I rescued a very neglected BP. (Progression)

Hi everyone. As the title says, I rescued a very neglected BP a few weeks ago from one of my boyfriend's co-workers. I thought some of you would be interested in following his recovery.

I haven't actually sexed him yet so I'm just assuming he's male for now. We're calling him Dr. Frankenfurter.

When I went to pick him up, I found him in a tank, with a heat lamp and one oversized hide on the cold side. The inside of the tank was covered in YEARS' worth of old waste. The snake was covered with several layers of unshed skin, blinded by retained eyecaps. He was also very skinny, his spine and ribs completely visible. He was weak when I held him for the first time, almost limp.

When I got him home, I promptly soaked him. I left his head and neck alone the first time because he was so headshy and I was trying to minimize stress, but I gently peeled the dead skin off the rest of his body. Underneath I found several healed over scars. Not sure if they were caused by rodent bites, or the old shed getting tight and digging into his body.

Here he is right after the first soak. This is the first picture I took of him, should have taken one before I got started but I didn't think of it at the time.

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...c67170809f.jpg

That's probably his best angle, it doesn't really show how skinny he actually is. And these are the worst of the scars.

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...837b70bd41.jpg
http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...00d35fd86c.jpg

Later that night, I offered him a f/t rat pup and he gulped it right down. You can really see how skinny he is in this picture, his back is a sharp peak. From what the previous owner told me, I know that he's over two years old, and yet he's no larger than my yearlings and definitely weighs a lot less than any of them. :(

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...a4a132f31b.jpg

He also had patches of reddish pink skin under and between his scales that seemed very sensitive. He didn't want to be touched, even by himself. Seeing a BP ball up while trying not to touch himself is pretty strange... but I kept him on damp paper towels and after about a week the reddish areas faded away, and so did his obvious sensitivity. He seems much more comfortable now, though still shy.

He has been eating rat pups steadily every 3-5 days, so I'm feeling pretty hopeful about his eventual recovery. I've been monitoring him for signs of RI but nothing so far. Still, he's in full quarantine and will be for a while. I'll post updates periodically.

PLEASE NOTE: This snake ended up in this situation because his original owner passed away. He was inherited by family members who were not only clueless about proper care, but were also disabled and literally unable to care for him even if they knew how. Please consider who would care for your snakes if something ever happens to you.

Good luck with him!

-Emma

Thank you for taking him in. Hopefully he will bounce back quickly.

Any updates on your rescue?


[emoji216][emoji106][emoji216]

I'am glad you took him in. Keep us updated on his progress.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by greco

Hi everyone. As the title says, I rescued a very neglected BP a few weeks ago from one of my boyfriend's co-workers. I thought some of you would be interested in following his recovery.

I haven't actually sexed him yet so I'm just assuming he's male for now. We're calling him Dr. Frankenfurter.

When I went to pick him up, I found him in a tank, with a heat lamp and one oversized hide on the cold side. The inside of the tank was covered in YEARS' worth of old waste. The snake was covered with several layers of unshed skin, blinded by retained eyecaps. He was also very skinny, his spine and ribs completely visible. He was weak when I held him for the first time, almost limp.

When I got him home, I promptly soaked him. I left his head and neck alone the first time because he was so headshy and I was trying to minimize stress, but I gently peeled the dead skin off the rest of his body. Underneath I found several healed over scars. Not sure if they were caused by rodent bites, or the old shed getting tight and digging into his body.

Here he is right after the first soak. This is the first picture I took of him, should have taken one before I got started but I didn't think of it at the time.

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...c67170809f.jpg

That's probably his best angle, it doesn't really show how skinny he actually is. And these are the worst of the scars.

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...837b70bd41.jpg
http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...00d35fd86c.jpg

Later that night, I offered him a f/t rat pup and he gulped it right down. You can really see how skinny he is in this picture, his back is a sharp peak. From what the previous owner told me, I know that he's over two years old, and yet he's no larger than my yearlings and definitely weighs a lot less than any of them. :(

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...a4a132f31b.jpg

He also had patches of reddish pink skin under and between his scales that seemed very sensitive. He didn't want to be touched, even by himself. Seeing a BP ball up while trying not to touch himself is pretty strange... but I kept him on damp paper towels and after about a week the reddish areas faded away, and so did his obvious sensitivity. He seems much more comfortable now, though still shy.

He has been eating rat pups steadily every 3-5 days, so I'm feeling pretty hopeful about his eventual recovery. I've been monitoring him for signs of RI but nothing so far. Still, he's in full quarantine and will be for a while. I'll post updates periodically.

