BP not well at petco

[filly77]

Everyone has offered great advice only thing I can suggest that hasnt been suggested (if it has I missed it & im sorry lol) you should cover up at least 3 sides of the tank w/ something dark, paper bags will work if u cant find anything darker.

GL w/ the lil thing

[I<3Dreamsicles]

What temps is the 10 gallon tank at? Does it have hides in the tank? Stressing it by handling it three times a day will make it not eat, much less administering calcium supplements which it doesn't need.
My advice would be to make a quiet dim cage, make CERTAIN the temps are proper(with a proper thermometer and not the dials or stick on ones) and plenty of humidity. Then leave it alone for a week, before you offer it a prey item of appropriate size.

All of the hides ive seen at PETCO are the half log (inside the ball python tanks), or some other open hide, turned so you can see into it which probably defeats the purpose.... also they have like three snakes in a 10g tank.

Also from the petco by my house, there isnt even a thermometer or hydrometer in the tank, unless they have some hidden probe that can only be read from behind (which i doubt because i dont think there is anything behind it, just more tanks on the other side of the display)

[blackcrystal22]

You have to understand that this is not his animal and he is using the resources that he's ALLOWED to use.
Heat lamps may be all that are available.

The supplements I can understand as not needed, but the idea is correct. Getting the animal to a proper strength if it is that skinny may need more influence than feeding. Especially if the animal won't feed in the first place.

Not to mention, I don't have extra hides/thermometers/UTHs or Thermostats lying around my house to use on a sick animal at Petco when they probably wouldn't allow such an extravagant array of things for the animal. Not to mention taking the items to the animal would risk your animals if you ever wanted to bring them home.

Just my .02

[aaramire]

You have to understand that this is not his animal and he is using the resources that he's ALLOWED to use.
Heat lamps may be all that are available.

The supplements I can understand as not needed, but the idea is correct. Getting the animal to a proper strength if it is that skinny may need more influence than feeding. Especially if the animal won't feed in the first place.

Not to mention, I don't have extra hides/thermometers/UTHs or Thermostats lying around my house to use on a sick animal at Petco when they probably wouldn't allow such an extravagant array of things for the animal. Not to mention taking the items to the animal would risk your animals if you ever wanted to bring them home.

Just my .02

I am also going to say that its very likely that the setup is all that is allowed by the store managers, as well as feeding pinkies. When I was working at Petsmart, and part of the reason I quit, was because I knew what I wanted to do for the sick animals, I knew how to set them up correctly, and when I tried to do that I was told that I was going against store policy. They wouldnt even allow me to feed the snakes alone, because they knew I would try to give them the appropriate sized meal, which they saw as a waste of money. Its really sad that stores are selling these animals and not giving them the proper care or good advice to those who are buying them.

[h00blah]

when i bought my first at petco, they said "heat lamp, heat pad, aspen, a water dish, and a log. thats it" all in a conveniant 40g glass enclosure... kinda odd, my snake didnt eat for MONTHS as a young'n. then i found this site, and shes a fatty -_-... she was doing fine in the 40g, but i figured the best thing to do was save for a nice tub. and shes stil eating =D and shes very nice!

i hope that lil bp in this situation comes out fine. i suggest adoption =D use company discounts to get teh supplies! save the little one!

[Freddiesinmyseat]

yeah, I used to work for Petco back in 06...I can tell you right now that what you have available is not what you need. unfortunately the managers aren't going to let you do what's probably best for the snake, but instead go by petco "caresheets" and those little booklets they give you to become a "specialist".

trust me, working for Petco you learn very little in the way of proper animal care. like everyone else said, proper enclosure (dim, quiet, low traffic) with I'd say about 84ish temp (if you can't provide proper gradient...and I know you can't with that set up and those gauges lol), cover the 3 sides to reduce stress. the supplements will do more harm than good in the way of getting it to eat. it needs time to relax and get used to its surroundings. also, BPs aren't tree climbers, don't put branches and stuff in there...in the BP's condition it would probably injure itself trying to escape to find food when it IS hungry.

just keep it basic...2 hides if possible, water dish, aspen or newspaper, UTH with thermostat if available (probably not so if I were you I'd put the UTH on the opposite side from where the hide is...since you'll probably only be allowed 1). also, to keep humidity up you should cover half of the screen lid with saran wrap or something (keeping it away from the heat lamp....eww...heat lamps lol).

I know you just want what's best for the snake and you're only going by what your superiors allow...but if you can persuade them in any way...try to. Chances are they'll want you to do it their way, if there's no improvement in a week try to offer BP.net's methods.

sorry if this was long and drawn out...bit loopy on the new meds (shoulder pain...lame). GOOD LUCK! and if all else fails....send the snake to me XD (jk jk)

[WingedWolfPsion]

What everyone's saying is right--get the humidity up, the snake is likely to be dehydrated--and DO NOT give it those supplements, the snake might expire from the stress of having stuff forced on it alone, and it most certainly will not eat if it's being manhandled 3 times a day.

I would suggest peace and quiet for at least 3 full days with proper moisture and NO HANDLING AT ALL, and then offer a live mouse crawler (eyes just barely open but not really walking steadily). I recommend a mouse crawler because I have found that problem starters who are very shy and underweight find them less intimidating. A pinkie rat doesn't have quite the mobility to excite them as much, and a pinkie mouse is beneath their notice. Introduce the food item when all is quiet, and leave it there for a half hour. If it is not eaten, remove it, and try again in 2 days--try a fuzzy rat. Try a mouse hopper. Hatchlings differ--some WANT bigger prey, and refuse smaller--some are intimidated by larger prey animals, and will take a smaller one. Some prefer rats, some prefer mice.

If you have to, sneak the proper food to the snake.

I only recommend trying the feeding after 3 days because the snakes sounds like it may be in critical condition, and it desperately needs food. If you cannot get it eating within the week, then it must have veterinary care, or it is likely to die. It will need to be assist-fed, or possibly even force-fed at that point, and it does not sound like you have the experience to do this without harming the snake--snakes can easily be injured during such a procedure.

Remember--NO HANDLING. That is crucial. Don't move the snake again, and don't do anything with it apart from making sure it has clean water.

[harm286]

I would say start with lighting ... petco is know'n for not carry'n the right type of lights, at least for ballz