

Wow, I really hate people. :mad: I'd have to shoot her an email or something with a run down of what the vet found, what the poor guy will have to go through to get better, and what you spent. And I'm liking the egg idea.....

Let us know if he eats, and good luck with everything.

I won't get caught, I'm ninja ;D haha
Thanks :)
And Yeah me too lol I sent her a few emails about it and told her all what was wrong... worst thing is she has another bp.. I have been offering her money and just asking her to give it up since its more than likely in the same condition, but she hasn't answered anything :\ There goes a bunch of my car savings haha sometimes I wish I didn't have such a soft spot for animals :P

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Missy_Misfit

Thank you everyone !:)
His humidity is lowered to 60 and his temps are boosted a bit , He was so good at the vet :) Even sick he's such a sweetheart, he just kept putting his head on my shoulder, i'm in love :P lol The visit went well ! The vet said if he would have been in those conditions even two months longer it wouldn't be fixable :( He's extremely mal-nourished which is why his scales have scars and imperfections so he will need some vitamins , and he's had really bad sheds which is why it looks like he has some scale rot (but he doesn't) he has no mouth rot luckly and all his teeth look good, theres some stuck shed on his eyes but its not too bad. He got an injection of antibiotics and he said i should see some improvement in 4 days with the RI and if not we go back for another shot. He said to try feeding him tonight even, as he certainly needs it, so wish me luck that he eats !:) I'm so relieved he's on the right track:)))

---

It's good that he's doing good, but IMO the snake NEEDS more than one shot of antibiotics, especially if he's as bad as you describe. My BP had a mild RI and she was on antibiotics for three weeks and she was only showing signs of improvement about 2 weeks in. Everything else sounds good. Keep it up! :gj:

So glad he got a good check up with some good news! Poor little guy! I would be crying with rage if I was the one who came across him. :tears:

Keep up the good work, you have certainly saved his life.

It's sad to hear stories like this, but it's a fact that a lot of people just don't know what they're doing. Before I invested in a ball, I spent two weeks reading all the care tips and making a list of all that I needed to make sure it would be healthy. Figured about $200 for the snake and the setup, but ended up paying over $600 for all the best equipment. Worth every cent, though :D When I got her at my local pet shop, she was in terrible condition: stuck shed, low weight...it was kind of a rescue mission. They take poor care of all of their snakes: all of their corns and king snakes were all malnourished and dehydrated. Always makes me wish that I could adopt all of them, but it's just not in my budget. Visited there a few days ago to buy a live mouse, and they had two new balls, both in that same terrible condition :( Anyways, I am glad that you rescued another ball from one of the many terrible care takers :) Glad to see that it now has a new, caring owner.

Yeah i think I'm probably gonna have to go back a few times, I will keep bringing him back till I'm sure hes okay :) lol

And thanks Emily :) He won't eat his rat pup :( I know I shouldn't be too worried or discouraged because of it but I wish he would :( lol he's showing like literally no interest :\ I'll try again in a week or so I guess :(

http://i1135.photobucket.com/albums/...t/IMG_6880.jpg

Not the best pic, sorry lol , doesn't really show detail and I don't know if you can tell how skinny he is :\ I have to take better ones when he isn't so stressed and the next time he's out

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by snakesonaplane

It's sad to hear stories like this, but it's a fact that a lot of people just don't know what they're doing. Before I invested in a ball, I spent two weeks reading all the care tips and making a list of all that I needed to make sure it would be healthy. Figured about $200 for the snake and the setup, but ended up paying over $600 for all the best equipment. Worth every cent, though :D When I got her at my local pet shop, she was in terrible condition: stuck shed, low weight...it was kind of a rescue mission. They take poor care of all of their snakes: all of their corns and king snakes were all malnourished and dehydrated. Always makes me wish that I could adopt all of them, but it's just not in my budget. Visited there a few days ago to buy a live mouse, and they had two new balls, both in that same terrible condition :( Anyways, I am glad that you rescued another ball from one of the many terrible care takers :) Glad to see that it now has a new, caring owner.

---

Yeah thats for sure pet shops don't know anything about what they are selling , its sad the pet stores here are ridiculous and thank you :)

I wish I could go with you when you egg that woman's house. lol Maybe you should report her to the ESPCA, I mean if she has another snake that's also being neglected. They are big on this kind of thing.

oh i didn't think they would do snakes too, that's wicked, yeah imma call I really want to get the other out of there :(

The ESPCA has reptile experts that will follow through with reports of neglect or abuse. The only cases I know of involve multiple snakes so I don't know what their responce will be to 1 snake but what do you have to loose? Good luck.

I'd agree about the anti biotics snakes have slow metabolisms often it takes a while to see massive improvements although temps that are correct or slightly higher boot them a lot fast gotta love cold bloods that way.

I'd second the spca you might find out if there is a reptile specific organization in your area you can contact and find out if they can do anything.

