Rescued Albino Burm

Hey Gang...So mainly I only keep Balls (a couple of corns, a carpet and a blood round out the mix) but I do watch Craigslist for people who need help re-homing their reptiles. In most cases, I just talk to the people and recommend a new home or an option.

So yesterday I came across an posting for a Free Large Snake - just come get it. So I called to get the details and offer help. It was an older couple (65+) whose son was arrested and in jail for the past 3 months. You can see where this is going. So they tell me he had a snake and they just want it gone. I ask the status of snake and they tell me "it was alive last week". I decide an intervention is needed and quickly. I drive over the meet them and they take me down into their unfinished basement. Tucked away in a corner is a 10' wood cage (had 2 large plexiglass panels as windows). The lady points and says he is in there.

So this cage is carpet lined and reeks!
NO HEAT
NO WATER
NO FOOD
For at least 3 Months!!!!:taz:

These people were scared to death of this animal, and hadn't gone near the cage since their son was taken. They give me a flash light and I can see this 7-8' Albino Burm. She is breathing. I get a screwdriver and open the cage (only way I could see to get in was to take it apart). The poor girl is covered in stuck shed and ICE cold (I guessed it was 50's in the basement - and yesterday was a warm day here). I pull her out she weighs about 30lbs and is lathargic. I hold her next to me and she seems to cuddle in for warmth. I tell them I am taking the animal and to throw the cage in the trash - why would you line a cage with carpeting in the first place???

So I put here on the floor boards with the heater running full blast and head to the vet. The vet is a friend so we bath her in warm water to remove as much shed as possible and he checks her out. Surprisingly she is OK though underfed (she appears full and round but her skin just pulls away from the muscle).

On top of this as she warms up I find out she is a sweety...outgoing and curious, not head shy and very friendly.

So long story...I have a new pet. I displaced my carpet python (which had the largest cage and put her in that one - I have a posting in the caging section about permanent ideas for caging...so please give me some ideas)

Without further ado - Introducing Dahlia
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...s/IMG_1325.jpg
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...s/IMG_1326.jpg

So all you burm experts what do you think? What should a 7-8' Burm weigh? Based on girth she could easily take a small rabbit (or would several rats be better - and how many)

Kudos to you on the rescue :gj:

She's beautiful....good luck with her!

Congrats on the rescue and thank you for taking her! So happy to see she is in good hands! :gj:

Beautiful girl, she is very lucky to finally have a good home.

I give you mad props for taking her in. Wow. Poor girl. I'm not an expert on burms, though, I can't give you a good estimate.

Great to hear that she is going to have a great home :D

7-8 footer I would say weighs prolly close to 50lbs????? total guess!


Glad to see she found a better home!

Hope that jail bird dont come lookin for ya! LOL

aww poor girl im a big sucker for burms lol i think she would be perfect in an animal plastics t25

Thanks Everyone...She is quickly becoming a member of the family. I am hopefully a few feedings and a shed and she will be feeling like a new girl.

If I can come up with some good plans I will build her a cage by Xmas to move into.

Rabbits or Jumbo/Mammoth Rats, and lots of them. If you can get piglets they're good too. I love burms but because of their size I can't keep one till I have a house.

She should weigh anywhere between 15-25 pounds at her length.I would feed her rabbits from the start-she can easily take a small rabbit. She can live comfortably in a 6 foot cage. We use all AP cages-6 & 8 footers and they hold humidity and temps great.
She is a pretty girl and I'm glad you rescued her-it seems she had a rough life before you rescued her!!!

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Originally Posted by burmmamma

She should weigh anywhere between 15-25 pounds at her length.

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Damn I didnt win the prize!

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Originally Posted by burmmamma

She should weigh anywhere between 15-25 pounds at her length.I would feed her rabbits from the start-she can easily take a small rabbit. She can live comfortably in a 6 foot cage. We use all AP cages-6 & 8 footers and they hold humidity and temps great.
She is a pretty girl and I'm glad you rescued her-it seems she had a rough life before you rescued her!!!

