STARVING baby ball I need help

My baby ball hasn't eaten in two weeks...before that, he had eaten two fuzzies, but vomited one of them. Since then, he hasn't eaten. He did not eat for me until the 4th of July weekend...I've had him since mid June. He IS starving. You can see his spine...it's awful. What can I do? He is going to die SOON unless he starts eating.

Should I force feed? What should I force feed? What's the technique for force feeding?

I need help.

First off .... How long have you had him/her? How big is he/she? Whats the enclosure like, temps, hides, humidity? Are you trying to feed live, pre killed, or frozen/thawed? If you are feeding rats, have you tried mice and vice versa? Have you changed anything in your set up recently? How badly can you see his spine ( do you have any pics )? Does he have any other noticable injuries? Have you thought about going to the vet?

I would definitely resort to force feeding as a last resort. I had a bp go for at least 4 months without eating ( thats as long as i had him before he ate, dont know anything about him before i got him ) and am just now starting to get him back to a good weight. Two weeks isnt an incredible amount of time for a bp to go off of feed, and i've never heard of one starving itself to death ( not to say that this couldnt happen, i've just never heard of it ).

If you could provide a little more information we might be able to diagnose a potential problem better.

Ok, I'm going to try to post a picture here. You can see how skinny he is.

He's in a 5g tank right now (he's a baby)...temp is 80-82 on cool side, 85-88 on warm side (both sides get cooler at night by about 3 degrees). I use an overhead lamp (40w red heat lamp by ZooMed) suspended over the warm side. He has one hide, is on cypress substrate and has a small fake plant on the cool side by the water dish. I have a spare 10g and 20g I can move him to, if that would be better.

I am feeding prekilled. I've tried fuzzies and pinkies. He ate fuzzies once. Like I said, he vomited one of them. We cannot get live fuzzies or pinkies here, and he's far too small for a mouse. He has not shed at all yet. He was very skinny the first meal he had, then he looked a bit better. Now he's skinny again. When I got him, he was thin, but not rail skinny like he is now. OK...it's easier to see the pic online. I tried posting it, but it was so big here....here's the link:

http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/...mer_skinny.jpg

You can also click here if you want to see him when he looked much better...it was taken the day we got him...which was in mid june

http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/...ic_macro_2.jpg

It could be internal parasites if he regurged....I would say that you will need to get him to a reptile vet ASAP. At the very least the vet could administer some fluids and maybe even get some meds going. He looks dehydrated as well so perhaps once he gets some fluid going it might bring his appetite back. Poor little guy he looks really bad, just get him to a vet.

OK, I'll go tomorrow. I thought he vomited because he ate two fuzzies. He only vomited one. But I agree, he needs something fast. He is drinking his water. I actually saw him drink tonight. But it's probably not enough. Do you think I should move him to a bigger cage?

I wouldn't worry about moving him to a bigger cage right now. It'd probably stress the poor thing too much right now. I'd just get him to the vet, get him healthy, then work on putting him in a bigger home. Just be optomistic. Bring him to the vet, he'll get healthy, then you can go on to fattening him up with some mousies. :)

YES. A 5 gallon tank WILL NOT give them the proper temp gradient they need, that is to say they need like 80 degrees at one end and ~93 on the other. IMO I don't think that BPs of any age should be housed in anything smaller than a 20 Long tank, but some people have had success keeping babies in 10 gallon tanks. Not to be mean, but I think putting a baby bp in a 5 gal is just dumb considering the temp situation, and the fact that they'd outgrow it in less than a couple months. Get him in the 20 gallon, and swap a 50w bulb to make up for increased space. The 40w should be alright for now but I'd bet that it would get the warm side temp over 85-90 at best.

Definately. It is much harder to keep a temp. gradient in such a small tank. You could try a Sterilite/Rubbermaid, with a human heating pad WITHOUT auto shutoff and ditching the light, since they keep temps and humidity better, and since it is opaque(can't see through very well) it might make the snake feel more secure. Also, having a bigger enclosure, you should get another hide spot so he doesn't compete between hiding/being secure and being warm enough. And definately get him to a vet. He could have internal parasites and you not even know it. How have his bowel movements been? Diarrhea like or firm? Diarrhea is a good sign of parasites. Oh, and how often are you feeding him? Babies and juveniles generally every 5-7 days, and adults every 12-14 days. Hopefully you can get a good answer at the vet to figure out what it wrong. Good luck to ya

I rescued a ball python that was in the same condition malnourished and dreadfully skinny. She died the day after i took her too the vet. You have got to get it eating. Take it to the vet very soon the faster you can kill the parasites which is pretty easy with the right medication. I would move it to the 10 gallon at leasetmaybe and lose the cypress mulch and use paper towels or news paper so you can monitor its fecal matter just untill he gets better. This is the classic import internal parasite infested ball python that you find at many pet stores and unfortunately they dont particularly care about the animals they sell. Keep us posted please my prayers are with you and your snake.


