Rescue Snake - spine anomaly?

[JoshSloane]

So that's what it was!

I was trying to read it, but couldn't keep my eyes open after eating my turkey sandwich.

Haha nice. I actually just ate turkey.

[Reinz]

Haha nice. I actually just ate turkey.

Seriously, thanks for breaking the code. I WAS trying to fiqure it out last night/morning, but I didn't take Organic Chemistry very serious in my youth.

[Aercadia]

LOL yes, that's DH - he's a bit of a geek (I'm a bit of a nerd)... I think he picked that shirt up from ThinkGeek several years back. It just happened to be a good background, being light in contrast to Rescue Girl's dark coloration. :) Sorry for subliminally coaxing you to nap.

[JoshSloane]

Seriously, thanks for breaking the code. I WAS trying to fiqure it out last night/morning, but I didn't take Organic Chemistry very serious in my youth.

No worries! I'm a bit of an O-chem freak. The second I saw the amino and carboxy terminus it screams amino acid. Heterocyclic amine ring system gives Tryptophan away.

[sapphira80]

We rescued a normal BP from CL as well (my husband scouts it too). The poor snake was at least three years old (possibly older because it had been through several owners) and it's most recent owner had been keeping him in a shoe box size container. He was under 300 grams and very, very skinny. His spine was very pronounced, like a ridge all the way down his back. He also had those "indentions" in his sides, and we thought the same, broken/deformed ribs. He also had a pretty bad RI. He was also very sluggish and "star gazed" all the time.
The xray surprised us though, no broken bones despite malnutrition, he was just very skinny. The vet said he had been near starved to death. The good news is, after the medicine kicked in and the RI went away, he came back to life and started eating. A few months later, you couldn't recognize it was the same snake. He gained weight quickly and was alert and as docile as any other BP.
My husband ended up giving him to a teenage boy who had been working to save up for a snake, but he had to give his money to his mother to pay bills (with her permission), along with a basic setup for him. The boy still keeps in touch with my husband and the snake is still doing well

So maybe her sides are due to being underfed too. If she's otherwise okay, maybe try a few meals and see if that helps before getting the Xray.

Good luck