Talk about a long road to recovery..

[ShamelessAardvark]

There needs to be an "Oh my god this is terrible someone help me," forum, because this girl would fit right in.

http://imgur.com/a/8EvKB

So, I found this girl on Craigslist for $50, including her... contraption of a home. I called the owner and asked his price for just the snake, and he said $35 for me. He said that I gave him a good vibe, which I guess is good? lol. Anyway, back to her.
He kept her in this.. PVC-pipe-tied-with-mesh type thing, with plumbers' heat cord wrapped around the frame, and a single heat-light (not on). She had one hide, but that's not what gets to me the most. The walls were mesh. Mesh. She's as dry as a bone! Not a drop of humidity. As you can see from the pictures, she's in terrible shape. I wouldn't doubt it if she's permanently blind. Stuck shed to the point where it's... like, glued. I honestly believe she's retained every shed for three years; she's so dry. As soon as I got her home, I filled a tub with warm water and set it on a heat mat (just warm enough to keep the water warm) and let her soak for two hours. Then I rubbed her down with Repti-Shed Aid before putting her in a super humid tub.
Despite her condition, she's super sweet. She lets me hold her head and turn it to get closer looks and the like.
But another major concern is a dent in her back. You can't see it too well in the last two pictures, but you can sure feel it. The very last picture shows how long it is. Her back indents, but I can't put my finger on why. It doesn't feel like a kink, it feels as if she's been dropped or stepped on. I don't think I can breed her, though, due to her back. Not to mention she's covered in bite marks and.. cat scratches? Obviously she was fed live rats unsupervised.

I need help here. I don't know what else to do for her besides keeping her in a super humid tub. I live in Eagle River, Alaska, and as far as I know, there are like, two exotic vets, none of which I've been to, nor do I have the funds for a visit. I know I can't fix her back, but does anyone have any tips for what else I can do for her skin?

[Royal Hijinx]

Wow, that is awful. I think you are on the right tract to try to get the excess skin off, but the eyes may be beyond help.

Good on you for trying to help her out.

[KatStoverReptiles]

Oh my. Poor snake! As of right now I would just work on getting some of that stuck shed off and provide somewhere warm. If you can get some of it off, maybe try some food in a week or so.

[angllady2]

That poor, poor thing. How could someone do that to a snake ? I think you are off to a good start. Humidity and heat first. As she re-hydrates, the shed will come off on it's own. It may take weeks for her to get rid of all of it, and the eye caps in particular.

Give her at least 10 days of heat and humidity before you attempt to feed her. Start off small with her, and supervise her feeding. At least she doesn't look starved on top of everything else.

Read up on the caresheets here for advise and things to watch out for.

Gale

[Salamander Rising]

There needs to be an "Oh my god this is terrible someone help me," forum, because this girl would fit right in.

http://imgur.com/a/8EvKB

So, I found this girl on Craigslist for $50, including her... contraption of a home. I called the owner and asked his price for just the snake, and he said $35 for me. He said that I gave him a good vibe, which I guess is good? lol. Anyway, back to her.
He kept her in this.. PVC-pipe-tied-with-mesh type thing, with plumbers' heat cord wrapped around the frame, and a single heat-light (not on). She had one hide, but that's not what gets to me the most. The walls were mesh. Mesh. She's as dry as a bone! Not a drop of humidity. As you can see from the pictures, she's in terrible shape. I wouldn't doubt it if she's permanently blind. Stuck shed to the point where it's... like, glued. I honestly believe she's retained every shed for three years; she's so dry. As soon as I got her home, I filled a tub with warm water and set it on a heat mat (just warm enough to keep the water warm) and let her soak for two hours. Then I rubbed her down with Repti-Shed Aid before putting her in a super humid tub.
Despite her condition, she's super sweet. She lets me hold her head and turn it to get closer looks and the like.
But another major concern is a dent in her back. You can't see it too well in the last two pictures, but you can sure feel it. The very last picture shows how long it is. Her back indents, but I can't put my finger on why. It doesn't feel like a kink, it feels as if she's been dropped or stepped on. I don't think I can breed her, though, due to her back. Not to mention she's covered in bite marks and.. cat scratches? Obviously she was fed live rats unsupervised.