FYI. Take a fecal sample if you have one to the vet. the fresher the better.

I'm taking him to the vet immediately.

As for stupid on the 5g tank...I disagree. It's bigger than the sterlite container I did have him in (which is what we kept our first ball python, baby chondros, and our baby BRB in until they were ready to be moved. They all did very well in that little box.). And it was easier to create a temp gradient in the 5g. I could move him back to the sterlite, but I'll probably wait on anything until I see if he survives the vet. I do agree that perhaps privacy would help this guy. Or maybe he wants more room than either the tank or the sterlite. Having said that, understand that I actually make efforts to be very good to all my snakes. I don't just throw them in a box and hope for the best. I gave careful thought to moving him from the sterlite to the 5g. I set up the 5g for a few days first to see if I could establish a consistent temp gradient before I moved him. It worked, he had a little more room, so I moved him. How is that stupid?

He pooped once, and it was solid. It was three or four days after he ate. It was the same day he regurgitated the fuzzy. It was definately poop, not regugriated fuzzy

He IS an import. (I asked) He was covered with mites in a fecal covered cage with 4 yearling ball pythons when I got him. I got him anyway because I felt bad for him. He had not eaten at the store. (I asked) My vet treated the mites.

I hope he makes it. I haven't lost a snake yet and I have no intention of this being my first.

Yes get your snake to the vet as soon as possible and you really do need atleast two hides because if he gets too cold he can go over to the other hide to get warm and vise versa, good luck getting your snake back to health!

I didn't intend to offend at all, and wasn't aware of your previous experience with the snakes. I wasn't aware you kept a lot of other animals and had tanks available for them as soon as they were ready for them. *bangs my head into wall* Sometimes we get noobs on here with a adult bp in a 10 gallon fishtank with a hotrock...Doh!

Thats really cool you took him and are trying to get him back to health- you and Rusty, a member here, should exchange some PMs.

Good luck with the little guy! If its just parasites then the vet should be able to get some meds going and kill off the bugs.

Brad,

No problem. I was bristled because it was late when I posted...and I am so stressed about my snake. It wasn't fair to snipe at you. You are trying to help, so thank you.

He's at the vet right now (I dropped him off before work). My vet is not optimistic, but is going to treat him for parasites and hydrate him. Still, once he's stable, it's still up to me to get him feeding.

When I get him home, I'm going to move him to a 10g just to give him more space. I hope he makes it. Thanks everyone for all the help!!!!!

Good luck with him, I hope the little guy pulls through! Keep us updated!

I hope he's okay! I think it's a good idea to switch to the 10 gallon. I also agree with someone that you should switch to newspaper or paper towels, at least until he is better. Also, I would recommend using 2 hides. One on the cool side, and one on the warm side so he does not have to choose between hiding and thermoregulating. Keep us updated.

Well folks...thanks for all the good advice. But my snake did not even survive the intital exam for treatment. My vet says he thinks he had parasites in his throat and stomach. I feel awful and think maybe he might have had a fighting chance had I gotten him to the vet a few days sooner. My vet says maybe, but thinks he was a goner from the get go.

I found out when I went to pick him up after work today :cry: . I've never lost a snake before.

I'm so sorry to hear that. I lost a baby ball python last week, I know how awful you feel, like you've been irresponsible and all. Well, better luck next time - try getting one from a good breeder and you won't be disappointed.

I plan to get another from a decent breeder. I only got this guy because he looked so sad and sick at the petstore. I should have figured he might not make it, but I really thought he'd be fine.

I am so sorry to hear that. I know how you feel. I would say you should jump right back in and get another one from a reputable breeder, if you think you're ready. My thoughts are with you. :cry:

I'm sorry for your loss. Unfortunately, the poor guy was probably a goner before you ever laid eyes on him. Start out with a healthy snake, and it's not nearly so much of a challenge to keep it healthy.

Sorry for your loss - he was lucky to have an owner like you even if only for a little while.

Poor little guy, better that he had a fighting chance with you and the vet rather than just wasting away in the petshop. He got a little taste of TLC before he went, so he was better off no matter what the final outcome.

HI Vicki,
Sounds like everyone has posted great suggestions (sorry I am kind of late on the scene).
Anyhow please let us know what the vet says.
If you need tips on administering meds that your vet perscribed feel free to let me know. ten gallon also sounds like a good idea, I would use white paper towels as then you are able to see the feces better then on newsprint or other substartes.
Anyhow, please give us an update when possible.
Thanks
Rusty

I think you missed the second page Rusty. The poor snakey passed away. :(

Rusty, yeah he died :cry: . But thanks anyway for posting. In fact, thanks to everyone. You guys really gave awesome help, I just asked too late to save my snake.

I'm sorry for your loss, Vicki. That's a sad outcome, but at least you tried. Let us know if/when you get a new one.