Acquired a "rescue," have some questions.

[Chkadii]

A little over two weeks ago, my boyfriend was asked if we were interested in another snake. His co-worker's little sister just broke up with her girlfriend, and the ex was threatening to throw their ball python out if someone didn't take it.

So now we have an adult (supposed) female, named Trouser. She's four years old, and was around 950 grams when I last checked. She was going through a bad shed when she arrived, but with some TLC I was able to help her slough off the remaining skin and assist with the eye caps (they were so bad her eyes were solid milky silver). I'm halfway between considering her a rescue and a free snake. They had included some prescription drops to help with the eye caps, so I'm assuming she was loved at one point. She just has a tough set up to properly maintain (a 40 gal glass tank) and suffered for it.

So. Since she's been here, she's started feeling a bit better. Pounded two mice last week and a small rat yesterday. My questions are around feeding. How often and what size prey should I feed her to safely gain weight? She's thin, but not caved in around the belly. Not sure if this is a consideration, but when I fed her the small rat yesterday, she had a bit of trouble with it. She failed to kill it when she coiled the first time, but was successful with the second attempt. I felt bad for the rat, and would've stepped in to kill it myself had she not been still actively hunting it. Do you think this was a one-off awkward coil, or should I be mindful of her having impaired strengrh/reflexes?

Here she is the first day I had her. The white drop on her head is the ophthalmic medicine prescribed for her. (It wasn't necessary once I started misting her tank and closed up most of the screen top, so it hasn't been used since.)



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[Tigerhawk]

At 950 grams and four years old she is under weight. I feed my older bp's once a week. Try and feed her a medium to small rat once a week. I would also try to get her to feed on pre killed or frozen thawed. It will be safer for her and more convent for you. Keep us posted on her progress.

[bcr229]

She looks a little thin in the picture but not terribly so - my female was thinner just after she laid eggs. I would offer a small rat per week and I agree with trying her on F/T if you can.

[Flikky]

Sometimes when my BPs come back on feed they are clumsy like that. Over eager I guess. Some live feedings don't go to plan and they don't always get a good coil. There's probably nothing wrong with her.

[Chkadii]

Sometimes when my BPs come back on feed they are clumsy like that. Over eager I guess. Some live feedings don't go to plan and they don't always get a good coil. There's probably nothing wrong with her.

That's what I had figured, I just wanted to be sure. Thanks!

At 950 grams and four years old she is under weight. I feed my older bp's once a week. Try and feed her a medium to small rat once a week. I would also try to get her to feed on pre killed or frozen thawed. It will be safer for her and more convent for you. Keep us posted on her progress.

My other BP just finished up his hunger strike, so after they make it through another live feeding or two I'll try to convert them both to F/T in one fell swoop. Thank you!

She looks a little thin in the picture but not terribly so - my female was thinner just after she laid eggs. I would offer a small rat per week and I agree with trying her on F/T if you can.

That was my thought process too, but it's sad that she's so small without the excuse of having eggs. The original owner had said she hadn't eaten for two weeks, but she ate well for as long as I've had her. I'm hoping that with more proper husbandry she will pig out for me. Thank you!

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[Bluebonnet Herp]

Maybe the owner was feeding her constantly, but it's likely that, along with the cheesy PETCO-recommended setup, they may have been feeding her smaller meals than what would be preferred, which may explain why she's so small. An appropriately sized pre-killed or F/T rat once a week would do and hopefully she'll be back up to size.
Also, my personal advice, find a better name than Trouser. Trouser the snake is even more lame than Monty the python.

[Chkadii]

Back with an update! She pounded a small rat last week with no trouble, and this week she made me proud and ate her very first F/T rat! I'll be switching her over to medium rats soon, and weigh her again in a few weeks. For now, I'm leaving her alone as much as possible so she can focus on feeling better.

[Chkadii]

Another happy update! Trouser (sorry pythonminion, the name stuck!) has had a voracious appetite as long as I've had her, and there have been no more issues with sloppy kills. She's taken F/T a couple of times, but lately feeding live has been more convenient. Eventually I'll have to put my big girl pants on and learn how to pre-kill rats.

So I weighed her this morning, and she's already up to (drumroll please...) 1562g! At this rate she might even hit 2k by winter. I'm a happy camper, and judging by appetite I suspect she is too. Thanks for your help, everyone!

Here is an awful pic of her (she's an explorer), just to show current body condition.

[Morris Reese]

Another happy update! Trouser (sorry pythonminion, the name stuck!) has had a voracious appetite as long as I've had her, and there have been no more issues with sloppy kills. She's taken F/T a couple of times, but lately feeding live has been more convenient. Eventually I'll have to put my big girl pants on and learn how to pre-kill rats.

So I weighed her this morning, and she's already up to (drumroll please...) 1562g! At this rate she might even hit 2k by winter. I'm a happy camper, and judging by appetite I suspect she is too. Thanks for your help, everyone!

Here is an awful pic of her (she's an explorer), just to show current body condition.

Wow!! Looking so much better!!!
Very lucky snake for her to fall into your hands!!!