I got a message from a good friend a few weeks ago that they have a family member who needed to rehome their 2 ball pythons. They hit a rough patch financially and with a baby on the way, couldn't keep the snakes anymore.

So, last night we did a 5 hour round trip drive to pick up the 2 snakes. From what we were told, they are both 2018 babies and less than 2 feet long. One male (pending a double-check), a bit older and the one they had first, is supposedly an enchi (not sure how they got him to know how reliable that ID). And one much smaller female (also pending a check), a normal.

In the pictures I was sent initially, the little female looked maybe a little thin and had stuck shed. Not super surprising, especially since it is winter and they're likely a bit too busy making ends meet to mist or what have you. Seemed pretty simple to fix, also.

We got them home last night and set them up in the QT rack. Each is in it's own 12qt tub (container store mens shoe box, AP rack) with hides and a water bowl, on PAM treated paper towels. Neither has visible mites. Temps 75 cool to 88-90 hot spot via temp gun w/ith herpstat tstat. Didn't remember to add the hygrometers last night, but past testing of those tubs with those bowls last week puts humidity at 60%+ normally and I lightly misted the paper towels for the girl with stuck shed, likely above 70-80% based on wall moisture, etc. I'll get an accurate number after work tonight for reference.

The "enchi" is 163 grams, looks perfectly healthy. Normal behavior except being a bit chilly from the car ride home. No real worries about this guy. If anyone who is familiar with enchi can chime in if this may be a low-quality enchi, nice normal, or something else, that would be great. I'm not so good at IDing subtle morphs and not sure what their source for calling it an enchi is.


I'm told that he is very bright and orange right after a shed. The lighting in the picture is decent for coloring, I think, but not perfect.



The girl however weighs 87 grams and looks quite dehydrated and had all the shed stuck except the belly and a chunk near the head. I don't have a picture of it now, but her not visible eye in the picture looks like the eyecap is half off. Just the 6 hours she was with us last night the shed moistened and seems to be coming off pretty easily on its own, so that should resolve itself. I'm keeping a close eye on the head area in case that stays stuck.

She also acted fairly lethargic after warming up overnight (we got home late at 1am so I did the more thorough once-over briefly this morning). These pics are without and with flash after being with us overnight.



She is definitely underweight and dehydrated...

My biggest concern is that she doesn't seem to flick her tongue out beyond the very tips. When I noticed, I listened closely for sounds in her breathing and external signs of RI (mucous, bubbles, saliva, etc ) and found none of those. I didn't have time before work to check inside her mouth and didn't want to stress her too much. Is there another reason besides possible birth defect that may be the culprit of only flicking the very tips of her tongue out?

They were housed together in 1 tub for at least the last few weeks. I'm not sure how feeding was done re: separating or not, etc. I'm told the boy eats frozen and the girl ate live, but if they were in the tub to feed together, her skinny appearance could be explained by the boy getting both meals for a few weeks...

SO. Here's a summary of the questions I've got:
1 - Does the male look enchi (1st pic)? If not, normal or another morph?

2 - Are there any other visible signs I didn't spot on the girl? (Definitely dehydrated, fairly thin, stuck shed)
Any signs I should check/watch for?

3 - Would you prioritize settling in or the stuck shed being removed?
She seemed pretty stressed, so I'd like to leave it for 5 or 7 days, feed once, and either mess with it after that or let the next shed/her rubbing it off in higher humidity fix it. The eyecap looks like she could rub it off in the higher humidity and if not could be gently taken off later on.

4 - at this level of dehydration and size, what size meal would you try for meal #1? I don't want to stress her too much with a big meal right away. I was thinking a hopper/small weaned mouse in the 12 gram range to start and bump up if she handles it well.

My current plan is:
Give them 5 to 7 days to settle in with a once daily visual check (open tub for max 10 seconds to check for waste, worsening condition if they are visible without moving hides, and water changing).

Offer a meal probably Friday (if not Sunday) - planning to gauge which day based on interest levels when other snakes meals are thawing

2 days after, pick the girl up to check again for RI sounds and lethargy/tongue flicks for 2 or 3 minutes. If anything is going on, I want to catch it quick so we can get a vet on the culture/antibiotics if needed. If no issues and the tongue behavior is normal, I'll leave her be for the following 2-3 feeds.

Feed again 7 days later, etc.

For reference, they are in QT in a separate room, etc.

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