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Thanks...I just did the official weight and she came in at 19...so sounds like she is where she should be...but her skin seems really loose. She has a lot of stuck shed and when I was trying to remove it her skin with pull away really easily away from the muscle....is this normal?

She hasn't eaten in 3 months so she's probably dropped some weight and she's more than likely somewhat dehydrated. Make sure she gets fresh water everyday and I'd try and feed her as soon as you can.

if she hasn't eaten in a long time there is a chance of regurge because she has been starving for so long. start off with one prey item slightly smaller than the largest part of the animals body. you can go bigger on the next feed. feeding too much after a starvation can cause a regurge, as it does in homeles children and starved dogs. they have lost alot of chemicals in their stomachs used to digest food. i would suggest injecting some pedialite into it's next meal.

Good job in saving the poor animal!!!! Its such a great story that u saved the poor animal from certain long painful death
Mark

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Originally Posted by burmmamma

She hasn't eaten in 3 months so she's probably dropped some weight and she's more than likely somewhat dehydrated. Make sure she gets fresh water everyday and I'd try and feed her as soon as you can.

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I plan to try this weekend. Now that she has warmed up for a day or so she has been very active (if she were a Ball and acting this way I would know she was hungry). I am going to start with Rats (what I have available) and order some Rabbits for next time.

Based on her weight and length any guess as to her age?

Poor girl.

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Originally Posted by lord jackel

I plan to try this weekend. Now that she has warmed up for a day or so she has been very active (if she were a Ball and acting this way I would know she was hungry). I am going to start with Rats (what I have available) and order some Rabbits for next time.

Based on her weight and length any guess as to her age?

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Thats a tough one-females can get up to 9 feet their first year but I've had some that are only 5 feet and some go almost 10 that first year-it's hard to say with her b/c her conditions have not been good and she has not been fed properly.

Oh, the poor girl. Good for you for saving her! She's a lucky girl! :)

Awww...poor baby! I'm so glad you rescued her. She's a beauty too.

Another question for you guys...where do you get your Rabbits and/or pigs from? The only online place i could find was Rodent Pro (for Rabbits) - but my experience with them has always been bad so not really interested in buying from them.

Thanks in advance.

http://monster-cages.com/feeder-animals.php

You get enough people to order with you and its like 1.50$ per 2lbs

Very cool, caught this on the main page... hats off to you for giving this beautiful animal a home that will care for her.

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Originally Posted by lord jackel

Another question for you guys...where do you get your Rabbits and/or pigs from? The only online place i could find was Rodent Pro (for Rabbits) - but my experience with them has always been bad so not really interested in buying from them.

Thanks in advance.

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We found a man that breeds show rabbits and the rabbits that do not meet show standards or he does not breed anymore he sells to us for $1.00 a pound. We get 250-350 lbs a month from him in all sizes from rabbit kits to 15 pound rabbits. He gets rabbits from other breeders also. Try checking into that or if you have a fair in the area go to the agriculture building where the rabbits are setup and tactfully ask the breeders there.

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Originally Posted by burmmamma

We found a man that breeds show rabbits and the rabbits that do not meet show standards or he does not breed anymore he sells to us for $1.00 a pound. We get 250-350 lbs a month from him in all sizes from rabbit kits to 15 pound rabbits. He gets rabbits from other breeders also. Try checking into that or if you have a fair in the area go to the agriculture building where the rabbits are setup and tactfully ask the breeders there.

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Good idea...I will check that out. We have several Ag buildings and fairs around here. I also look at the link Pat offered (Monster Cages) and they sell pigs for $1.25/lb. How how big a pig/rabbit do I need (lb size)???

Thanks again for all the info.

Good thing ya did there.

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Originally Posted by lord jackel

Good idea...I will check that out. We have several Ag buildings and fairs around here. I also look at the link Pat offered (Monster Cages) and they sell pigs for $1.25/lb. How how big a pig/rabbit do I need (lb size)???

Thanks again for all the info.

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Generally about 10%-15% of the snakes weight.

