Help, new skinny snake

Hi,

I just got a new BP today (Jack), I was told he 'feeds well' but he very skinny.

You mostly see how he is skinny near the bottom. His skin 'hangs' in some places when he bends.
He is active and alert and everything else looks normal, he just looks like he hasn't eaten in a while.

Here's a pic:
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o...llair/Jack.jpg

My question is how is the best way to get him back to a more normal weight?

Should I feed him normal sized meals but each 5 days or?
Should I try feeding him soon?

Thanks in advance.

Maybe you could check out this thread http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...t=69963&page=2, post #11. It is from Becky (SantanicIntention) and is very good and has helped my problem hypo to get back on track.

You may want to feed him right away but you are best to wait a week for him to settle in. There is no way he was feeding well before you got him so its unlikely he will feed immediately for you.

check out the link starmom pointed out, its probably the best way to house a small snake. Your snake probably needs a better setup to thrive. If he is stressed he may never eat and by the looks of it he hasn't eaten in some time already. From my experience it looks like it may have not eaten in the last 8-10 months.

Once you do get him into the smaller cage give him one week. Or, if your worried about him not getting enough to eat and he seems to start getting lethargic, then try to feed him earlier.
Use the same rule of thumb, the largest part of the body is the same size as the prey. For this situation, you might want to go a bit smaller than that too.
Just get him eating on a healthy 5 day schedule.

Thanks for the help, it's appreciated!

If he is eating... then it may simply be that he is underfed.

Either way you want to ensure, as noted, that he is set up well... for a snake that small I would give closer to 5 days (rather than 5) for an acclimation, as you do want to get him feeding.

Do you know what the previous keeper was feeding and how often? As well as the date of the last feed. If not... get on the blower and find out. :)

Hopefully with a few good meals, and perhaps a bit of an increased feeding schedule, he may surprise you and just take off.

Bruce

Nice music btw... Quebec really is the metal capital of CAN hands down. :)

if it is eating its either underfed or has worms or some other type of parasite.if it was a captive hatched id say worms if captive bred underfed.id take it to the vet regardless.if you can take a piece of feces with you.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Loft Lizard

If he is eating... then it may simply be that he is underfed.

Either way you want to ensure, as noted, that he is set up well... for a snake that small I would give closer to 5 days (rather than 5) for an acclimation, as you do want to get him feeding.

Do you know what the previous keeper was feeding and how often? As well as the date of the last feed. If not... get on the blower and find out. :)

Hopefully with a few good meals, and perhaps a bit of an increased feeding schedule, he may surprise you and just take off.

Bruce

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They feed their snakes every Monday, so he would be fed later today if I we're to keep his schedule.
I bought him at a different store then usual, he was on special and I felt sorry for him and liked his patterns.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Loft Lizard

Nice music btw... Quebec really is the metal capital of CAN hands down. :)

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Thanks :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Butters420

if it is eating its either underfed or has worms or some other type of parasite.if it was a captive hatched id say worms if captive bred underfed.id take it to the vet regardless.if you can take a piece of feces with you.

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He's a CB.
I wasn't thinking about worms or parasites. A vet visit might be in order as you mentioned.

Would loose skin show that he 'was' bigger then this?
I'm presuming he's like a person that loses a lot of weight and the skin stretches, I don't know how that works for snakes though.

Its really strange that its lower body is thinner than his upper body. Something's fishy about his supposedly being a "good eater"

He's from Petco, he's not CB. He's CH. Being CH doesn't necessarily mean he has internal parasites, but being near other snakes ups his chance of having them. It never hurts to take a fecal sample to the vet and have them run the test. Better safe than sorry.

I would move him into something smaller(6-12qt tub), 1-2 hides, get all of your temperatures and humidity correct, and leave him completely alone for a week. He may just be dehydrated, and stress can easily strip the weight off of them quickly. A stressed animal uses ALOT more calories than a relaxed animal does. If they aren't eating(because of the stress and the co-housing/improper temps/poor hides/huge cage at Petco), then obviously they will lose more weight.

I would agree on the tub and getting his husbandry on track. The enclosure you have him in, is great for gheckos, not for bps. Especailly a baby bp... too much height, very stressful.

And if they are feeding him once a week, that is not near often enough for a baby bp, esp (as SI noted) if he is coming from a pet store environment.

And your vet can do a fecal float to check for parasites without seeing him if you are concerned. But that thin butt end... can also mean he has no food in him, same with the stretched skin. Very common on thin babes, not "stetch marks"... just loose skin.

It's not Petco, we don't have Petco here in Quebec... I got him from a small family owned pet store. For what it's worth.

He was housed with another same sized BP. Stress, as you mentioned, could be playing a big part in it too.
Some things that I know we're wrong with his enclosure at the store was:
- 2 snakes in the same cage
- 1 hide for 2 snakes
- (Pretty sure) the temps we're wrong
- Low humidity
- Almost empty water bowl

Right now I have him in a 7 gallon tank. I'll go pickup a tub tomorrow.

Should I try feeding him 2 fuzzies instead of a hopper?

Thanks again for your help

I would stick with the hopper. They seem to fixate on that jerky movement and it intices them to strike. I like that my babies get all riled up at feeding time.

And don't worry about leaving the hopper in overnight. Once that smell of the mouse permeates the tub, and the mouse is in such close proximity to the snake, they generally can't stand it and strike/coil/eat. Like us at a buffet.. we really can't help ourselves, LOL.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

I would stick with the hopper. They seem to fixate on that jerky movement and it intices them to strike. I like that my babies get all riled up at feeding time.

And don't worry about leaving the hopper in overnight. Once that smell of the mouse permeates the tub, and the mouse is in such close proximity to the snake, they generally can't stand it and strike/coil/eat. Like us at a buffet.. we really can't help ourselves, LOL.

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I never fed live before though. Can hoppers do damage to a sick snake?

He's not sick, just underweight and possibly dehydrated. Both are easy to fix with the proper environment and a few good meals.

After you get the proper set up, wait a week, no handling, keep him in a dim, no-traffic area, and then try to feed a live hopper mouse at night. Just pre-scent the area(mouse in secure carrier placed next to the snake's tub for 20-30 minutes), then open the tub, drop the mouse in next to the water bowl, close the lid, and walk away. A hopper mouse will not hurt the snake.

If he doesn't eat, remove the mouse, wait a week, and try again. Avoid any handling or excessive bothering of the tub/snake.