Just rescued a 6 year old 300 gram female normal. HELP!!!

[billye1982]

I just rescued a normal female, they said they had it for 6 years. I knew she was small and when I got home I put her on the scale. 300 grams!!! Any suggestions to help he along? Got her in a nice warm room, her own small tub, water and 50 percent humidity. Anyone have any tips?

[Sammy412]

I rescued a 4.5 ft female about 7 months ago. She weighed 454g. They estimated her age at 7 yrs old. She had obviously not been fed properly, so that is what I did. I fed her every 7 days. They had been feeding her one weanling rat every 4-6 weeks., live. She had never had f/t. Her water bowl was bone dry when I picked her up. So I made sure she had a nice bowl of fresh water. Settled her in, and offered her a f/t small rat. She struck it immediately, I barely had time to wiggle it. The same night I brought her home. I kept her on a small f/t rat every 7 days until she gained some weight, then moved her up to 2 smalls every 7 days. Mediums were still too big for her girth. She just this week moved up to mediums and weighs 1400g now, give or take a gram or 2. She just needed to eat and have nice fresh water. She is a sweetheart of a snake, not the least bit aggressive. Now she looks pretty healthy for her length. Just keep her comfortable, and feed the poor thing....lol. In a few months you won't believe the difference! Good Luck!

[Kymberli]

Just don't try to stuff her with food right away. Start with a proper sized meal, 15% of her weight should be okay, someone can correct me if I'm mistaken. Both of my BPs were severely under weight when I got them. One was 2yrs old, 30" and barely over 200g, she just broke 400g finally. The other is approx. 4yrs old, a little over 30" and 360g. Both of their spines were sticking out so far you could feel every individual vertebrae and rib. Start off with smaller meals, I have them on 5 day feeding schedules, seems to be working well. As they gain weight you can up the meal size. My 2yr old started with medium f/t mice and is up to f/t rat weanlings.

Patience!! You'll be surprised how quickly you notice them filling out, though.

[FatBoy]

Smaller than normal meals every 7-10 days is a good start. Cramming her with food right away can do more harm than good. as she gets stronger increase meal size and frequency. She is probably also dehydrated, a good soak a couple times a week will also help. Soak her in 50/50 luke warm water and unflavored Pediolite for about 20 minutes each time. Take your time with her and you should be able to get her back to good health soon.

[TomC]

When my eyes skimmed over the post the first time they saw 6 month 300 grams. I did not even know a 6 yr old could be that small and still be alive. Like everyone has already said start her small and work up you can shock the system if you go too fast.

[billye1982]

When my eyes skimmed over the post the first time they saw 6 month 300 grams. I did not even know a 6 yr old could be that small and still be alive. Like everyone has already said start her small and work up you can shock the system if you go too fast.

I didnt know they could be that small either. I went to pick her up hoping for another breeder female for the end of this year and then my heart just dropped as small as she was!!! The lady didnt like to see the mice die, I didnt even ask much about her feeding schedule, I did hear her say she ate last Friday so even though I just got her home last night hopefully she will take a small meal tonight now that she is warmed up and feeling secure.

I know slow and steady with her food, thanks for all the advice everyone

[Kymberli]

I'm really interested in seeing pictures of her, if you can post some. It'd be great to see her now and see an update a few months from now, as I'm sure she will look much healthier.

[PitOnTheProwl]

i'm really interested in seeing pictures of her, if you can post some. It'd be great to see her now and see an update a few months from now, as i'm sure she will look much healthier.

x2

[muddoc]

There has already been a ton of great advice in this thread, and I believe it should be followed, as it is the key to getting this animal back on track. With that said, I have a few 4-5 year old females that are 500 grams by choice. I feed them every week like everyone else, and they just don't eat very much. Maybe 4 times per year. I have noticed a few that were like this last year decided to turn on this past year, and went from 500 to 1300 grams or slightly higher in one year. Sometimes they just grow like that. I am not stating however, that the animal you just received was treated that way, but just wanted to show that sometime looks can be deceiving.

Good luck with your girl.

[billye1982]

Here are a few pics I took from my phone today before she devoured a mouse






I just want to keep feeding her, but I know slow is the best way to go