Rescued Snake: Need some advice

Hello everyone! Just joined the forum. I've always wanted a BP, and have helped take care of a few while volunteering at the zoo and for my own school's education program, and I just got one, though rather unexpectedly.

Peaches, as she is now named, formerly belonged to a senior who is graduating in a week and cannot take the snake with her. She was desperate to find someone she knew was responsible and didn't want to post on craigslist, so I stepped in and offered to take her.

History: It's estimated that she's ~3 years old. Her first owner was an idiot had her for a year and told the senior when she bought the snake that...I sincerely hope you're sitting down for this...snakes absorbed water through their scales and didn't need to be given water. WTF! It's a miracle she survived him.
The senior had Peaches for about a year and a half and did an okay job rehabbing her. She says that Peaches was tiny as a yearling, and has grown a lot. Thankfully she was given water, lol, fed regularly, and handles very well. I don't think her tank was ever misted, as the senior said Peaches has never experienced a clean shed.

She came with a 20 gallon tank, a giant igloo meant for rats or a small rabbit, a log BARELY usable as a hide, and a ceramic plate/bowl thing for a water dish. YIKES.

I went out and bought her a proper soaking bowl, two cave hides, and little bit of decor structured for climbing. I'm buying a nice exoterra tomorrow and will be modifying it for when she grows.

SO. I've got a poor little girl who is probably 1.5 feet max (I'm measuring and weighing her tomorrow), and according to my zoo's Asst. Education Director, is half the size she should be (she's not starving, but I think she is on the skinny size). She's got a gigantic patch of old shed stuck to her head and running 5 inches down her neck.
Now, I'm used to taking care of nice, healthy BPs. I'm not really sure how to rehab a scraggly one. Peaches is just big enough to take adult mice. Should I give her two per feeding to help her put on some weight and try and help her get to a more normal size? What do I do about this old shed? I know I'm supposed to soak her, but how do I go about doing that? How hot should that water be?

Any advice would be helpful. She's got such a sweet temperament despite all these stressful situations she's had (hence her name) and I would hate for that to change.

What's her weight in grams? I would put her on rats every five days to put some weight on her. Ceramic bowls are fine for water bowls, I use a few myself. Your set up sounds ok.

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Originally Posted by Capt.Britain

Should I give her two per feeding to help her put on some weight and try and help her get to a more normal size? What do I do about this old shed? I know I'm supposed to soak her, but how do I go about doing that? How hot should that water be?

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I would not feed her extra. I would just figure out what's appropriate for her and feed her that way. If she's over 500g, I would just start with a small rat (50g to 70g) once a week. If she's under 500g (doubltful for her age), I would do something that's as big around as she is at her widest part and do that every 5 days until she reaches 500g...then switch to every 7 days. She'll put on weight through a nice solid, consistent feeding program.

Water should be low 80's in temps. It will feel cool to you, but will be fine for her. Fixing bad sheds is explained in this excellent thread: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...hed-No-problem

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Originally Posted by Physician&Snakes

What's her weight in grams? I would put her on rats every five days to put some weight on her. Ceramic bowls are fine for water bowls, I use a few myself. Your set up sounds ok.

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I just now noticed the shed part so I will quote myself and add I suppose. For skin that's been stuck for more than a few days I use Zilla shed ease and a good soak. Her body may be a bit weak so if you feel more comfortable keeping her meals gradual then by all means do that; however, if she starts acting hungry consistently then I would go a head and up her schedule.

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Originally Posted by Capt.Britain

Hello everyone! Just joined the forum. I've always wanted a BP, and have helped take care of a few while volunteering at the zoo and for my own school's education program, and I just got one, though rather unexpectedly.

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Hi! Welcome to the forum. :)
You came to the right place

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History: It's estimated that she's ~3 years old. Her first owner was an idiot had her for a year and told the senior when she bought the snake that...I sincerely hope you're sitting down for this...snakes absorbed water through their scales and didn't need to be given water. WTF! It's a miracle she survived him.

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Healthy ball pythons technically don't need water if they are fed regularly. They get most of their moisture from their prey and the environmental humidity. Water in a dish is a luxury of captive ball pythons. In the wild, they'll be holed up in burrows for the majority of the time and don't make trips down to the watering hole, if you get what I mean.

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SO. I've got a poor little girl who is probably 1.5 feet max (I'm measuring and weighing her tomorrow), and according to my zoo's Asst. Education Director, is half the size she should be (she's not starving, but I think she is on the skinny size). She's got a gigantic patch of old shed stuck to her head and running 5 inches down her neck.
Now, I'm used to taking care of nice, healthy BPs. I'm not really sure how to rehab a scraggly one. Peaches is just big enough to take adult mice. Should I give her two per feeding to help her put on some weight and try and help her get to a more normal size? What do I do about this old shed? I know I'm supposed to soak her, but how do I go about doing that? How hot should that water be?

Any advice would be helpful. She's got such a sweet temperament despite all these stressful situations she's had (hence her name) and I would hate for that to change.

