Underweight rescued BP

[Kenzieburgess]

Hey! So I just sort of rescued this enchi pinstripe ball python, 2 weeks ago someone just dumped/abandoned their BP at my local reptile store. While I was there getting crickets for my frog I noticed it and asked about it since it's a $350 BP they where selling for only $100, got the back story which was stated above and decided to take it (I already had a set up from my other snake I had just recently upgraded with a bioactive vivarium and all new equipment and everything). Additionally I noticed how insanely underweight it is. So I was wondering, what are your experiences with underweight BPs, and how did you gain the weight back without over feeding? Also, someone told me to try feeding her baby rabbits as that will help her gain weight really well? I am going to add some pictures of her although it was hard to capture just how skinny she is, showing her spine as well as her concaved belly. I think the pics do her justice as she doesnt look as bad as she really is *in my opinion*


*ps*, I know your not supposed to cause they need adjustment time, but she seemed super calm her first day with me in her new enclosure so I attempted to feed a small adult mouse (it's all I had at the moment for my baby bp) and she ate it really well after only having for about 4 hrs.

Thank you in advance for any and all advise

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[Bogertophis]

I'm glad she ate right off for you...I'd have offered right away too* (even though I'd have advised others to wait a few days, lol). Just let her rest & eat once a
week...don't handle her & minimize stress...just basic "TLC" And for heaven's sake, quarantine from any other snakes you keep! She's pretty, I hope she
gets healthy without any hitches.

*Your place is bound to be less stressful than the pet store anyway. Don't know that you need to change prey to rabbits...that might mess up future feeds?
And trying to make her gain weight too fast can work against you. You should get a stool sample done as soon as she "gives you" something to show the vet.
Her being underweight could be due to prior owner not feeding appropriately, or it could also be intestinal worms...you want to rule that out, or treat if needed.

[Kenzieburgess]

I'm glad she ate right off for you...I'd have offered right away too (even though I'd have advised others to wait a few days, lol). Just let her rest & eat once a
week...don't handle her & minimize stress...just basic "TLC" And for heaven's sake, quarantine from any other snakes you keep! She's pretty, I hope she
gets healthy without any hitches.

Yeah I have her quarantined right now and I havnt handled her at all since day 1 when I got her out of her travel box the pet store gave me her in and taking those quick photos. But even then she was super chill about being handled litterally immediately after getting her, so shes pretty chill. And I hope she recovers quickly as well!

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[Kenzieburgess]

*Your place is bound to be less stressful than the pet store anyway. Don't know that you need to change prey to rabbits...that might mess up future feeds?
And trying to make her gain weight too fast can work against you. You should get a stool sample done as soon as she "gives you" something to show the vet.
Her being underweight could be due to prior owner not feeding appropriately, or it could also be intestinal worms...you want to rule that out, or treat if needed.[/QUOTE]

That's what I was thinking but it was advise from a friend who has BPs that she has also rescued from other situations, and I wasnt sure. I've never had an underweight snake before, especially not one this underweight.
And I ment to mention, I planned on taking her to the vet but being that it's so expensive I was thinking of waiting to see of she gains a little wait in the next month or so first..


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[Bogertophis]

Just getting past winter...if I had to guess, her previous owner didn't keep her warm enough & when she didn't eat, they didn't offer or figure out the issue.

I'd wait a bit for the vet, unless you see something urgent (like if she came down with an RI too). Better to have more info for the vet; if you get a fresh stool
sample you could have them check that ahead of her check up...they seldom appear right when your appt'mt is anyway.

[pretends2bnormal]

Agreed, not sure rabbits are smart. BPs don't generally get big enough for it, much less a skinny one.
Smallest rabbits I've seen sold are 1/2 pound, which is equivalent to a large rat. No one really recommends feeding large rats to even very large female BPs.

For this one, I'd suggest you start small and work it up.
Weigh her after she digests to get a baseline. Then feed based on that.

I'd offer for the first 3-5 meals a small rat if she weighs 1,000-1,500g before moving on to mediums like a female that weight would typically be fed. Maybe start 1-2 meals with a weaned rat if she really is skinnier than the pictures show.

If shes over 1,500g and this skinny, then you would probably be okay to do 1-2 small rat meals (one rat at each meal, just that many meals) and move up to mediums.

You don't want to overwhelm the digestive system of a snake that is starving and probably hasn't eaten in quite a few months. Give it some time to get digestion running smoothly with easier to digest meals to start. A normal feeding schedule is generally plenty to bulk a snake back up to a good weight and rushing can be dangerous to them. It will take some time, but slow and steady wins the race here.

You may even want to do the first few meals 2 weeks apart to help that. Not necessarily the mouse from this time, but the larger prey like the rats I mentioned above.

Kudos to you for helping the poor girl out, she's beautiful and looks like she will come back just fine.
I'm working with a rescued BP who was underweight also, but she started as a tiny juvenile and not an adult.

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[Kenzieburgess]

Agreed, not sure rabbits are smart. BPs don't generally get big enough for it, much less a skinny one.
Smallest rabbits I've seen sold are 1/2 pound, which is equivalent to a large rat. No one really recommends feeding large rats to even very large female BPs.

For this one, I'd suggest you start small and work it up.
Weigh her after she digests to get a baseline. Then feed based on that.

I'd offer for the first 3-5 meals a small rat if she weighs 1,000-1,500g before moving on to mediums like a female that weight would typically be fed. Maybe start 1-2 meals with a weaned rat if she really is skinnier than the pictures show.

If shes over 1,500g and this skinny, then you would probably be okay to do 1-2 small rat meals (one rat at each meal, just that many meals) and move up to mediums.

You don't want to overwhelm the digestive system of a snake that is starving and probably hasn't eaten in quite a few months. Give it some time to get digestion running smoothly with easier to digest meals to start. A normal feeding schedule is generally plenty to bulk a snake back up to a good weight and rushing can be dangerous to them. It will take some time, but slow and steady wins the race here.

You may even want to do the first few meals 2 weeks apart to help that. Not necessarily the mouse from this time, but the larger prey like the rats I mentioned above.

Kudos to you for helping the poor girl out, she's beautiful and looks like she will come back just fine.
I'm working with a rescued BP who was underweight also, but she started as a tiny juvenile and not an adult.

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Thank you, like I said, I wasnt shes about my friends advise, and it didnt sound right, that's why I wanted to ask. And thank you for explaining the dangers of over feeding too fast, that's what I was afraid of. All I had on hand was the small adult mouse for my baby BP on day one. I actually didnt expect her to eat, but I figured it wouldnt hurt to atleast tegu to offer it and low and behold she gobbled it up immediately lol. I get off work in the morning and plan on running out to the store and picking up some rats and a bigger scale. (I use an old one for my baby we used to use for weighing food and was going to upgrade as he got bigger. Guess that expense is going to be sooner than later lol)

I really appreciate all this feedback guys! I did a quick google search when I got her and didnt come up with a whole lot of info and didnt really have time to go threw to find everything I needed to know about underweight BPs. But I couldnt bare imagining her being with anyone else, I fell inlove with her the second I saw her, when I asked to get her out at the store and getting her home, she is super chill and super sweet (I named her Sugar)

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[Bogertophis]

That was perfect, that you had on hand a small prey item to give her. Giving too big of prey to a skinny-starving snake will probably just get you a regurgitation-
& then she'd be worse off. Take it slow, don't be in a rush to size up prey or to feed too often...her body has some catching up to do. "Sugar"...I like it!

[Kenzieburgess]

That was perfect, that you had on hand a small prey item to give her. Giving too big of prey to a skinny-starving snake will probably just get you a regurgitation-
& then she'd be worse off. Take it slow, don't be in a rush to size up prey or to feed too often...her body has some catching up to do. "Sugar"...I like it!

Thanks! So should I keep giving her the small adult mice I have for now or is that probably too small even for her? Sugar is probably about 3.5-4ft maybe and Twig (my baby who eat the Sm adult mice) is only roughly 12-14in.

The normal is my baby Twig, the other is odviously Sugar, just to try to give a size comparison

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[Bogertophis]

I'd feed her the same (small adult mouse) for a while...see how she does. Her digestion might be slower than you think right now...see IF she's hungry in a
week...it might take 10 days or 2 weeks before she's ready to eat again. Just see how she does, take your cue from her, ok? I know how badly you want her
to put weight on, but better to do it slowly...especially since you have no medical history on her. For example, IF she is skinny because of internal parasites,
when you feed HER a bigger meal, you also feed THEM a lot more, & that can harm (even kill) the snake if -IF- they expand & block essential functions. See?
As I said before, her weight probably has nothing to do with parasites & everything to do with a negligent owner, but no way to know just yet, so go slow.

Have you looked closely for mites too, btw? A skinny snake can get dehydrated & die much faster from mites than a healthy one...so hopefully no mites.