Help with rescued snake!!

I just rescued a 3-month-old female ball python from a friend of my daughters. She is SCARY skinny. So much so, that I'm afraid she might not make it. She's also going through an extremely bad shed. When I picked her up, I noticed how horrid her husbandry was. No under tank heat or even a way to monitor temps, completely open screen top so no humidity and a cage waaaaayyy too big for her. I put her in the feeding container that she came with when I got home. Paper towel on the bottom and a small dish for water. I thawed a pinky mouse, that also came with her (which is also waaayyy too small for her) and left it in the container in the hopes that she would eat. She weighs 62 grams. :tears::mad:

So, my question is, when do I attempt to assist feed this little sweetheart? She needs food YESTERDAY!! :please:

Can you post a pic? That'll help determine how bad her situation is.

For food, without seeing how bad-off the snake is, my general recommendation would be to start on the small side of what you'd normally feed a snake that size if she'll take anything on her own. It's just easier on their systems.

I don't have a lot of experience with when to start assist-feeding. Since it can be pretty stressful, I'll let someone who knows more about it answer that.

Glad you got her, hopefully it's not too late:(

Wow, 62g is really skinny. Thank you for rescuing her. How often was she fed has she even had a meal? I would try to feed her either f/t or live (which ever she was on before) for a couple days then you can try to assist feed her. Don't force feed her just try to get the mouses head in her mouth and see if she eats it. If you arent already I would also lightly spray down her cage to maybe help her shed. Hope this helped.

Ok, I just found out she's SEVEN MONTHS OLD!! I had her care sheet from Pet Smart (it was with her stiff). She ate once rr twice per month until my daughter's friend got her a month ago , then not at all since. I made the executive decision to assist feed. I'm familiar enough with how ball pythons should look to know she's on deaths door. AND SHE ATE!!!

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Originally Posted by Herbie'sMom

Ok, I just found out she's SEVEN MONTHS OLD!! I had her care sheet from Pet Smart (it was with her stiff). She ate once rr twice per month until my daughter's friend got her a month ago , then not at all since. I made the executive decision to assist feed. I'm familiar enough with how ball pythons should look to know she's on deaths door. AND SHE ATE!!!

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That's great! If she was eating up till a month ago it was probably just the poor conditions that made her stop.

Yes, but even then she was eating only sporadically. Her being this skinny infan just from the last month, there's no way. According to my daughter's friend (and what we already know of Petsmart) she was being housed with other snakes. I can also assume the pet store wasn't too concerned with husbandry either.

Everyone, please sent your best vibes so this little one makes it. I can already tell she's such a sweetheart!

Good luck!

Here's the poor thing

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/06...e5c450fd8a.jpg

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/06...eee188639d.jpg

Oh geez :( I bet he'll feel like a new snake once he gets all that shed off! Looking forward to pics and updates and hoping he pulls through okay

Thanks, Shamri. I'm going to do my best to make sure this little girl makes it!

I wonder if it would stress her out to much to give her a good soak to help get the old shed off and help hydrate her?

I thought about that too, lorrainsmom. I've got the humidity in her new (SMALLER!) cage nice and humid hoping she will shed on her own. I definitely don't want her to regurge, so I will help her shed in a few days if she hasn't already and then feed her again. I really think I got her in the nick of time. A couple more days and I think she might have been dead.

Poor thing! I wish you the best of luck with her.. It is horrible to know that there are people who would do this to such a beautiful creature. Thank you for helping out this little critter! She will look amazing once she is fattened up and gets all of that shed off!

Thanks Shaylnator. I'm actually more pissed off at Petsmart for selling a snake that was clearly already malnourished than I am at my daughter's friend. Her's was just ignorance with no mal-intent as she'd only had her for a month. I actually applaud her for making such a mature decision. I just wish mom would have stepped in and insisted on more research before buying such a pet. Unfortunately, not knowing any better, they trusted what Petsmart told them.

:O I would take pics to Petsmart and give them a piece of my mind!!! File a complaint! Grrrr...

Sending good vibes to that little lady. TY for being awesome and helping a critter who couldn't have saved herself :gj: Good luck!!!

I never understood why people buy pets before they do the research.. It is a living animal.. It wouldn't be so bad if Petsmart actually knew what they were doing, instead of giving false information to their customers. Sucks that there are so many greedy people, but the good people outweigh them. I am so happy that she is in better hands now!

poor girl, hope she recovers soon!

How do people see an animal in this sort of condition and don't think anything is wrong? Ugh. The good news is that we've seen rescue conditions on this site that were worse in which the snake pulled through. I hope that gives you some comfort.

Oh that poor snake! Thank you for rescuing her! I just got my first ball python three weeks ago after doing months of research. I sought out a local reptile rescue and when I went to go pick out a snake I was appalled at the conditions this so called rescue was keeping these snakes. . . Many without proper heat sources and none with any water! It made me so mad that I felt I had to rescue my snake from a rescue! I took my baby girl home who ate so fast it was scary she was clearly underfed as you could see her spine and they said they were only feeding her hoppers ... she is eating jumbo mice! Called the spca and it sounds like these people got the eye opener they needed and are hopefully caring better for their snakes now. Hope your little guy pulls through and is able to shed ok.

Since she just ate I would leave her to digest for a day or two and not stress her out by handling her or trying to soak her. You don't want to risk a regurge on top of all of her other problems.

Since you assist fed and she took it can I assume that she eats f/t? If so I would offer her damp feeders to help with hydration, and you could also dust them with a bit of NutriBAC to help jump start her gut flora.

Thanks for your support everyone!

Yeah, brc, I had the same thoughts as you. Dealing with the shed is secondary to getting some meat on her bones. I think I will attempt to help her shed on Saturday and feed her again on Sunday or Monday. Does anyone think that Sunday would be too soon to feed her again? It would be 4 days later. Yes, she's eating f/t. But...the feeders that came with her are pinkies, which are CLEARLY too small for her.

