A friend of mine at work called me on Saturday out of the blue asking me if I know anyone who wants a Ball Python. His daughter's roommate moved out about a month ago, leaving the snake behind. He knows I have snakes, so I guess I was the obvious call. He said it was a two and a half foot snake, that no one had fed in the last three weeks. The last time it ate, my friend's daughter threw in three mice and let the snake go after them. I was told it was in a tank about 30 gallons and had a heat mat that didn't work very well. My wife and I talked about it for about 10 seconds and I called him back and said we'd take it. We arranged a meet today, we're both on vacation, for me to pick up the snake. I couldn't believe how she looked. She's about 4ft. and very thin, obviously dehydrated with stuck shed everywhere. The tank is about 40 gallons with one stupid log hide on one side, of course, opposite from the unregulated UTH that was way too small. I checked her over, no obvious signs of mites, mouth looks good, no scale rot, just looks like she needs some TLC. I took her over to a local breeder and he checked her over just saying that she may need to see a vet for some fluids. We brought her home and put her in a warm bath and she instantly started drinking, which kinda surprised me. My wife cleaned the stuck shed off of her, including her stuck eyecaps. I set her up in a 40Qt tub with two hides and a large water dish should she decide to soak. Right now her warm side is 93 degrees and her cool side is 81. She's been drinking almost non stop since I put her in. I'll see about getting some pictures up later, right now I just want her to rest. How long should I wait to feed her? I was planning on trying to feed her on Thursday night along with the other snakes. I just can't believe that people would let an animal deteriorate like this.