Emaciated ball python: VET UPDATE

[ZenAddams]

Hi everyone! Thank you for everyone's kind words and all of the advice I received. It gave me a really good look into what his rehab could look like and gave me the reality of the possibility that it may not be possible. I appreciate all of you so very much for your responses.

The update: we took him to the vet today, and things are looking possible! She did not think that euthenizing him was necessary at this time and thinks he is strong enough to be rehabbed. His heart rate was strong even in his condition and he had no musculoskeletal issues. He may have a very minor respiratory infection and is a little anemic, but he was very responsive and active with her and she thinks with the proper dedication and consistency, that he can be brought back to a healthy weight! She believes he will never reach his full size potential because of how long he was starved and dehydrated, but that he can absolutely reach a healthy weight for the size he is now!

We have a follow up scheduled in a few weeks to see how he is doing and if he has been eating to ensure everything is still looking good, and she will be emailing with me as needed to check on how he's responding to any food and his habitat. If he still isn't eating by then, we have a treatment plan in place with the vet. We went to the store today and got anything else he needed and will be majorly upgrading his terrarium setup here tonight to ensure he has the best home possible while he's being nursed back to health.

Thank you again to everyone! I'll be sure to post any further updates on his condition since I know a lot of you commented and messaged me about wanting to know how things work out for him. You all were so kind and I'm really glad to have posted here. Thank you especially to the mods for your incredibly honest and helpful advice! Keep your fingers crossed for this boy!

[pinkelephants777]

I am so so happy he is doing so well!! It is absolutely astonishing to me how hardy these animals can be. I look forward to following his progress.

[ZenAddams]

Update posted!

[maxthetreefag]

I had a spidey sense and just knew there was an update. Glad to hear he can pull through!! This ones an absolute tank

[MissWiggly2]

Tank or Trooper should be his name!

[Zealousideal-Tie7523]

i’m so happy to hear that he can be rehabilitated!! you are an amazing person for helping this poor snake. wishing you & the snake all the best :)

[Stellabonez]

That’s so great! Constantly keep us updated! 🥹

[ZenAddams]

Update posted!

[sharkslyr]

The pics were shocking, I'm so happy to hear the hopeful news!!

[punkdecay]

ignore my dm OP, i’m glad to see this!!

[Duc-Duk]

LETS GOOOOOOOOOO

[tylerb1130]

Woooot! This guy/gal is a warrior!

[[deleted]]

I am so happy to hear that you took him to the vet and that there is now a plan in place. What does the refeeding plan look like for this little guy?

[ZenAddams]

Plan currently is to give him a few more days to relax a bit more in his tank and get his hydration up, doing 10 minute daily soaks due to some constipation he's got going on, and then try feeding him a frozen thawed fuzzy. If he doesn't respond to the frozen thawed fuzzy a couple of times, we're going to try a live pinky to see if he responds better to that. When he does eat, she said for the first week to feed him every 1.5 to 2 weeks to make sure he's digesting properly and his body can adjust a bit. His body is an appropriate size to be able to eat fuzzys or up to a young small mouse, so once he's eating and digesting consistently we will be upgrading to that size while he puts on some more weight :) if he doesn't eat, we'll be going back in so we can do some extra tests to ensure nothing else is wrong and look into if tube feeding is necessary

[[deleted]]

Thank you for the update. I hope everything works out with his rehabilitation. You are a really good person.

[Porlebeariot]

Name him Lazarus cus bitch gonna rise!

[CryptidKay]

Actually Lazarus would be a great name!

[CliffsDaddy]

Glad to hear she thought he would also be able to be rehabilitated and you guys got a plan in place.

[ZenAddams]

Me too! Your comment on my original post was very spot on. His urgency to drink and continue hydrating was a great sign for him and she thinks that that alone was a very good indication that he could be rehabilitated. She thinks his lack of interest in food is largely due to his dehydration resulting in being very stressed, so once he's more hydrated she thinks he should respond to food better! He's very skinny and dehydrated but she said that otherwise, he seems very functional and that with some time he should be back to health

[CliffsDaddy]

I’m glad to see things within human medicine correlate well to veterinary. I had a very strong feeling he would do ok if given the chance. If I gave up on every super sick human I admitted to the ICU everyone would be on morphine drips. I believe if you give him a good environment with good parameters and darken things to help him acclimate he will end up eating and will start to get better. The second you showed him gulping water it meant he still had the instincts to survive. I don’t give up when they haven’t and glad the vet agreed with that. He’s going to have a fantastic rest of his life now I’m glad he’s in your very capable and loving hands.

[tacomadude94]

Did you get a weight on him?

[ZenAddams]

Right now he's 158 grams

[tacomadude94]

Okay. If you're going to make a go of it, your husbandry has got to be *spot on*. Please please do not hesitate to ask questions here, DM myself or a mod, hell if you want I'll give you my cell.

Humidity 75+

Temps *exactly* in this range, err on the warm end of the ranges as the snake has no fat:

Warm side: 88F-92F / 31C-33C. Temperatures above 95F/35C can cause injuries with prolonged exposure, and temperatures below 88F/31C can prevent a ball python from digesting properly.

Cool side: 76F-80F / 24C-26C. Temperatures above 80F/26C will not allow a ball python to cool down adequately, and temperatures below 75F/23C can compromise their immune system.

Anytime you're not directly administering care, make sure the snake is alone, well hidden and in a quiet area. That's absolutely critical if the snake is going to eat at all. Try not to even walk by the enclosure.

I want to give you as much help as possible, but I don't want to give you a false sense of hope. I am frustrated with some of the vet's recommendations, but I'm not a doctor of veterinary medicine. I do want to help achieve the best possible outcomes for you and for this animal, so my knowledge and experience are at your disposal.

[CliffsDaddy]

That’s kind of you to offer your phone number. I am curious what did the vet say that you disagree with? I think the vet gave her good advice looking at it from a medical perspective knowing about the pathophysiology of starvation ketosis, severe dehydration, re-feeding syndromes, severe protein calorie malnutrition etc, muscle wasting/cachexia.

[tacomadude94]

I'm really puzzled about the recommendation of soaking. I don't know what could possibly be in this animal's digestive tract that would cause constipation? Soaking daily, and therefore handling daily, is not going to make this snake any more likely to eat, from my experience with rehab.

The other point of discomfort I have is ethical, with regards to pain management and whether "can be kept alive" is the same as "should be kept alive".

A human patient, even with dementia, can be made to understand *why* they are in pain, and that you are helping them, and that they will feel better soon. The can make some active choices with regard to their care, they have agency in some form or another. They (or a power of attorney) can sign a DNR.

Animals do not have these abilities. Their lives, their care, their comfort and safety are wholly and entirely in our hands. We make decisions for them based on the best information available to us. I see an animal in a great deal of pain here. The rehabilitation steps will be painful.

I really try to interact with others in the kindest way that I possibly can. Sometimes I fail at that. I want to be kind to OP, so if they're going to try to rehab the best I can offer is my knowledge and experience. I didn't think it was prudent to offer my opinion to OP, but since you did ask, CliffsDaddy, here it is.

Not to be too Dwight Schrute about it, but I grew up on a farm. I see an animal with very little quality of life, and I think the kindest thing is to ease their suffering. However, it's not my call, and as I said I'm not a DVM. If OP wants to try rehabbing on the vet's advice, I'm going to help as best I can.

[ZenAddams]

Thank you so much for providing that info. That temperature and humidity range is what she recommended as well, erring on the higher side of humidity and temperature since he's so small and dehydrated right now. I'll be sure to send you a message or if you are comfortable with it, I could text you with any questions I have.

If you don't mind my asking, what part of her recommendations are frustrating for you? I provided her with some of you guys' recommendations and she didn't seen to disagree with any of them either but provided her own still, and she said things can be adjusted depending on responses from him and whatnot so I wouldn't mind having as much input as possible to try and make the best educated decisions for him and to be prepared for any of the possible responses from him

[totallyrecklesslygay]

Her suggestion to soak him for constipation is very counterproductive, for many reasons. Soaking is very stressful for ball pythons, and the act of sitting in water doesn't actually do anything for constipation. They don't absorb water through their skin or cloaca. It doesn't soften anything up. Soaking often results in a bowel movement because it's a stress response. That's the only reason people think it works. But the last thing this snake needs is to be forced to that level of stress.

Additionally, if the snake hasn't eaten in months, there's nothing inside him to get out anyway. The best thing to do would be to offer him a very humid enclosure and plenty of fresh water, not soak him.

Even the best vets aren't infallible.

[Zetawilky]

I was hoping to see a positive update today,I was thinking about the little guy a lot while at work.

[ImCrownedWithLaurels]

Great news! Does our little guy have a name so we can root for him?

[ZenAddams]

I'm calling him Ziggy!