It just infuriates me that PetSmart would sell those to my daughter's friend when she probably should have been on AT LEAST fuzzies from the day she was born. So not only did PS not ensure she was eating regularly, they were underfeeding her when they did! I did stop in there last night to get a heat pad, hydrometer and thermometer and I noticed the few BPs they had were housed individually, so THAT'S good (not sure if my daughter's friend got her at this particular store).

Thanks for the advice on the NutriBAC. I will look into it. She also came with a water additive that I made sure got into her water.

I would offer a mouse hopper on Sunday evening.

Petsmart! That's where I got my first ball python and he was a few months old and at 79 grams when I got him. They were still feeding him pinks! I stopped that right away and started giving him fuzzies and he was taking them like a champ. They also let me buy him with a prolapse! And when I tried to take advantage of the two week window to get a free pet visit, they told me I would need to return him to them and they would give me my money back and then they would hold onto him as long as they saw fit and then let me buy him back! It was ridiculous! Luckily, I know girl who breeds snakes and she gave me tips on getting him to eat and how to heal his prolapse. I've had my guy about three months now and his prolapse is gone and he's gotten super fat. Poor thing, poor little girl. Thank you for taking her in and best of luck.

To help with the bad shed I would recommend soaking her in lukewarm water with a towel or something she can rub up against to get that shed off.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

Since she just ate I would leave her to digest for a day or two and not stress her out by handling her or trying to soak her. You don't want to risk a regurge on top of all of her other problems.

Since you assist fed and she took it can I assume that she eats f/t? If so I would offer her damp feeders to help with hydration, and you could also dust them with a bit of NutriBAC to help jump start her gut flora.

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I just ordered some off of Amazon. Should be here within a week. Unfortunately, our local reptile shop/supply store doesn't carry it, but since she will probably only eat one more time before it gets here, it should be fine.

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Originally Posted by beeze

Petsmart! That's where I got my first ball python and he was a few months old and at 79 grams when I got him. They were still feeding him pinks! I stopped that right away and started giving him fuzzies and he was taking them like a champ. They also let me buy him with a prolapse! And when I tried to take advantage of the two week window to get a free pet visit, they told me I would need to return him to them and they would give me my money back and then they would hold onto him as long as they saw fit and then let me buy him back! It was ridiculous! Luckily, I know girl who breeds snakes and she gave me tips on getting him to eat and how to heal his prolapse. I've had my guy about three months now and his prolapse is gone and he's gotten super fat. Poor thing, poor little girl. Thank you for taking her in and best of luck.

To help with the bad shed I would recommend soaking her in lukewarm water with a towel or something she can rub up against to get that shed off.

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I'm starting to REALLY hate Petsmart! :mad::mad::mad:

Sorry you had such a bad experience. I hate that I had to go in there last night to get some supplies for this little girl, but she needed husbandry upgrades ASAP and Petsmart is much closer (and longer hours) than our local reptile shop. After this, they will not get one thin dime from me.

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Originally Posted by Herbie'sMom

Thanks for your support everyone!

Yeah, brc, I had the same thoughts as you. Dealing with the shed is secondary to getting some meat on her bones. I think I will attempt to help her shed on Saturday and feed her again on Sunday or Monday. Does anyone think that Sunday would be too soon to feed her again? It would be 4 days later. Yes, she's eating f/t. But...the feeders that came with her are pinkies, which are CLEARLY too small for her.

It just infuriates me that PetSmart would sell those to my daughter's friend when she probably should have been on AT LEAST fuzzies from the day she was born. So not only did PS not ensure she was eating regularly, they were underfeeding her when they did! I did stop in there last night to get a heat pad, hydrometer and thermometer and I noticed the few BPs they had were housed individually, so THAT'S good (not sure if my daughter's friend got her at this particular store).

Thanks for the advice on the NutriBAC. I will look into it. She also came with a water additive that I made sure got into her water.

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I went into a pet store the other day to purchase some more mice, and I seen a tank with 5 adult corn snakes, and a single hide, bit enough for half of a corn snake.... SMH

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Originally Posted by ShayInator

I went into a pet store the other day to purchase some more mice, and I seen a tank with 5 adult corn snakes, and a single hide, bit enough for half of a corn snake.... SMH

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:O:O:O I hope you gave them a firm talking to...

I'm on good terms with my Petsmart reptile keepers and I ask them questions about their husbandry all the time, and about store policy and talk to them about what they could do to improve things. Though TBH I have yet to see even close to such deplorable conditions in my Petsmart or Petco... Now Petland is another thing..... :rage:

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Originally Posted by anicatgirl

:O:O:O I hope you gave them a firm talking to...

I'm on good terms with my Petsmart reptile keepers and I ask them questions about their husbandry all the time, and about store policy and talk to them about what they could do to improve things. Though TBH I have yet to see even close to such deplorable conditions in my Petsmart or Petco... Now Petland is another thing..... :rage:

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I really wish I did talk with them, but they were super busy that day, I regret not doing it.. I did go into a Petsmart though and seen an EXTREMELY underweight ball python, I nearly cried, they too were busy that day, so when I got home, I called them, and talked to the manager about it.. The manager seemed pretty chill about it, so that is good, I never was able to check back on the snake though.. Some people..

Dude, I am that person lol. I don't give a hoot how busy they are. The manager can take 5 min out of his day to talk to me. I'm a much bigger pain in the butt if you try to ignore me :D But also, I live and die by the thought that anytime we do nothing, anytime we walk on by, we allow for more and more of it. "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." I run a feral cat colony. All of those babies would be dead if I wasn't the pain in the butt that I am. :gj: