Ball Python Rescue - Before/After Pictures

[Quinnster]

You're a good mother <3

[Meletee]

Aww, he looks great now! You've done a great job taking care of him and helping him recover. People like the woman you got him from shake my faith in humanity but then people like you give me hope!

[EarthlyMaiden]

I really doubt that it's inexperience...
Those look like deliberately inflicted injuries, and not from a rat. Unless the mouse or rat decided to drag their teeth along...ugh.
It looks like she tried to 'help' him shed.


Kudos to you for nursing him back to health.

(I should probably go, Cap is glowering at me from his hide. Is he angry or jealous that I'm looking at bigger pythons? Ha!)

[Macinster]

I really doubt that it's inexperience...
Those look like deliberately inflicted injuries, and not from a rat. Unless the mouse or rat decided to drag their teeth along...ugh.
It looks like she tried to 'help' him shed.


Kudos to you for nursing him back to health.

(I should probably go, Cap is glowering at me from his hide. Is he angry or jealous that I'm looking at bigger pythons? Ha!)

Thats what I thought. I too don't think a rat could do that. One reason why I said it looked like someone literally tried to skin him. A friend said it looks like someone possible tried to pull him out of somewhere by the tail and that might be what injured his back so bad.

[bhouse89]

Great job on getting that little guy back to good health! Some people just don't know how to do research before getting animals. Heck, I've been lurking this site for 4 months and am just now about to order my first BP.

Some people's kids.

[BPro927]

Wow, an enraged angry overwhelmed me! That is BS someone had that snake in that condition!

[Herpenthusiast3]

About 2 months ago I went and rescued a male ball python, whom was in horrible condition. When I got to the ladies house I was horrified by what I saw. He had dried up wounds all up and down his back, burns on his tail and belly, dried shed left on him, and in a couple spots where it looked like someone literally tried to skin him. The lady said, "he's had a few bad sheds". It looked like he had been severely abused on purpose! I've never seem a snake in my life that looked like this. Pictures tell everything.





(In this picture I wasn't pulling the skin, just lifting it up. It eventually fell off a few days later)



This is the only picture i took of his burns.



When I received him he was in pain and would strike every time I would try to touch him. He refused to eat as well. After his first shed you could tell he felt so much better! A couple weeks after his first shed he finally started eating again. And now he doesn't mind being handled. Next is a picture after he shed.



Next is a picture that was taken a couple weeks ago. As you can see his scales are starting to form back over the white areas.




Let me know what you guys think! I'm so happy to have saved him. He will be one normal male that stays with me for the rest of his life. He's now one of my best eaters too! Let me know what you guys think!

These pictures are another testament to how amazing and resilient these animals can be.

[DG76]

You've done an amazing job there.You should be really proud of youself, if the world had more people like you and less of the people who let things like this happen, the world would be a better place

[WingedWolfPsion]

That's 100% rat damage along the back, there.... that's what they do, tear them up along the spine like they're eating an ear of corn. It's horrible. Your guy was actually extremely lucky that the damage was relatively milnor, I've seen photos of ball pythons eaten down to their spine and ribs. I don't think he was deliberately abused, she just left a rat in with him - probably with no food or water, so it attacked the snake.

[Cendalla]

There are so many out there that don't get help or when they do its too late. Its awesome to know that this little guy is one of the lucky ones. Your care is paying off- he looks great and will continue to look better. I took in an abused (not just neglected) snake and she amazes me with her ability to be handled and not fear me. I'd like to think that they can tell intentions

Good work!