Howard Phillip McArthur (that's his full name btw)

[kinley]

Here are some recent pictures. I'm glad to say he has gained 10g. I'm sad to say he isn't getting better.



the blisters seem to have gone away(not completely, there's still quite a few), but now he has a lot of loose hanging skin, which I can only think to compare to what one would see after losing a lot of weight. Thanks for the thoughts and support you guys. He's going to beat this... I promised him a nice ,yummy, REAL mean after we've gotten past it and all the gross (not to mention smelly) tube feeding food.

(Disclaimer: I take these pictures when I'm about to feed him I'm watching the stress level)

[kinley]

And please excuse my messy bedroom, I'm in the process of cleaning it, and sometimes it gets worse before it gets better. (And he has been moved from my room while I'm cleaning so I don't bother him ️)

[DVirginiana]

It's good he's gaining weight at least. You can probably expect those blistered areas to slough off with the next shed. May end up having some open areas bc of it: I forget, but you have him on paper towels right? You definitely don't want debris getting into those places once the skin comes off.

Have you told the vet the infection is getting worse? It could be resistant to whatever meds they gave you. With the shape this little guy is in I'd go back and ask them to do a culture (unless they already did one). The way its over his whole body evenly makes me feel like it's something systemic rather than just a localized surface infection, so your time may be limited if whatever this is happens to be resistant to the meds he's getting.

Best wishes for the little guy.

[kinley]

It's good he's gaining weight at least. You can probably expect those blistered areas to slough off with the next shed. May end up having some open areas bc of it: I forget, but you have him on paper towels right? You definitely don't want debris getting into those places once the skin comes off.

Have you told the vet the infection is getting worse? It could be resistant to whatever meds they gave you. With the shape this little guy is in I'd go back and ask them to do a culture (unless they already did one). The way its over his whole body evenly makes me feel like it's something systemic rather than just a localized surface infection, so your time may be limited if whatever this is happens to be resistant to the meds he's getting.

Best wishes for the little guy.

He is indeed on paper towels. It's helping a lot that I can see if he's gone to be bathroom also, I feel a lot better knowing he has some water in his system. I would take him back and ask for a culture, but I don't have any money for another visit. Luckily one of my good friends works at the vet I go to and is going to talk to the doctor about it for me today along with show him some pictures. If it comes down to it, and the vet asks for me to bring him back, I will find the money somewhere, but I don't want to take him in to have them say "oh it's okay it does this before it gets better" or something and then have something go really wrong and not have the money to take him in then. I live with my parents, (I'm 17), and my dad had an accident and is on workers comp right now. So, it's very tight. I used some of my graduation money for the last visit.

Also, do you know how I might be able to tell if he's in pain???

[DVirginiana]

I understand money being tight. You've already done more for him than a lot of people would have bothered with. A lot of vets are understanding of rescue situations and will try to do what they can to help; you could always try calling and seeing if the vet would be willing to look at pictures and give you advice from there. I've had vets waive office visit fees before when they know I'm bringing in a rescue for that reason. IMO it's worth asking about at least.

Other than flinching away when being touched, it can be pretty hard to tell if a snake is in pain. If he's spending most of his time hiding without being lethargic/non-responsive, and seems to move normally when he is out and about that's really the best you can hope for. Generally a hiding BP is a happy BP.

[KitaCat]

Poor boy... I still can't believe someone let him get this bad. Makes me want to go love on my Mojave Bee... She's of a similar size (though healthy weight!) and has a similar head pattern - I keep thinking of her when I see this little guy. If I opened the bin and she looked like this, I'd be heartbroken.

[Fidget]

Wow, this is probably the sickest little baby I've seen in a rescued bp thread. So sorry for his suffering. You're doing a wonderful job, and I hope he pulls through and has a long and healthy life with you.