Rescued BP. Emaciated!!

So I rescued this BP that wasnt taken care of very well. Its 7 years old about 4 1/2'. The cage looked like it hadnt been cleaned in 6 months or more!!! Feces and shed skin everywhere. She had been feeding it 12 wild mice a month.... Its really thin for a BP. I have had him a week now and its eaten 2 small rats. I would really like to get him him up to a healthy weight, but I dont want to over feed him. Should I just keep feeding him small rats weekly? Are there any health concerns with a snake that has been improperly taken care of for so long?

You should find a qualified herp vet in your area and schedule an exam. Once the snake defecates, put that in a ziplock baggie into the fridge so they can do a fecal float for parasites. Most likely, if they were feeding it wild mice, the snake is going to be loaded.

Best thing you can do in the meantime is set up a nice sterilite tub for the snake.

I would feed him one appropriate sized rat weekly. Meaning, if he's feeding on live, he can probably take a weaned rat (around 60-80 grams).

There's no way to really say if this snake is underweight without pictures, but generally when a snake hasnt been fed large meals, you'll want to start smaller and work back up to a good feeding size. (Which in most cases is a weaned rat or a few mice.)

I would offer him rat pups to start and get his metabolism back up to speed, and every week offer something just a little bigger until your back to a weaned rat size.

Ill try to get a pic up tonight with...with my phone... He is VERY hungry!!! He is taking small rats as soon as i put them in. When I take him out of his enclosure he is always looking for food every time I move it triggers his feeding instincts or what ever you want to call it. He makes me a little nervous. For his length he is about the same girth as a red tail boa would be (used to have one). After looking at pics on the net is when I reallized how under weight he is. He seems to have alot of skin showing between the scales, mabey this is normal idk, I dont know if eating mice would reduce the elasicity of his skin? I do have a vet to take him to so thats not a problem.

Ok got some pics last night with my phone. She ate a small rat 2 days ago so she is a little fatter than when I got her.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c2...e/media1-2.jpg
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c2...e/media1-1.jpg
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c2...one/media1.jpg

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Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

You should find a qualified herp vet in your area and schedule an exam. Once the snake defecates, put that in a ziplock baggie into the fridge so they can do a fecal float for parasites. Most likely, if they were feeding it wild mice, the snake is going to be loaded.

Best thing you can do in the meantime is set up a nice sterilite tub for the snake.

I would feed him one appropriate sized rat weekly. Meaning, if he's feeding on live, he can probably take a weaned rat (around 60-80 grams).

There's no way to really say if this snake is underweight without pictures, but generally when a snake hasnt been fed large meals, you'll want to start smaller and work back up to a good feeding size. (Which in most cases is a weaned rat or a few mice.)

I would offer him rat pups to start and get his metabolism back up to speed, and every week offer something just a little bigger until your back to a weaned rat size.

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Holy cow Connie!! http://forum.crystalxp.net/uploads/p...1131472036.gif What do you feed your rats?!?!?!
My smalls are 55g and large rats are about 80-90g!!!!!
To the OP: Listen to Connie and get the fecal float done :gj:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by starmom

Holy cow Connie!! http://forum.crystalxp.net/uploads/p...1131472036.gif What do you feed your rats?!?!?!
My smalls are 55g and large rats are about 80-90g!!!!!
To the OP: Listen to Connie and get the fecal float done :gj:

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Umm.. yup! I've even had a male rat, Just 4 weeks old weigh in at something like 116 grams! :O I know I know, crazy huh?

I do consistently get weaned rats from 60-80 grams. 80 isn't completely common, as they usually hang around in the 60's. :)

OP, he doesn't look emaciated from the last photo, but it is hard to tell. I would still schedule that appt as soon as possible to get rid of any parasites.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

Umm.. yup! I've even had a male rat, Just 4 weeks old weigh in at something like 116 grams! :O I know I know, crazy huh?

