really skinny hatchling?

caution, is a really little guy.. i don't think hes much older than a couple months TOPS, ive been told he looks like a hatching by some of the members here, hes really skinny (skin folds and creases when he moves in half, almost dehydrated looking) and was a finicky eater when we first got him (We've only seen him eat twice now).. hes had one really good feeding since then (Sat) my question is, how often should we be feeding him since hes so little, is it that hes really young or maybe due to stress he wasn't eating well before we got him.. the store we got him from steered us horribly in the beginning so theres no telling what hes been through they had us housing a bigger female and him together "safely" after i raised question and concern, we have since separated them and he seems to be doing much better, we NEVER see him drink whereas we see savanna drink daily, i do understand they get *most* of their hydration from their food but wanted to be sure. he had a really little fuzzy (not even a hopper) on saturday, going by the size we fed him how frequently should he be eating (it wasnt bigger than the biggest part of his body)? savanna beefed up nicely since weve gotten her and looks to be a healthy weight without being *fat* for her "age/size"

thoughts? i really want these two to thrive!

With the right temps and an appropriately sized meal every week, he'll be looking better quickly - I've 'rescued' quite a few and their ability to bounce back from a bad situation never ceases to amaze me. Give it time. If this hobby teaches you one thing, let it be PATIENCE.

**insert laugh** patience! my children have been wonderful for that lol.. i was just making sure we didnt need to feed him small meals more frequently or if we would be better off feeding him "normal" size meals every 5-7 days without power feeding (which i understand is over feeding size and frequency) my temps have been great and they both look wonderful... with one exception


ANOTHER QUESTION:
caution has what looks like "burnt" scales on his belly. at the store he was kept in a small plastic bin with no heat rock/mat they are every 6 scales or so and look terrible not to mentain not very soft. will those go away with shedding? what could better explain what they are, it hasn't happened since hes been with us and i KNOW our temps aren't too hot. never higher than 94 and thats with the sensor touching the plastic bin above the UTH, there is bedding between him and the floor of the enclosure i can post pics later if need be. is there anything ican do to help them heal?

Do you have pictures of those scales you can post?

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g3...5/IMG_7989.jpgtheres an example.. i have another one that might be better to see it by.

also as far as the crinkles i nthe skin, heres an example of that
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g3...5/IMG_7990.jpg
better than it used to be!

Probably a nice chubby mouse hopper every 5 days would do him for now, then as he puts a bit of weight on move him up to a recently yeaned/young adult mouse (unless you think he's got the girth to handle something a tad bigger than a hopper). Any idea of his weight? A digital scale is really a godsend when you have snakes.

As far as his belly scales, best to post a picture and in the end if there's any doubts, I know most of us will advise you to have a herp vet do a hands on exam. It might be a belly burn, it might be belly rot from dirty bedding at the store...hard to say but do try to get a clear, close up pic. If he's got a bit of a nasty belly I'd have him on plain white Viva brand paper towels (the ones that advertise as soft as cloth...and they are!) instead of any sort of loose bedding.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

As far as his belly scales, best to post a picture and in the end if there's any doubts, I know most of us will advise you to have a herp vet do a hands on exam. It might be a belly burn, it might be belly rot from dirty bedding at the store...hard to say but do try to get a clear, close up pic. If he's got a bit of a nasty belly I'd have him on plain white Viva brand paper towels (the ones that advertise as soft as cloth...and they are!) instead of any sort of loose bedding.

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Agreed. Posting a pic will more or less let us be able to ascertain whether or not the case is severe enough that it warrants vet care...or if it is a mild case, a dry tub with the right temps and humidity, as well as a couple of good sheds, should allow it to heal on its own. I've gotten snakes with very mild cases of scale rot that went away on its own with nothing more than a clean tub and proper conditions.

More advanced cases, or one that does not begin to heal on its own, definitley require veterinary care.

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g3...5/IMG_7994.jpg
better pic

on a huge plus hes getting more social everyday,(used to stay balled up, no inrest in exploring) hes really a nice little baby

anyone have comments on his size, possible age? as i said previously some say hatching others say a few months, he seems small to me though and i by no means have man hands lol (i know yicky nails, cronic nail biter here)

also what is the little slit in his belly (can sorta see it in third pic) both of them have it.. and its not their vent either

eh... can you point it out?

shoot i cant edit those other ones off..


red arrows are the scales, really rough to the touch

blue circle is that slit thats in both snakes, i think our older balls years ago had them too

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g3...IMG_7994-1.jpg
hopefully tahts better sized too

Was he kept on damp substrate at the store, do you know? It looks a little like scale rot---a condition that crops up when a snake is kept on dirty and/or damp substrate.


I received a rescue snake some time ago with scales that looked like that. It cleared up with this treatment: twice a day, clean the spots with a 50% water/50% hydrogen peroxide mix (dilutes the hydrogen peroxide). Then gently rub a good layer of Polysporin (not Neosporin but found in the same isle at CVS or Walgreens) over them.

If they get worse, see a vet.

EDIT: And the slit in the belly is a belly button :) It's where they were connected to the yolk in the egg.

not sure.. some of the snakes were kept in really clean small (very small, i used the bins they came in for water for a short period of time) containers, they would put a peice of folded up paper towel at the bottom, that was their substrate... they said the water would tip over and when they had a chance everyone would get cleaned up. when i picked him up his "bin" if thats what you could call it was dry. but at the same time i told them i was on my way for him and to hold him till i got there (a bit of a drive, and we had looked at him day before) so theres no telling, im sure they cleaned his "container" up before i got there.. some of the snakes were very clean while others were not

edit: awesome about the belly button.. i was sure they had it in common lol wasnt sure if they had bitten themselves (hits forehead) stupid a$$ lol

Even if it's a slight burn from his previous owner, you can help clear it up using the same method I mentioned above. Small sores can usually be helped this way... though, like I said, definately see a vet if things start getting any worse.

ok, if i take them out and put papertowels in their bins can i recycle the bedding thats in there or am i better off tossing it? They have only been in there with the bedding for about a week. i would hate to toss it out as its very clean (they havn't pooped yet in it either)

The problem is that the bedding may now be contaminated with the bacteria that is causing the scale rot to occur in the first place.

One batch of bedding isn't a big deal - switch it out and use paper towels instead.

I agree with Brad. With Caution's belly issues I'd just toss his bedding and put him on the layers of paper towels. Your female, if she's fine, can remain on her bedding or whatever your choice of substrate might be.

I think we will take them both out and change it up, i know that savanna has been put away in cautions bin and visaversa (i know naughty naughty)