Will my python ever recover?

[leosantare]

She is still alive, still eating but still losing weight.

She looks the worst she ever has. I swabed her mouth and feces. Her boid and crypto panels were all negative from RAL. I'm fed her (2) medium rats, (350g total) last and she is no longer impacted with feces.

Does anyone know how I can make her gain weight? Can anyone make sense of why she is losing weight when she is eating more, test negative for most things and never has been in contact with another snake. She had mites when she was a year old but if anything were to come of that, it would have happened much sooner, correct?

[Homebody]

Does anyone know how I can make her gain weight? Can anyone make sense of why she is losing weight when she is eating more, test negative for most things and never has been in contact with another snake. She had mites when she was a year old but if anything were to come of that, it would have happened much sooner, correct?

I'm sorry. I don't have any suggestions that you haven't thought of already, but I sympathize with your frustration and hope you find a solution soon.

[Bogertophis]

She is still alive, still eating but still losing weight.

She looks the worst she ever has. I swabed her mouth and feces. Her boid and crypto panels were all negative from RAL. I'm fed her (2) medium rats, (350g total) last and she is no longer impacted with feces.

Does anyone know how I can make her gain weight? Can anyone make sense of why she is losing weight when she is eating more, test negative for most things and never has been in contact with another snake. She had mites when she was a year old but if anything were to come of that, it would have happened much sooner, correct?

Weight-wise, she looks fine to me in the photos you've shown. Gaining weight is a matter of eating, & some snakes, just like some humans, are more prone to overeating than others (& hence more prone to gaining unnecessary weight than others.)

Also, her weight may seem to fluctuate & be lower now just because of how much food & water is currently in her body. As you said, she's no longer impacted with fecal material- therefore she's going to weigh less now. The same thing happens with all creatures, humans included. Weights fluctuate daily- it's normal.

I agree that having mites when she was a yearling (some 10 years ago) is very unlikely to cause anything now, & besides, you just ran some tests that are negative (ie. show she's healthy).

Sorry but I can only conclude, at least from "here", that the only problem with this snake is your perception of her, & that's pretty hard to adjust. Since you seem so unhappy with her- apparently you really want a snake with more muscle mass & that's just not who or what this snake IS, this might be the wrong pet for you? Ever think of that? You've already said your vets find nothing wrong (other than what's already been addressed)- so what does that tell you?

As far as I can tell, the problem, if any, is not with the snake (and the stress of too many vet visits is not doing her any favors either). Our pets deserve our love & acceptance for who & what they are, & to do that, we have to be realistic, & not expect them to conform to some idealized notion of how they should look. Living creatures don't all look exactly the same (or have the same build), but that doesn't mean they're not as healthy as they can be.