need help

[darkaxe420]

Ok so I have a ball python that I bought about a year ago. I knew it was Wild caught and she was a proven breeder as well. She was fine when I got her but soon after my first attempt to breed her about 6 months ago she completely refused food. Normally not a problem for breeding ball pythons they tend to not eat in "breeding season" so I though nothing of it... until she started loosing a MASSIVE amount of weight sign of parasites so. and long story short my vet moved to phoenix az and I have no other vet near my location so what is the MOST HUMANE way to put a PET snake to sleep, I would like to avoid the freezer method as it is NOT painless it is a myth that they feel nothing when cold they actually feel everything but they are to cold to move away from what is causing the pain.
(I used to work at my reptile vets hospital until she moved then we didnt care for reptiles or birds anymore)

Please help and do realize I am in the process of trying to find a new vet I KNOW that the best thing for her is a vet. But no one around me care for reptiles anymore

[Stewart_Reptiles]

You want to euthanize her because she lost a lot of weight and may have internal parasites?

Internal parasites are not a big deal ANY vet even not specialized in reptiles can do a fecal float and prescribe the appropriate treatment based on the type of parasite found and if they are not sure on dosage refer to Understanding Reptile Parasites By DMV Roger J Klingenberg (Page 69 through 74)

[Mike41793]

Um the safest way would be to not euthanize her at all....
What sorta setup is she in and what have you tried feeding her? How long hasnt she eaten? How much weight has she lost?

[satomi325]

When a snake goes off feed and has minimal to no weight loss, that's pretty normal for a winter/breeding fast. The huge change in weight could mean incorrect husbandry and/or parasites.

Please do not euthanize her. Parasites are a very minor issue. It's one of the easiest things to treat when it comes to veterinary medicine. If you have any questions regarding parasites, email any big named breeder. They import WC girls all the time and treat them for parasites before selling them. (Outback Reptiles comes to mind)

How much weight has she lost total? What was her starting weight and what is it now?
Can you describe your housing, husbandry, temps, etc etc?

[darkaxe420]

it will not let me edit the original post but here is the rest...

we, my vet and I decided after the weight loss and no sign of parasites had tried assist feeding
baytril injections and even force feeding with a pinky pump nothing worked to gain her any weight. about a month and a half ago my vet moved and I stopped working there and I have yet to find another vet and since my vet has moved she has developed mouth rot and with out a proper reptile vet I can not treat the mouth rot

Over 1350g day I got her and today she is less then 800g

I just don't see why I should let her keep suffering

and please if you can come up with something else please let me know

[darkaxe420]

husbandry is near perfect as far as I know i keep all my snake in racks run with heat tape and a thermostat set to 95 temps in the tubs are
93.2 basking spot (belly heat)
86-89 ambient air temp
(both measured in Fahrenheit and taken just now)

substrate now is cypress mulch
in the past for her I have used un-printed news roll, paper towels, repti bark, and even crappy aspen snake bedding (i have always used the cypress for my other BP and never had any problems before her not that i think it was the bedding)

[satomi325]

The ambient temp is pretty high. Should be closer to 80.

[Mike41793]

Have you tried force feeding her rats?
How long has it been since shes lost that weight though, 1 week, 1 month, 6 months?
Where are you located? We have a thread on here of qualified herp vets in the US.

[darkaxe420]

I did try 1 rat and she would not take it and i believe thats where the mouth rot may have come from

weight loss was over about 6 months time period

i will work on trying to lower ambient temps

[Kaorte]

Have you tried african soft furred rats at all? I have the pickiest of the picky pastel and she recently got back on feed once I got a trio of ASFs. All I had to do was put them in the same room and she was back to feeding on F/T.

As for the other problems you have listed, I'm sure you can find some sort of exotic vet in your area, or at least a vet willing to prescribe you the medication needed to treat your animal.

Maybe if you could tell us your location, others may know of exotic vets in your area? Just a thought!

Good luck!