Will my python ever recover?

[Caitlin]

I do not want for you to relinquish her and I am hoping with everything I am that it doesn't come to that. If it does, though, I can refer you to two possible places with extensive experience with snakes that have challenging health conditions, that operate under direct veterinary supervision and also provide enrichment to their snakes. I am BEYOND picky about my animals and if I ever had to surrender one, it would be to one of these two sites and nobody else.

Message me if it gets to that point, but I am going to hope very much that you and your beautiful snake can get through this together.

[bcr229]

You would think, I would think feeding her larger meals or more frequently would make her gain weight. Well, I tried this for a bit on more than one occasion and she didn't gain weight. Instead she became impacted. Therefore, I can't do it. Any ideas how I can make her gain weight without impacting her? This sounds crazy, how about a small rat every 3 day or something? Either way, I'm paying very close attention to her pooping making sure she is not becoming impacted.

Did your vet ever suggest trying mineral oil as a preventive so your snake doesn't become impacted again? Usually it's a treatment.

https://reptile.guide/snake-poop/#Mineral-Oil has the dosage for treating an impaction. It just gets injected into a f/t feeder. As a preventive you may not need as much.

If you don't want to use mineral oil you can try fish oil capsules like this woman did to treat an impaction in her snake as a preventive instead. She is in Fiji where emergency vet care for exotic species is nonexistent. Enough of the fish oil did get to the impaction to help it pass.

https://www.faunaclassifieds.com/for...d.php?t=749975

[leosantare]

No, my vet didn't suggest a fecal, I requested it. Then, I stabbed her myself and sent it to RAL.

No, my vet didn't recommend mineral oil. I understand impaction is caused from dehydration, lack of excercise or over feeding. I've been handling her more, taking her out to excercise. She always has a large bowl of water, a misting system and I hand mist her everyday. Therefore, I don't think dehydration or lack of excercise is the reason. I think I was over feeding her. Do you disagree or are you suggesting to overfeed her with mineral oil?

I think there is a less chance of impaction with (2) smaller items instead of (1) larger one.

Do you think (2) rats totaling 280g is appropriate for a 9' python about 6.5-7kg? I feed her every 9-10 days. She should be 8.5+kg.

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[Caitlin]

My vet isn't crazy about using mineral oil unless it's a severe case of constipation or impacted urates.

I think given your experience with larger versus smaller food items, lean on your prior history and go with two smaller.

[bcr229]

No, my vet didn't suggest a fecal, I requested it. Then, I stabbed her myself and sent it to RAL.

No, my vet didn't recommend mineral oil. I understand impaction is caused from dehydration, lack of excercise or over feeding. I've been handling her more, taking her out to excercise. She always has a large bowl of water, a misting system and I hand mist her everyday. Therefore, I don't think dehydration or lack of excercise is the reason. I think I was over feeding her. Do you disagree or are you suggesting to overfeed her with mineral oil?

I think there is a less chance of impaction with (2) smaller items instead of (1) larger one.

Do you think (2) rats totaling 280g is appropriate for a 9' python about 6.5-7kg? I feed her every 9-10 days. She should be 8.5+kg.

The amount of food sounds fine. I was suggesting that if you wanted to increase her intake but you had concerns about impaction, that using a bit of mineral oil or a fish oil capsule with every feeding would help prevent it since it doesn't appear to be caused by low humidity, low heat, or lack of exercise. It could just be that your individual critter is susceptible even with perfect husbandry.

[leosantare]

Okay, I will keep that in mind and thanks for the mineral/fish oil tip. As long as the amount of food is okay, then I will keep it there. I finished her pvc jungle jym. It took my a while because they kept sending me the wrong parts. It's 36" tall x 32" wide.

Although, she seems so bad at this point I don't even think she will get to use it.

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[leosantare]

What do these pictures mean about her body condition? It's obvious to me her body condition is poor but I don't understand what is wrong.

She weighed in at 8.1kg last week so I don't think she is very underweight. This is around the weight she has been for the past year or so. I was shocked, I thought she would be around 6kg because of her body condition.


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[leosantare]

Here are some

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[leosantare]

Some more..

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[leosantare]

More..

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