Okay so an update !! :) I called espca and the most I know is she's being looked into, as she may have sold the snake, (hopefully to a good home)

As for Buzz we have some good news ! :) I wasn't sure about some of the stuff the last vet said and some of you guys commented on it as well with him saying 4 days and such... I called a different local herp vet and she was much more knowledgeable. She has a good plan of action to get him better and shes trying to help make it reasonable prices for me which is wicked lol. She suggested offering mice first if thats what hes used to and switch to rats later as he needs anything he can get right now, and YAAY he ate a large mouse last night :D:D:D super happy, so in about five days i think i'm gonna try and feed him two large mice, does that sound good plan or should i try switching to rats ? :S , poor guy reaaaallly needs to get some weight on, but he's less shy, coming out of his hides more and drinking lots which is awesomeee ! :D I'm so excited he ate I had to share lol, really hope his road to recovery continues well !! :)

I am truely happy for you and for Buzz. There is no better feeling in the world then rescuing something and having it recover in your care. It is the epitome of unconditional love. I sure hope the ESPCA honors their word and investigates her but let me know if you still want to egg her house. hehe :rofl:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by enchantress62

I am truely happy for you and for Buzz. There is no better feeling in the world then rescuing something and having it recover in your care. It is the epitome of unconditional love. I sure hope the ESPCA honors their word and investigates her but let me know if you still want to egg her house. hehe :rofl:

---

Thank you !:) he seems to like me lol whenever i put him back in hes at the doors for an hour before he decides to settle down lol :P im soo glad he ate! and me too ! I think I do after all these vet bills LOL ;P

Awesome rescue!

In my experience with treating RI's, the vet always told me to not feed until the antibiotics are finished. As kitedemon stated, snakes have slow metabolisms on antibiotics. I'm not exactly sure how feeding while on antibiotics effects the snake, so maybe someone can chip in on that if they know more info.

thank you :)

And yeah if anyone knows about how feeding during antibiotics would have any effects please do pitch in D:

The vet said he needs food so i should do both D:

I know nothing as I'm a brand new bp mommy. hehe However, seems to me that each situation is unique. In an ideal world where the bp is normally healthy, well fed, and hydrated then get's an RI, holding off feeding would be necissary. Buzz, on the other hand, needs nutrition and hydration as much as he needs antibiotics. I would say that the vet took this into consideration. It's just my opinion, but it makes since to me that the animal knows more about what it needs then we do. If it will eat and drink while on antibiotics then unless the vet says don't do it I would proceed as you are.

I am so glad he ate, sounds like you came into his life just in time. :)

Some people do not belong being pet owners or parents.

Thank you for jumping in and giving so much.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MSG-KB

I am so glad he ate, sounds like you came into his life just in time. :)

Some people do not belong being pet owners or parents.

Thank you for jumping in and giving so much.

---

Ditto.....kudos to you:gj:

Most snakes that are sick will refuse food, so the advice to not feed is probably based on reducing stress--introducing food when the snake isn't hungry can be stressful. Keeping hydration up is crucial when antibiotics are in use, though.

I would not recommend lowering humidity. Doing so may reduce superficial signs of the RI, but good hydration is more important, and ball pythons have difficulty staying hydrated when humidity is low. (The cause of bad sheds is low-level dehydration). Higher humidity will produce more mucous (of course), but it will be much thinner. (Nebulizing is another way to thin mucous and improve hydration).

That fact that your guy is willing to eat in spite of his RI is a good sign--he needs the nutrition, and the infection must not be too serious, since it's not killing his appetite.

Thank you !(: Your guys kind words mean a lot ! And thank you enchantress :) I thought so but wasn't sure, glad to have it seconded ! :P lol

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by WingedWolfPsion

Most snakes that are sick will refuse food, so the advice to not feed is probably based on reducing stress--introducing food when the snake isn't hungry can be stressful. Keeping hydration up is crucial when antibiotics are in use, though.

I would not recommend lowering humidity. Doing so may reduce superficial signs of the RI, but good hydration is more important, and ball pythons have difficulty staying hydrated when humidity is low. (The cause of bad sheds is low-level dehydration). Higher humidity will produce more mucous (of course), but it will be much thinner. (Nebulizing is another way to thin mucous and improve hydration).

That fact that your guy is willing to eat in spite of his RI is a good sign--he needs the nutrition, and the infection must not be too serious, since it's not killing his appetite.

---

Thank you soo much for this post its reallyyy helpful ! lol I have kept his humidity up and he's been getting more mucus and didn't have any when he came to me, so I thought he was getting way worse, but I guess it is like humans they get a little worse before getting better ? and Okay thank you ! I will continue feeding him and doing as i am, I may even bath him for hydration since he doesn't seem too stressed by me ,
Thank you soooo much everyone , I really don't know what I would do without this forum ! Everyones so helpful :P

You are doing great. Keep it up and keep us posted with his progress.

I had a situation happen like this with two Oscars (fish) about 2 years ago. You're definitely doing the right thing. Good job.

Thank you guys ! you all rock :)