Young Borneo Skin Issue

[A. J.]

I recently acquired a juvenile Borneo. Its about 3'. I was not planning on it... but this thing was not being well cared for at all. So now it is at my house. It had no water at all and the cage was dry and lacked a temp and humidity gauge. I think this is the reason for the wrinkled scales and eye caps.?.? I'm guessing,,, because of this, he will not eat. Which would explain his spine being so prominent the whole length of its body. It was in a 55 gal aquarium. To big in my opinion, I had a 29 gal, which it is now in. It has a bad attitude, but I can't blame it for that. I would be cranky too.
I've had I for three days. Temp is 80 deg, humidity is 60% to 80%. I'm struggling with that a little. Any idea how soon I should expect to see improvement in skin? How long would you folks wait to feed this sake? Any guesses how old a 3' Borneo is? I'll try to get pics of it on my profile. Thanks for any advice.

[vanlaz0r]

I don't own a blood yet but the care is very similar to a ball python so let me give you my advice. Wrinkly skin in snakes is usually due to being dehydrated and underfed. Use something like cypress or aspen that's going to hold humidity. You want the humidity anywhere between 50% and 80%, the higher the better. Make sure you're monitoring temps with a digital thermometer (you can get an accurite indoor/outdoor at walmart, they're great), not those cheap petco dials because they don't give you an accurate reading. Give him a hot spot that takes up about a 3rd of the cage between 85 and 92 degrees regulated with a thermostat, a hide on the hot and cool sides of the tank, and a water dish. I would recommend soaking him since it sounds like he's in rough shape. Warm water, not hot, and don't fully submerge him. Hopefully that helps with his retained eyecaps. Offer food every 5 days and only handle him if you have to. I would try an appropriately sized frozen/thawed rat. If that doesn't work you might have to offer live. Live mice work really well for enticing picky animals to eat. But make sure you're leaving him alone between feedings. he may just need time to adjust.

If the individual scales looked wrinkled it could be scale rot or scarring, pictures would definitely help. Hopefully he makes a quick recovery, i would love a blood python someday.

[aahmn]

Do you have pictures? How is the tank set up and how are you keeping the humidity up in the tank?

To start, I would temporarily move him out of the tank and into something where he feels more secure - if they feel too exposed, they won't eat. At his size, a sweater box would be more than adequate. I would keep everything pretty simple at first. Crumpled newspaper is good to let them 'burrow' a bit. Use a nice, big water dish (if they can fit in it, even better) and keep him in a quieter area just to let him settle in a bit. I would wait a week without handling (unless you need to clean it) and then offer food. Make sure the rat is nice and warm. I do have a few that don't strike, but will just eat on their own if I leave food with them. Just an additional note - sometimes, especially in the winter, the scales can be dented. It can be really really hard to get them perfect. As long as he has fresh water available and can rehydrate himself, I wouldn't be too concerned with that part yet. Getting him eating is the bigger worry so far.

Anyway, I hope that you can get him eating. For the attitude, they do generally grow out of that especially when they are fed well and feed secure.
It's great to hear that he is with someone who is going to work with him and get him healthy!

[aahmn]

I guess I was writing at the same time as the poster above me. Do not give a hot spot that high. I wouldn't go past 85 with them. Bloods like it cooler. 80 should be fine. Temp guns are very useful for checking this, as well as water temps if you plan to soak them. What feels warm to you is likely too warm for them. 85 degree water is fine and that temp feels cool to us.

[vanlaz0r]

Yeah listen to this guy, not me. Like I said, I don't keep bloods. Just wanted to give you some general info since there was no response and a lot of posts go unnoticed here.

[aahmn]

I'm a girl, but that's fine!

[A. J.]

Thank you both for your advice. I'm not sure how to post pics here. But I do have a couple in my gallery. I will go ahead and try to feed it tonight. Will try to keep you updated.

[SRMD]

Thank you both for your advice. I'm not sure how to post pics here. But I do have a couple in my gallery. I will go ahead and try to feed it tonight. Will try to keep you updated.

How to post pics:
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?t=219160

[tbowman]

This is the most detailed write-up I've found. It should be able to answer your questions.

http://www.bloodpythons.com/cms/index.php/husbandry

[Lady mkrj58]

That was some
good reading. Thanks for the link

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