Spider Save.

[LP.]

I was at my cousins and she showed me a ball python that she saved. She's going on down to D.C. for a week so guess who has a kind-of-temperary-snake? She has amazing colours, a beautiful pattern with an unbroken stripe, and nice low whites.

When my cousin rescued her she was severely dehydrated, in a terrible set up (on sand with a heat pad conected to nothing, no hides), she still has a little bit of a burn, and she had mites. She is currently in my room (All of the snakes are in seperate rooms), and is showing good signs. I have her in a spare 20G, on paper towls, with 2 hides, fresh water every day, and the temps at 82-84 on the cool side, 87-91 on the hot side, and the humidity at 50%. I took her in 2 days ago. I only have one question/problem though. She refused a meal from my cousin 2 weeks ago, and hasn't eaten since. My cousin said I should try to feed her in a few days, and I was just wondering if I should feed her an appropriate sized rodent (rat pup), or go bigger or smaller.

EDIT: I was just wondering if I can treat the burn any further. Its almost completely gone and will propably all be gone with the next shed, but should I do anything with temps or humidity or anything else?

If my camera will work I'll get some shots of her in the tank, and I'll get some pictures of my ball pythons. I dont want to take the spider out of the tank for the week though, just incase.

[Moofins07]

First off, congrats on the rescue your cousin made. Always great to hear that a mistreated animal is in better care now.

So far, your setup sounds about perfect. I wouldn't mess with those, and just concentrate on leaving the snake be to get settled. She's been through a rough life, it seems, so it will take her a while to realize this is what it SHOULD be.

Offer a prey item slightly smaller than her girth, just until she becomes an established feeder, then you can upsize. But wait a week or so, to let her settle, before offering any more food. It will only stress her out more, the more often you try. Is she emaciated, noticeably skinny? The only time to worry about force-feeding is if the snake looks like a bone rack. Force feeding is very stressful, and is only useful to keep it alive, not happy.

As for the burn, the only helpful thing you can do, if a vet visit isn't necessary, is to put some neosporin (without painkillers) on the burn. This will soothe it and help it heal faster.

Good luck! Hope to see some pictures soon.