PLEASE NOTE: This snake ended up in this situation because his original owner passed away. He was inherited by family members who were not only clueless about proper care, but were also disabled and literally unable to care for him even if they knew how. Please consider who would care for your snakes if something ever happens to you.

---

So glad there are such good people in this world. Hows is the little guy doing?

Thanks. I can't turn away an animal in need... I'm sure most of us here would have done the same thing. [emoji5]

He's doing good so far! I've had him about 6 weeks now, and he's been eating well and starting to put on some weight.

I haven't actually weighed him at all, because I broke my scale a few months ago and still haven't gotten around to replacing it... which is too bad, I would have liked to know how much he weighed when I brought him home. But I can see that his back is starting to fill out a little. I'm hoping he'll have a nice clean shed soon. He's still feeding on rat pups but I plan on moving him up to weaners after he sheds.
http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...ce6b57e665.jpg
Sorry for the crappy pic, I'll take better ones soon.

Here's a better picture that I took last night right before I cleaned his tub.
http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...9ad798adf7.jpg

Very nice! He still looks thin but not painfully so. You've done a great job.

He is a beauty! The BP I rescued is still kinda sketchy. I hold him as much as I can but he just has this attitude about him. I just think he doesn't like people due to his past. Hopefully he will warm up soon. He is eating like a pig though. That is one good thing. http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...f5069e1438.jpghttp://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...b66394b347.jpghttp://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...8b8cb3845f.jpg


[emoji216][emoji106][emoji216]

Cumminsman, I hope my rescue looks as nice as yours one day! Mine isn't aggressive at all, just very shy. (And always hungry, but I can't blame him for that.)

He is looking MUCH better already. I look forward to seeing more updates about this guy. It's awesome you rescued him, btw.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by greco

Cumminsman, I hope my rescue looks as nice as yours one day! Mine isn't aggressive at all, just very shy. (And always hungry, but I can't blame him for that.)

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My little guy wasn't in half as bad as shap as yours. Just a little neglected. You are doing a awesome job. Keep it up.


[emoji216][emoji106][emoji216]

good luck hope he gets completely healthy soon :)

He just had his first shed since I brought him home. It came off cleanly in one piece.

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...bea6f7ae9c.jpg

He's been feeding really well. Never refuses a meal. He's gotten pretty calm during handling too.

A few weeks ago I did have one small issue with him. I fed him a weaned rat and he didn't have any trouble getting it down, but it did cause one of his old scars to pull open a little bit. I guess he will have to stick with small prey, at least for a while. Other than that he's been doing great.

Looking good!!

Looks great! Awesome!


[emoji216][emoji106][emoji216]

You have done well with him. He looks so much better.:)

Just wanted to echo the sentiments of being thankful for your generosity and kind heart. That BP is one lucky guy! Karma aside, you are a truly wonderful human being.

He looks amazing, wish there were more people like you out there.

Keep up the good work he seems to be in good hands now. :)

Thank you for all of the kind words. He's a sweet little guy and I'm happy to have him!

Luckily I was in a good position to adopt him. I've been keeping reptiles for over 15 years, and rehabbed several injured or malnourished animals before. I have a wonderful reptile vet I can turn to if things get serious.

Plus I already had 12 BPs and a corn snake (another rescue from last year), so what's one more? [emoji6]

My little buddy Frankie just shed again!

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...4a10e003c7.jpg

He's been doing great. Still hasn't skipped a meal. He gets small prey (rat pups or weaners) every 5-7 days now. Anything larger stretches his scars too much.

His weight has been slowly building up. He's still a bit skinny compared to the rest of my BPs, but we'll get there eventually.

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...5180e5c326.jpg

He's a sweetheart. :)

:) awesome job.

You are TRULY a kind person for saving this poor animal, thank you for what you did to help him and keep us updated! :)

This is a neat story! I'm glad to see such a happy ending. Keep us updated :D

You're doing a great job with him! (and loving the Rocky Horror name:P) I hope he continues to grow and thrive for you.

Frankie posing proudly beside his latest work of art...

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/07...d92e4a5dad.jpg



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You just earned a whole lot of good Karma points for saving that snake! Your advice of having a plan for your pets in case of an emergency or death is fantastic advice. My wife and I have planned for this and our lawyer and our executor have our plans along with our wills.

He's coming along nicely! Good work.

Great job on taking care of that little guy!!!

looks like he's improved drastically under your care.

:salute:

He looks so much better! And it was so wonderful of you to rescue him.


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