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You can put her in a warm damp pillow case for an hour and let her slither through it. The movement should remove the left over shed. It's a lot less stressful than soaking her in water since ball pythons typically hate water. If you do soak her in water though, the water should be around 85 degrees. Not too hot, not too cold. If you can't get the shed off, it's ok. No big deal. As long as your humidity is up, she will shed it off during the next shed cycle.

Adult mice might be too small. I would put her on weaned rats or small rats once a week.

Can you post a picture of her? We can gauge her body condition if you'd like.

Sorry to hear about your new bps problems. So glad she's in good hands now. as someone said above a warm damp pillow case would be best. If it went work just leave it be and let her get it off next shed. Also just feed her food the thickest part of her body. Can't go wrong that way and a lot easier thentking to figure out what gram rats or mice to feed her. Lol. Do u have a pix of the little girl? If u don't know how to post pixs just download the photobucket app in the android market or online. Wish u and your Ned family member the best of luck and cuddos for the rescue.

I just measured and weighed her today.

She is ~30 inches (longer than I had originally thought) and weighs 410 grams. She has good grip, but not as strong as other BPs I've held.
I'll get some pictures tomorrow and post them up ASAP.

The wet pillowcase did the trick for her shed though! Just a little stuck on her head now.

How do her eyes look? A series of bad sheds would have me looking for retained eye caps.

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Originally Posted by Physician&Snakes

What's her weight in grams? I would put her on rats every five days to put some weight on her. Ceramic bowls are fine for water bowls, I use a few myself. Your set up sounds ok.

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The issue with the ceramic dish was that it was almost completely shallow, more like a saucer. There was no way she could soak in it at all. Plus lack of misting, it's no wonder she's had a bad shedding history.

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Originally Posted by Raven01

How do her eyes look? A series of bad sheds would have me looking for retained eye caps.

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I think her eyes are fine. They don't look glossed over.

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Originally Posted by Capt.Britain

She is ~30 inches (longer than I had originally thought) and weighs 410 grams. She has good grip, but not as strong as other BPs I've held.
I'll get some pictures tomorrow and post them up ASAP.

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410g's small for her age, but you feed her regularly she'll get add some weight and strengthen up pretty quickly.

At 410g she's definitely ready for more than adult mice. She's up on weaned rats (35g to 45g range) at least. Soon she'll be on small rats (50g to 65g range).

Good luck with her. I'm sure she'll recover quickly with you.

Alright, here are some picture of Peaches. As you can see in the pictures where I'm holding her, she's quite tiny. I am a tiny, petite little 5ft 2 shrimp, and have subsequently tiny petite little hands, so hopefully you guys can get some sort of reference. http://i972.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps20f36f25.pnghttp://i972.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps8cf11fa2.pnghttp://i972.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps44789c81.pnghttp://i972.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps51c31e10.png

Doesn't look too bad, I see a little spine but nothing major. I would go easy on food for a bit then go ahead and let her chow down to her heart's desire.

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Originally Posted by Physician&Snakes

Doesn't look too bad, I see a little spine but nothing major. I would go easy on food for a bit then go ahead and let her chow down to her heart's desire.

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Oh good! I knew she wasn't starving, but I wasn't sure just how bad it was. Like I said in the OP, I've never had to deal with (or seen in-person) anything but a nice, healthy snake.
Currently she's on large mice, which from others seems like smaller than she should be getting. I think I'll feed those out (there are four or five left) and then switch her to the rats.

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Originally Posted by Capt.Britain

Oh good! I knew she wasn't starving, but I wasn't sure just how bad it was. Like I said in the OP, I've never had to deal with (or seen in-person) anything but a nice, healthy snake.
Currently she's on large mice, which from others seems like smaller than she should be getting. I think I'll feed those out (there are four or five left) and then switch her to the rats.

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Yeah, it can get pretty bad, but that girl is definitely gonna rebound.

My 6 month old is 415 and takes 2 adult mice, she won't touch a rat :(
Look like you've got it all under control, congrats! She'll be catching up quick with reg appropriate meals :)

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She doesn't look bad. A little on the lean side, but not enough to be worried.

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Hey everyone! I know I probably shouldn't bump an old thread up, but I REALLY wanted to post an update on Peaches!!!

In the span of a month, she has gained 180 grams and just started on eating small rats last week. (I didn't want to switch her too quickly or have her put on weight too fast, so I've been upping her food gradually) She eats every seven days and will continue to do so until she reaches a more normal size (620 gram 3 yro female is still pretty small), which is when I'll switch her to about every 10.

She is loving her new 35 gallon tank, especially her UTH. I think that must have been quite a novelty for her, having only ever been under crappy heat lamps. (When I got her, the temps were reading low 70s, meaning she had lived in that for a year. Miraculously, she shows no signs of an RI. Peaches the wonder snake, everybody.)

All in all, I'd say this is one happy snake.

I'd like to thank everyone who gave me advice! Peaches is well on her way to recovery. :)

Glad to hear she's doing good.