I need help--sick BP.

[JLC]

Welcome to BP.net. I'm sorry you've got such a sick baby.

What I would do if I were in your shoes:

Get him off the chips and off the heat mat or whatever it is in the cage that burned him. Put him in a tub on newspaper or paper towels and keep the whole tub warm at about 85 degrees. Provide him with a small waterdish so he can drink, but not big enough for him to try and climb into.

Tomorrow, I'd look for an experienced herp vet to get the snake to asap. Here are some links you can use to find one in your area:
http://www.arav.org/USMembers.htm
http://www.anapsid.org/vets/index.html#vetlist
http://www.herpvetconnection.com/

[Repti-Rob]

Welcome to BP.net. I'm sorry you've got such a sick baby.

What I would do if I were in your shoes:

Get him off the chips and off the heat mat or whatever it is in the cage that burned him. Put him in a tub on newspaper or paper towels and keep the whole tub warm at about 85 degrees. Provide him with a small waterdish so he can drink, but not big enough for him to try and climb into.

Tomorrow, I'd look for an experienced herp vet to get the snake to asap. Here are some links you can use to find one in your area:
http://www.arav.org/USMembers.htm
http://www.anapsid.org/vets/index.html#vetlist
http://www.herpvetconnection.com/

yes what she said

[warning]

He is in a pretty large fish tank actually. I've been using aspen chips (referred by my breeder). He has a fairly large water bowl but never climbs in it. He has a heating pad on one side of the tank and he usually moves from that to the cool spot multiple times a day. His humidity is somewhere between 60% and 90%. I'm a teacher so sometimes he does get neglected as the class pet. The temperature in the cage is usually 75-80 degrees. (The temp gauge is at the top of the tank so it may be warmer down lower.

The other thing I"m worried about is that I have not fed him in almost 4 weeks. I never go this long but since he was shedding and then shedding again I was afraid to feed him. Any more input?

[JLC]

Check out the caresheet we offer:

http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules....warticle&id=52

It's got loads of ideas for getting that environment fixed up. Aspen bedding is usually fine...but if the snake has a sick belly, he needs to be on paper until he gets better. This will allow you to see if there is any bleeding or weeping sores because it will stain the paper....as well as reduce the chance of the rough surfaces irritating an already sensitive belly. And allow you to see immediately if its been soiled and needs cleaning. You don't want a sick belly laying on soiled bedding.

You may need to take him home with you to keep him in a warm, quiet, dark place until he gets better....and in the meantime you can work on getting the tank in the classroom set up properly for his return once he's all better.

I love the idea of a pet snake in the classroom...and especially like the idea of the teacher being an example to their students about how to provide proper husbandry and care for their animals.

As for not feeding......they can go for weeks and weeks without eating and suffer no ill effects because of it. I'd get the little guy to a vet first and on the road to recovery before offering food again....unless he's actually losing weight or severely underweight.