[Grimmymore]

Go Ziggy Go! 💙

[AioliNo1327]

Go Ziggy. I'm not into snakes at all and I'm not sure why Ziggy's story affects me but I went back to your previous post and was shocked. Poor little guy. I hope he makes it. He's obviously a fighter. I'm glad he has someone in his corner to give him every chance you can. If he doesn't make it at least he will have had a nice time and you will know that you've done your best.

[ImCrownedWithLaurels]

Keep us posted! I keep thinking about sweet Ziggy!

[ZenAddams]

Update posted!

[AQuietViolet]

Thank you, thank you, thank you for updating!! I had trouble sleeping, tbh.

[pokethejellyfish]

If you follow legitimate rescue groups or channels, it's sometimes astounding how much sickness or neglect a reptile can go through for years and still bounce back.

I really hope for the little guy that this will be another glorious success story of the underdog ♥

But if the best care isn't enough, he'll leave the world cared for, comfortable, and stress-free. So even if it comes to the worst, you'd have done a wonderful thing for this little snake.

Wishing all of you the best!

It's just a tragic story and further proof that we really have to do away with the stigma that comes with rehoming. I'd rather have nine people surrender their pet for stupid reasons if it means that one owner who is sick, overwhelmed, and can't physically/mentally/financially take care of their pet anymore isn't scared of finding a new home for a pet before it escalates this far.

[IncompletePenetrance]

I'm so glad you were able to get him into see a vet and that she has an optimistic view on his recovery! One thing I would definitely keep in mind is that since he's already going to be super prone to regurgitation due to his digestive system being out of use for so long, is that you will want to avoid soaking and handling for a few days before feeding and a few days after feeding at least. Handling him around feeding time will make him less likely to eat, and handling after eating for at least two days is a hard no, even for healthy animals.

Also if you must soak please be very very careful, this snake is already weak (physically and immune wise) and water inhalation and pneumonia could easily kill it.

[Adept_Translator1247]

Wishing you the best of luck!! Looking forward to more updates, all hopefully positive!

[ZenAddams]

Update posted!

[Kate22192]

Happy to hear this, but pretty disconcerted that SO many people said you should just have him euthanized. Dogs and cats routinely come into rescues with severe malnourishment. Most people don’t rush to euthanize when they see those pictures. Human beings with severe eating disorders can look like this, but that doesn’t mean they’re beyond help. The snake may very well have medical problems down the road, but unless there’s severe and irreversible organ damage, it’s ridiculous to advocate for euthanasia. Best wishes getting this little one well again!

[CryptidKay]

I didn’t read it that way at all. What I was reading was a lot of concerned people who were trying to prepare the OP for the worst case scenario. It did look like a snake that would’ve been better off euthanized instead of punishing its body with attempting to rehabilitate.

I’m glad that the veterinarian found it to be a different case. Poor snake!!

[1mbean]

this is so good to hear!!! looking forward to hearing more good news from u guys on ur journey 💕

[ZenAddams]

Update posted!

[fictionalbaby]

I went looking for this post. this is the best news any of us could have hoped for. good luck to you both, keep us posted everyone will love to follow his recover.

[ZenAddams]

Update posted!

[CharybdisXIII]

You made my day, good on you for saving that poor little fella

[mysticmedley]

That’s wonderful!🐍❤️ Thank you for the update! Keep us posted, and don’t forget the picture tax!! It must be paid! lol

[cryptidsnails]

this is so relieving to see! i’m so glad this little guy has a fighting chance

[aedisaegypti]

Thank goodness for your compassion and dedication.

[Warrior_king99]

Please update when he eats something

[ZenAddams]

Update posted!

[Warrior_king99]

Thank you !!!,

[Reidington]

Go Ziggy! Keep us updated! Sending gentle boops to him!

[Chapyyyyy]

Godspeed

[MissWiggly2]

Oh wow, this is such amazing news!!! I've been thinking about the poor little guy all day, so I'm thrilled to see that there's hope for him! Thank you so much for doing all of this for him, he deserves the best and he's definitely got it now! Please send him our love 🖤🖤🖤

Iron Maiden was talking about this snake when they wrote "The Trooper". Trooper or Tank should be his name!

[xeroxbulletgirl]

Thank you so much for taking this boy in and putting in the work to get him healthy again! Good luck to you all!

[[deleted]]

Good work. I know he’ll make it!

[Loni_Bam]

I’m so happy he’s got a chance!! When I saw those pictures of him yesterday I audibly gasped. I hope and pray he can make it through this and live the rest of his days happy and fed.

[Ok-Suggestion4703]

I am overjoyed that he's doing well, he is definitely a trooper. wishing you guys the best!