How urgent is this? How can I help?

[Mirakuru]

A new snake owner posted photos of their snake on a Facebook group and I'm so afraid for it and I want to PM the person to give them proper and kind information to help them. So far every person has been hounding them on the enclosure when nobody has mentioned how underweight for a 4 month old the snake is.


said she's feeding the snake a rat fuzzy every 5-7 days.. I already know I want to tell her to up the size but how to properly and safely do that.. I don't like to insert myself into other people's problems without them asking me to but I feel an obligation to stand up for this poor snake. Am I wrong for that?


heres the photo.. they don't know how much it weighs




Once again... Sorry if I'm wrong for asking how to help through you guys I just *need* to get the right advice and information to give this person.

[pretends2bnormal]

Depending on the weight of the snake & the size of their fuzzy rats (can vary by source), what they're doing may be correct. Is the snake new to them? Or is this feeding regimen what caused this level of thinness?

Some sellers only seem to give small fuzzies down around 10-12g, but they can be up to 20g. If this snake is less than 100g, you don't really want to push food too big too fast and even a 20g fuzzy would be a 20% meal.

I would probably send them a message and let them know that their snake is pretty thin and might develop health issues if it stays that way or gets thinner. And send them the feeding chart or one of the "feeding rules". (I.e. 10% weight for meals or meals equal or slightly larger than their girth while still growing)



Without knowing the weight of the snake and feeders, it is hard to say if they're on a good size or not. Some snakes are just smaller than others at the same age so I wouldn't focus on it being small for is age like you mentioned (I've seen some 200+ gram 4 month olds and some 80g 4 month olds all proportionally healthy). Instead it is simply too thin for its body proportions and is underweight for that reason.

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[Lord Sorril]

The snake looks fine for a male and underweight for a female.

Unless you knew it was a female-I would give them the benefit of the doubt and not say anything.

If the snake is being underfed you can expect future posts about their snake being 'aggressive' and you can comment then.

[Bogertophis]

Have to wonder if it has worms (I'd have a stool check done) or has some sort of inherited metabolic disorder. Looks pretty awful...poor snake.

Also, if the cage is overheated, it's metabolism could be as well...there may be good reason to hound the owner on the enclosure...something is very wrong.

[Mirakuru]

Thanks so much guys, I'm more calm now that the initial shock wore off. The head is just so large compared to everything else, and I've never seen one so flat looking before. They mentioned that they think it's male, and that he's shed for them before. I'll send the chart, any good scales you recommend that I can link to them as well?