As for pigs, check out this link. This is a local guy that use to sell pigs but no longer does
http://dumerils.com.tripod.com/id2.html

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Originally Posted by lord jackel

Good idea...I will check that out. We have several Ag buildings and fairs around here. I also look at the link Pat offered (Monster Cages) and they sell pigs for $1.25/lb. How how big a pig/rabbit do I need (lb size)???

Thanks again for all the info.

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I'd go with a 1 to 2 pound rabbit. And just some advice-If you're going to do pigs I would try and alternate and use a rabbit one week next and a pig the next. In my experience when you feed all pigs, there is no fur to keep the feces together, & you end up with basically burm diarrhea-not fun. This is just what happened to us-others may have had better luck. We use strictly rabbits on our burms.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lord jackel

Another question for you guys...where do you get your Rabbits and/or pigs from? The only online place i could find was Rodent Pro (for Rabbits) - but my experience with them has always been bad so not really interested in buying from them.

Thanks in advance.

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I know you had issues with Rodentpro. I dont buy rats from them anymore but they are much better than our local breeders. They have always had great rabbits. They are spot on with the weight and clean. I have been having problems with my rabbit supplier at the swap because the rabbits are under the advertised weights and not clean. I would give them a try if you cant find anyone close and reliable.

OH yea, and congrats on your baby, I have 3 rescue burms and love all of them. George, Fluffy and Phoenix. Phoenix was burned pretty bad by a light in a cage but she shed great for the first time for me last week. Good luck and enjoy.

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Originally Posted by RKO

Generally about 10%-15% of the snakes weight.

As for pigs, check out this link. This is a local guy that use to sell pigs but no longer does
http://dumerils.com.tripod.com/id2.html

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by burmmamma

I'd go with a 1 to 2 pound rabbit. And just some advice-If you're going to do pigs I would try and alternate and use a rabbit one week next and a pig the next. In my experience when you feed all pigs, there is no fur to keep the feces together, & you end up with basically burm diarrhea-not fun. This is just what happened to us-others may have had better luck. We use strictly rabbits on our burms.

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Thanks to both of you. The links on pigs was interesting so I started looking around and found several similar incidence of disease related to pigs...so I think I will be sticking with rabbits.

I posted a couple of local ad requests for rabbits so I will see if I can find surplus ones locally if not I will look into ordering locally.

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Originally Posted by MuzeBallPythons

Awww...poor baby! I'm so glad you rescued her. She's a beauty too.

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Originally Posted by boboso

Very cool, caught this on the main page... hats off to you for giving this beautiful animal a home that will care for her.

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Originally Posted by RKO

Good thing ya did there.

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Originally Posted by firehop

OH yea, and congrats on your baby, I have 3 rescue burms and love all of them. George, Fluffy and Phoenix. Phoenix was burned pretty bad by a light in a cage but she shed great for the first time for me last week. Good luck and enjoy.

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Thanks again everyone for the congrats though I think I am the lucky one for picking up such a sweet girl.

As you can see she already gives kisses...LOL
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...s/IMG_1330.jpg

hahaha wow she is pretty good job taking her in its a big commitment but its worth it

All I can say is I'm glad you took her. I have my Burm in a vision 632 cage with a radiant heat panel and I love it .

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Originally Posted by drugaria

All I can say is I'm glad you took her. I have my Burm in a vision 632 cage with a radiant heat panel and I love it .

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Thank you!

After looking at different options I am going to build a multi-unit display cage. I am working on the plans but as of now the bottom will house her and will be about 7' -8' long. Above her will be 2 cages for my carpet and blood. Then 4 cages for balls and finally a row for my 2 corns and gecko. Still working out the details but should be a nice display wall of cages when I am done.

I will keep everyone posted.

If you have the meens I would get the Animal Plastics cage with the cable belly heat and glass slide doors and locks .. locks are a must..
News paper works great and if you have a shreader that shreds in long strips they love to bury in it.
We currently have 2 burms. 1 is ours and she is 12 foot long and the second is a foster we will find a good home for we hope. Plus as it looks I will be getting another one here in 4 days and I will buy a AP cage.. I love them.
Very easy and would not have anything else..

Good luck with feedings.. try www.rodentpro.com
love their food.. well not personally but ya know...

:gj: