Failure to thrive? Help please. :(

[elbee]

Ok friends, I need some advice on my champagne ball python. I currently keep 12 snakes in AP racks. All on the same feeding schudule and same environment etc. Ambient temps are high 70s to 80 and hot spots are 90-92 degrees. Thermostats on both racks. Here are a few stats on this snake and you will see my concern.

Hatch Date- Dec. 17 2013 (not sure of hatch weight)
Date I aquired the snake: Feb 15, 2014 at the NARBC Arlington. The breeder that I got her from was not one I was familiar with, but the snakes were very nice and picked one of the two champagne babies he had available. I initially weigh any new snakes but I can't seem to find the information on her weight upon purchase. She was probably approx 80g. Small, but I got my smallest hatchling at 53g, so I didn't think anything of it.

After settling in and not eating at the first offering (which I am usually not concerned about with new snakes) she ate a live mouse hopper and then began to take f/t rat pinkies with gusto. Now, I will be honest I have not kept to a rigid 5-7 day feeding schedule. Sometimes she ate every 4 days, sometimes 8 etc. However, keeping a pretty normal feeding schedule, there is no way that a snake that is eating should not be gaining weight.

Today is May 20 1015 and this snake weighs approx 200g. Something is wrong. At first I thought she was just a slow grower, but after a while with very little weight gain, I took her to a veterinarian. Our first plan of attack was to check her for internal parasites. She had a clean fecal float and we did 2 rounds of wormer just to be safe. Still no change. She is eating every week. She sheds some, but not often. Weighs less than my babies from last year and she is a 2013. She is not handled on account that I do not want to stress her.

Please, please let me know what could be wrong. The vet thinks that she could have an enzyme deficiency that isn't allowing her to absorb nutrients. Could this be a case of failure to thrive? Has anyone seen this before? All of my other snakes are eating and gaining as expected. I promise I am not starving her! I don't know what else to do. Please don't think I am a bad snake Mommy.

[Marissa@MKmorphs]

I'm sorry that you are experiencing this. She has continued to eat normally this whole time? What are you currently feeding her? I have had my fair share of slow growers, but that is remarkably little growth. Reminds me of a problem BCI I have. Again, a 2013 boa constrictor, but she weighs 200 grams and has bowel movement problems. She eats every 10-14 days, but can't pass bowel movements on her own and her back end becomes backed up and it is painful. I would just keep doing what you are doing with your girl. Maybe increase frequency of feedings or feeder size.

[bondo]

Are you still feeding rat pinkies?

[elbee]

She's on large rat fuzzies.

[bcr229]

Have you kept a log of actual feeding dates and what size feeder she ate? I have one BP that will be two this summer and currently weighs about 600 grams. Her body shape is fine, but she only takes a feeder every 3-4 weeks.

Have you tried supplementing her with NutriBAC to give her gut flora a boost?

Also... this is pretty gross... but have you noticed any undigested matter such as hair or bits of bone in her stool?

[elbee]

Her stool appears pretty normal, no bones or hair. Where can I get the Nutribac?

[elbee]

I keep a log on iherp but haven't been logging feedings in the last couple of months.

[bcr229]

Nutribac: http://beanfarm.com/product_info.php...oducts_id=5933 - the directions state to add it to the water but since BP's don't drink often I just dust the feeder with a pinch of it. It's also good to keep some on hand to help a snake recover after an RI or regurgitation syndrome.

I keep a log on iherp but haven't been logging feedings in the last couple of months.

I would keep a log just on her for a while. Weigh her feeders, and try to get an empty weight on her every month. She may just be a slow grower.

[elbee]

Ok I will try this. Thank you so much for your help.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

She's on large rat fuzzies.

Well that would explain the slow growth right there in combination with other factors as well as individual animal's metabolism.

Small inadequate food means slow weight gain especially if at 200 grams she is still eating pinky rats which means before the animal was eating even smaller prey items.

At this size your BP can take down a rat pup or a large adult mouse.