I need help here. I don't know what else to do for her besides keeping her in a super humid tub. I live in Eagle River, Alaska, and as far as I know, there are like, two exotic vets, none of which I've been to, nor do I have the funds for a visit. I know I can't fix her back, but does anyone have any tips for what else I can do for her skin?

Bless you for saving her!

My first BP from [name omitted] chain store has shed 3 times in the 2+ months I've had her.

The local herp dude said she was "healing by shedding".

The humidity in the store tank was a whopping 23%!


She hasn't had a "good shed" yet, in spite of my near-flawless husbandry.

I recently moved her to a tub in hopes of making her next one easier.

All 3 times, I've had to "help her" by letting her wiggle through a warm, wet towel.

Her second shed scared the bejeebers outta me because even though I saw the eye caps come off of her, her eyes still had a semi-blue look to them until the most recent shed.

Now they're bright and shiny.

Got my fingers crossed for your girl!

[Missy King]

My experience...
So, about a month ago I picked up two ball pythons from our local pound. One, i dubbed "bitey" due to him chasing my hubby down because he didn't want to share his meal...and one named "ribs" for the obvious reasons. I wasn't sure ribs was going to make it. I call her a she, but after i get my probes for xmas we'll find out...i have a feeling she is a he, but anyway...

Both snakes were severly dehydrated. Bitey's ribs could be felt, though he looked okay. Ribs...was a mess. The ribs and spine could clearly be seen. Eye caps not as bad as the snake you pictured, but ribs was still pretty much blind, becuase they were so thick.
Ribs was so weak, she couldn't really eat. We barely got some small food down her...she is on rats now, finally. I have a rescued male BP who is a little bit over 4 feet long..he's ten years old, and about 6lbs. Ribs is 4 feet long....and was barely over a POUND. This snake was courting death when we got her.

Okay, so we got the feeding. As for the sheds...they were both shedding when we got them. I didn't wait...i had them both in a tank on the way home from the pound and i just poured my water bottle in there with them. They were in pillow cases. So, they got some some moisture right away. When i got home, i soaked them for an hour or so. I got them in tanks, and put coconut husk in there with lots of moisture. Over the next couple days, i rubbed them with some glycerin, mineral oil, and a wet cloth, to help them get the sheds off.
I was able to get a head shed, and some eye caps off both snakes. They ate, and ate.
I've seen them both drinking (yay!)

Bitey is looking great, and ribs was up to two pounds.

Poops and pees...though ribs had a bit of orange in the urates, which is understandable because of how dehydrated she was.

SO...They both completed a shed... and almost instantly started flaking. Not shedding...but flaking. Each single scale coming of separately. I looked all over trying to find info about this, and hadn't really been able to find anything. It's just what i guess is a process, since they were both dehydrated and malnourished.
Ribs has completed flaking...and is now in full, normal shed. Eyes are blue, and skin is cloudy. I had let her dry out a little, because i was afraid of scale rot (dry out to NORMAL lol not dry, dry) but have now been keeping her moist. She's very fussy. She doesn't move around much. THe poor thing has never tried to get any shed off since i've had her...i think she's never had a normal shed and doesn't know how to rub herself.

Bitey...now nicknamed "scout" is happy, curious, and still a little thin, but doing well. He's actually still a little flakey, but I get the feeling he's going to go into shed as well. Both snakes ate and ate when i got them, and i let them (within reason) but have recently refused food. They are doing good though.

OKay, so i'm still in the process of taking care of them, and getting their weight up...and helping them shed. So, I guess i mean by telling you this...it's going to take some time, and she may shed weirdly, until you can get her to normal.
Mineral oil on the eyes, and lots of moisture. She's got a lot of shedding to do!! Good luck, and thank you for taking her home!!

[Rawbbeh]

PLEASE keep us updated in this thread as to her recovery. I am interested to see how she turns out in a week, 2 weeks, 1 month, etc. Take lots of pictures!

[TheSnakeEye]

Keep doing what you're doing

[WarriorPrincess90]

What an amazing thing you're doing for her. The best years of her life probably started the moment you picked her up and I'm sure she's thankful.

You're a wonderful person. Keep doing what you're doing.

[Atherosdragon]

and felt all at the same time! I glad to hear that this baby will be nursed and I am not sure about the kinking It sounds abused so... (just a scenario) dropped and broke a bone then left untreated? well I am sure that they will get better now