Ball Python lost weight-- advice?

[Cj2011]

*I'd like to state that I will be taking Nagini (my snake) to the vet regardless. I'm more so just trying to get a scope of what to expect/advice from people who also have experience with ball pythons.
*I also apologize in advance since this is my first post here and don't know how this works

I got Nagini February 5th of this year from a Petsmart. The person who sold her to me said she was a poor eater but was healthy otherwise. In addition, I was told she was female and roughly 2-3 months old (at the time I got her). From about February to late April, she would only eat anywhere from once every 2-3 weeks. I tried everything I could think of and find online such as gerbil bedding (the smell would help), etc, but nothing I did would help her eat. I'm not exactly sure what happened, but as of May, she's eating every 5-7 days (thankfully). Anyways, I'm more so posting this because I'd like to get an additional opinion on her before I take her to the vet as well as some advice. The first two photos are her now and the last one is of her when I first got her.

[tttaylorrr]

welcome to the forum!!!

the title of your post mentions weight loss, but you don't mention any weights of your snake. can you tell us her weight and the weight of the prey item you're offering her?

since this snake is from a big-box store, problems are likely going to stick with your lil girl for a while; i already see stuck shed on her head and likely eyes, which seems to have happened while in your care. be sure the humidity is adequate (~65%). to help with humidity, i'd use a different substrate than aspen, which is notorious for drying out enclosures.

she does look skinny, but nothing to really panic over. if she's eating on a fairly consistent basis, then she's doing well.

if petsmart told you anything other than having a poor feeder, i'd be surprised. the conditions they keep their hatchlings in is not on par with recommended and successful hatchling care. husbandry issues are the #1 reason a young snake refuses to eat.

at this point in time, i don't think a vet is necessary as it is a very stressful event for the snake (and the keeper!). you need to double down on and read up on proper husbandry and ensure everything is dialed in to a T for this girl. could you give us a run-down of your husbandry, enclosure, heating and equipment, etc? it can help us help you better.

[Slicercrush]

I think its events like this that start to show why the community has so many grievances against petco...(though we do have members that work there, that we love!)

From what I am seeing, working off that stuck shed would probably be my first worry, because I read above that she is now eating regularly every week? I would say that if that is/was the only worry, then you may not have to bring her to the vet currently, but a checkup to be safe is never something frowned upon, either.

As for the weight loss, do you have any recordings of what she was when you got her and what she is now, or was it just visual? I recommend at least keeping basic recordings of your snake, its a good thing to have if something bad does occur. I record weights after using the bathroom, in blue/shed days, and each feeding, as well as any changes that may occur to husbandry (new hide, or in the case of a few weeks, new rack) so I can see if that had anything to do with recent problems.

Other than that, welcome to the forum! Shes a very beautiful snake, and I hope she feels better soon!

[Cj2011]

welcome to the forum!!!

the title of your post mentions weight loss, but you don't mention any weights of your snake. can you tell us her weight and the weight of the prey item you're offering her?

since this snake is from a big-box store, problems are likely going to stick with your lil girl for a while; i already see stuck shed on her head and likely eyes, which seems to have happened while in your care. be sure the humidity is adequate (~65%). to help with humidity, i'd use a different substrate than aspen, which is notorious for drying out enclosures.

she does look skinny, but nothing to really panic over. if she's eating on a fairly consistent basis, then she's doing well.

if petsmart told you anything other than having a poor feeder, i'd be surprised. the conditions they keep their hatchlings in is not on par with recommended and successful hatchling care. husbandry issues are the #1 reason a young snake refuses to eat.

at this point in time, i don't think a vet is necessary as it is a very stressful event for the snake (and the keeper!). you need to double down on and read up on proper husbandry and ensure everything is dialed in to a T for this girl. could you give us a run-down of your husbandry, enclosure, heating and equipment, etc? it can help us help you better.

Thank you so much for replying! Unfortunately, I don't know her current weight (I'll be getting it checked at the vet) and was never told when I got her because the Petsmart doesn't track it. As for her prey, I'm feeding her fuzzies currently (30 grams). I've been trying to keep the humidity up, but as you said, the aspen dries it out a lot and makes it difficult to do so. What kind of substrate would be okay to use instead? I use coconut fibres for my crested gecko which works amazingly, but I didn't know if that was okay for bp's or not. As for everything else, she's currently in a 20 gallon with the warm side at 90-94 and the cold side is 78-82 (more consistently around the 78 degree mark) with a hut to hide under on both sides, branches and a log to climb as well.

[Cj2011]

I think its events like this that start to show why the community has so many grievances against petco...(though we do have members that work there, that we love!)

From what I am seeing, working off that stuck shed would probably be my first worry, because I read above that she is now eating regularly every week? I would say that if that is/was the only worry, then you may not have to bring her to the vet currently, but a checkup to be safe is never something frowned upon, either.

As for the weight loss, do you have any recordings of what she was when you got her and what she is now, or was it just visual? I recommend at least keeping basic recordings of your snake, its a good thing to have if something bad does occur. I record weights after using the bathroom, in blue/shed days, and each feeding, as well as any changes that may occur to husbandry (new hide, or in the case of a few weeks, new rack) so I can see if that had anything to do with recent problems.

Other than that, welcome to the forum! Shes a very beautiful snake, and I hope she feels better soon!

Thank you so much for the advice! She just had her second shed yesterday which consisted of her entire body in one piece other than a bit of her neck and head. Would you know of anything I can do (other than keeping the humidity at the 65 mark) to help with that area? Also, the store just went off of visual but I'll be figuring out her weight at the vet soon. I'm definitely going to follow in your steps of recording absolutely everything-- thank you for the tip!

[55fingers]

Eco earth, Reptichip, and other coconut-based substrates hold humidity well, so the same stuff You use for your gecko should work (all you have to watch out for is that they don't accidently swallow a whole bunch, but you have to do that for any substrate). You can also give her a bigger water bowl, and try wrapping the top in tin foil:

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...tment-Tutorial

How are you measuring humidity? What's it at right now?

I could be very wrong, but if I were you, I'd try and stop the heat from getting over 90f. In my opinion, anything over that's too hot, but hey, that's just me.