Bob's tale: From emaciation to merely skinny

[Spiritserpents]

I purchased (not rescued. I know she's not a rescue.) Bob on 1/19/17 from Petsmart after watching her deteriorate in their care over several weeks. The day I bought her I honestly thought she had died in the cage. She was flat, wrinkled to hell, and emaciated to a degree I'd never seen in a pet store before. I was already having an emotionally draining week and vet-tech-me could not stand to walk away from an animal that I might be able to save. So for far too much money I purchased this (I think) single gene pastel and the rehabbing began.

Bob's main issues appear to have stemmed from inadequate humidity, a too-exposed cage, and being moved to a separate location to eat. So I set her up in a small plastic tub with a hide, foliage, a large water bowl and cypress mulch. Humidity was a bit extreme, but she was *so* dehydrated I felt going overboard for a while was appropriate.



She ate a live hopper mouse the night I brought her home, and another 5 days later. These first photos are taken a couple days after that second hopper. She's already better hydrated here, so you can imagine how she looked when I bought her. She was about 50 grams when I brought her home.





A month, and a patchy shed later, Bob was weighing 66 grams empty. After those two live hoppers I felt they were too small and offered her a f/t weanling mouse. She took it just fine and has been on that since.





I love her flames.

And then finally, yesterday and almost exactly 2 months since I got her, Bob shed again (complete this time!) and weighed in at 84 grams.