Ok guys i might need some help with this one. New Rescue

[oorob00]

Ok well the story start off. We get a local pennysaver and it had an add for a female ball python. I was like cool i can add another female to my collection. So i call the guy and talk to him and he said that the only reason he is letting him go is because the pet shop that he got his feeders from stopped selling rats. I ask him how old she was and he said that his son got her back in 2001 from a pet shop and was told she was a year old then so he figures she is about 4 years old. So he contiues to say that the last time she at was a couple of weeks ago. I was thinking ok that is fine i will just feed her when i get her home. Then the guy continues to tell me how good of an eater she is by saying that he could feed her 6 mice at a time or she would eat 1-2 rats each time. I didnt think much about it because i was thinking she was large and he was just feeding her what the pet shop had at the time. So we set a time to meet and i can pay him for it. This is were it takes a turn for the worse.

So i meet him the same day about an hour and a half later at his sons school. The poor thing looked like it hadnt eaten in about 6-7 months and was no way is she 4 years old maybe 1 or 2. So I confront him about the age and the neglect of feeding. And of cource he had no answer. So i give him 50 for her he wanted 75 but i would have given him 75 just to get her out of his hands. So i get her home and get her a small rat from my pet shop i go to. She struck at it and then backed off. I left the rat in there over night to see if she would take it but it looks as if she tried because the head was wet. I figure that she is too weak to take it down so i am going to try a mouse tonight once i go get one. I just hope that there is nothing else wrong with here except the malnutrition. She has good color and her eye caps are perfect. She is just really weak and feels squishy from loss of fat and muscle.

Sorry for the long post and i am attaching a couple of pics from my website(it is in my signature) and have larger ones there. I need any advice that you all can give to me. Thanks.

[green_man]

ouch... nice rescue man... might want to back off for a couple days to let her get used to the enclosure and try again. I doubt that 2 or 3 days would hurt. Might just be nervous...
Good luck

[oorob00]

i am going to try a mouse tonight because she tried to take the rat but i think she is too weak

[gncz73]

well i got a pair of 100% for pied and when i got them in the little girl wasn't eatting at all wouldn't even look at food so after i had her for 30 days or so i decided i had to assist feed her and it work now she takes f/t in a heart beat

[Cody]

The poor thing probably just needs a bit of time to adjust to the new surroundings. Treat her as if she was a new baby bp you brought home. Give her a week to settle, then try feeding her. She does look a bit thin, but not too bad. I'm just going by the pics though. She might be worse looking in person. She has a gorgeous pattern though. Good luck with her!

[Marla]

Her spine looks pretty prominent, but it looks like she has some good length on her. She may well be as old as he told you she is, but just has been underfed this entire time. How does she do when you turn her over? Is she quick to right herself? Does she seem alert and able to focus on her surroundings okay? Here's what I think I'd try, if I were in your shoes: give her a few days to settle in, then try to establish a feeding schedule of two mice every four days until she's eaten 4-5 times for me, and then try switching to one small rat every 5-7 days, skipping or delaying the second rat feeding while her body adjusts. I'm sure there are other good approaches you could take, but that's what I'd most likely try.

[led4urhead]

Might not be a bad idea to have her looked over by a vet either. Good luck with her and keep us updated.

[oorob00]

Marla she is quick to right herself as you see i am holding her to get a picture of her underside and she seems to be alert but doesnt move around much at all. I tried an adult mouse this morning and she still doesnt seem interested in it. So i am going to wait a couple more days until i try another mouse. It was hard to get a picture of it but you can see her ribcage from the under side protruding all the way down her body and when i pick her up she is just limp and feels as if she has no muscles to constrict with. And i plan on taking her to the vet once i get a couple of meal in her to get her all check out.

[oorob00]

I have some good news she ate. I didnt check here before i made my previous post but she ate the mouse i left in there this morning before i went to bed(I work nights). So i killed the other mouse and stuck it in there so i hope she eats this one as well.

[led4urhead]

Good news! Sounds like she's going to be on the road to recovery . Keep us updated.