I do consistently get weaned rats from 60-80 grams. 80 isn't completely common, as they usually hang around in the 60's. :)

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http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...adgrl/thud.gif

In my opinion, that ball isn't very underweight. Certainly not emaciated.
A fecal float is always a good idea. Good luck with it!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Keitone

So I rescued this BP that wasnt taken care of very well. Its 7 years old about 4 1/2'. The cage looked like it hadnt been cleaned in 6 months or more!!! Feces and shed skin everywhere.

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That cage condition sounds like a horror! :mad:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wolfy-hound

In my opinion, that ball isn't very underweight. Certainly not emaciated.
A fecal float is always a good idea. Good luck with it!

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I thought Balls were supposed to be alot fatter. More like this:
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c2...ballpython.jpg

They should be thicker, but he doesn't look emaciated. This is emaciated - two rescues I got last year:

They got one medium rat every three months if he remembered. And they were housed together.

Girl 1
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e9...2007/Girl7.jpg

Girl 2 - this one was in better shape
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e9...007/Girl15.jpg

This was about 2 months into rehabilitation with me before they went on to their new home:

Girl 1
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e9...LittleOne3.jpg

Girl 2
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e9...007/BigOne.jpg

If it is a male then generally are leaner and lighter in build than a female. As far as the picture though, I know from our own experience with rescues that pictures don't always tell the full truth. When I look back on pictures of our Saoirse when we got her at only 600+ grams (this was a mature female BP!) she doesn't even look that bad. In my hands though, she was heartbreaking - so thin, no muscle tone at all, just a quiet balled of snake barely there anymore.

I'd get him checked out well by an experienced herp vet. Get a weight, an all over physical check up including mouth exam, etc. and a fecal float (if he doesn't pass any feces they can do a vent wash to check for internal parasites). It's well worth your money and your snake will do better if you start out knowing what health issues might be needing dealt with.

I will for sure take her to the vet asap.

She does look alot thicker in the pics than in person. What would I be looking for to evaluate if she was healthy or not? Just looking for things that some one with out much experience with herps could look for. I know general care for alot of animals, Ive worked in pet stores for almost 3 years now, I just dont have alot of personal experience. Especially when it comes to diseases/poor health.

With ball pythons you want a fairly girthy snake. Almost heavier in the hand than they appear is how I think of it. No triangle shape with a visible spine sticking up. If you do a skin pinch down the lower third of their body proper the skin should spring right back not tent up (practise on the back of your own hand, tenting indicates dehydration). You should not see stuck shed - especially check the eyecaps and the tail tip. The vent area should be clean and dry. The snake should not have external parasites - ticks or mites. Check carefully as ticks can burrow in quite a lot.

The snake should feel muscular and be able to both grip you strongly when handled and move in a proper manner when put on a surface. The belly area should be clean, dry and have no breaks, sores, discoloration, etc. The mouth should be clean, no discharge, no mucus, no redness, no bubbles and with a clean healthy pink glottis that can easily open and close (that's breathing tube). A handy trick to exam the mouth is to purchase some soft rubber kitchen spatula's (they come in a variety of sizes). Very gently insert the edge of the SOFT rubber spatula into the side of the snake's mouth and slowly twist. This will open the snake's mouth and hold it open for a peek inside. If done properly and carefully this should not damage the snake's mouth or teeth. Make sure to disinfect the spatula afterwards.

The snake should tongue flick as it explores it's environment. Ball pythons can be a nervous shy snake so may often just ball up defensively or can strike at you. As long as the snake is not freaking out, that's fine.

The snake should be able to right itself when you flip it over, even from the balled up position. It should move in an appropriate slither and be in control of it's head (not spinning, twisting frantically, etc.)

It's skin should be unbroken and healthy. Soft to the touch and with no scales angled oddly upwards or outwards.

It should eat, defecate, urate (it will pass both solid and liquid urine), shed, etc. appropriately.

Hope that helps. :)