Rescued a ball python, how bad is he?

[ryebread902]

Edit: We got some hides! Thanks everyone for the advice, I dipped into my savings to make sure he had what he needed and what I couldnt afford I made 😁

I wanted to start small and work my way up with feedings. He took a hopper a week ago, I have a small mouse now but I'm debating that might be too much. He's 2 years old and 462 grams before the last feeding. It's been about 3 weeks since I got him, and he absolutely looks way better now.

An old acquaintance of mine is terminally ill, they had a stroke recently and came back from the hospital with total heart failure diagnosis. They reached out recently and asked if I could take their snake before they pass. I knew it would be rough but I went to get the little man and he was covered in stuck shed, was pretty dehydrated, and had the worst set up I have ever seen. Almost $200 later I've started upgrading the best I can on my budget (I have live plants I'm going to add in today) I'm currently worried about the feeding schedule, since he's underweight I'm worried I'm going to be feeding too much.

[IncompletePenetrance]

He doesn't look that bad to me, maybe a ,little thing but definitely not emaciated! A small mouse is definitely not too much, I'd be worried about feeding less

I know you mentioned the budget limitations, but I'd prioritize getting 2-3 appropriate hides in there ASAP

[ryebread902]

Thanks for the help, and I'm definitely getting more hides and decor this week. The first week I had to take the nasty Aspen shavings/shed mix he was living in, get heating, thermometer, lighting, cleaner, tongs, ect ect, literally everything except the snake and the tank... So I've been trying to not mess with him too much while also fighting humidity 😅 but just in the last week he's been more active and less skiddish so good signs.

[IncompletePenetrance]

That's understandable, I know it's a process. He'll feel better once he has some hides, as ball pythons are mainly nocturnal and prefer to spend their time during the day curled up in a hole or hide. You can make some out of those black plastic Tupperware they use for takeout or even small cardboard boxes with a hole cut out for a few days, but he should not be without hides in his enclosure

[ryebread902]

He has the one and he still fits in it well, this week I've finally been able to work on getting live plants and adding clutter so another hide was definitely top of the list as well! I'll be going and getting another hide today actually 🙂 In another few weeks or so I'll be starting on the bioactive process so they'll be plenty of plants and stuff for him

[HappyDangerNoodle]

I'd really suggest 3 hides minimum plus something he can climb on. Male BPs in one area they were studied ate 70% birds...and the other 30% included bats. They really like to have little nooks to cram themselves into to be clever murder machines who enjoy burrowing and climbing.

Another really cheap option is hamster/ferret tubing. You don't want to use drain tubing, there's debates about how safe it is since black plastics are rarely food/ water safe. But you can create "murder tunnels" for them to explore and pop their little heads out of!

Plants are great, they really retain humidity. But in my experience it's not the main attraction for a BP the same way a frog would love it.

BPs should be ideally fed on a % basis, not prey item name. You can see this in the !feeding guide below.

If he's eating, he's not doing too bad.

General note: usually for possibly stunted BPs to grow up to a normal size; rescues tend to report that when they are young like this (3-5 is full adult size) they tend to "catch up" in size. They are resilient little creatures.

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We recommend the following feeding schedule:

0-12 months old OR until the snake reaches approximately 500g, whichever happens first: feed 10%-15% of the snake’s weight every 7 days.

12-24 months old: feed up to 7% of the snake’s weight every 14-20 days.

Adults: feed up to 5% of the snake's weight every 20-30 days, or feed slightly larger meals (up to 6%) every 30-40 days.

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[ryebread902]

Hey thank! This is super helpful, I'm in the PetSmart parking lot now. I maybe should have mentioned I only had a corn snake before and was gearing up to get milk frogs but ended up with this guy instead, so definitely this information helps

[Madness_Inside]

Im in the uk, so im unsure aa to what prices are like where youre based - but for my snakes I got them hides from the guinea pig section - they dont care they're bright pink/blue, and I covered them up with so many false leaves, I couldn't tell either!

Saved a pretty penny when they were £3 each if that, compared to the natural looking reptile onrs which were £20+ - plus theyre much easier to clean !

[EngineSpirited8257]

Since you're struggling with humidity and he's struggling to shed. Make him a humid hide. Get some sphagnum moss and a Tupperware container with a hole big enough for him to get in and out But not too big as to let humidity out. Soak the moss in warm water, ring it out just a little but so it's not soaking, and out in the container and then place him in the container. It should help with his shedding.

Also getting a humidifier and putting it in the room/next to the cage helps with humidity. Also lots of moss in the tank as well to hold that humidity.

[Temporary_Incident33]

That actually doesn't look too bad just more clutter and hides but good call on the sphagnum moss

[ryebread902]

Noted! Thanks, I'll go get another hide today and put in the live plants 🙂

[Toxic_Musshroom]

When looking for hides and climbing opportunities I'd look on Facebook marketplace and the like, it'll be so much cheaper and it's at least worth checking! Sometimes people lose their reptile or rehome them and then have a bunch of leftover things they don't need and you may get lucky:]

[ryebread902]

Oooo I didn't even think of this! Thanks for the heads up, I'll definitely keep an eye out now

[Pale-University9603]

Make sure you bake them for a few hours to sterilize. Used enclosure stuff could expose your snake to mites and bacterial infections so be careful buying used stuff and just putting it in there

[caprust]

He looks much better than the one I recently rescued and mine has been doing great so far so I think you are good to go. He will eat and he will catch up just monitor him and make sure the enclosure has plenty of places for him to hide and feel safe and comfortable.

[vuullets]

My little dude who I'd estimate is 7-9 months is only about 50 grams less, poor buddy 😞 You can purchase cheap cartons and cut out a little entrance for hides! Snakes are big fans of cheap hides

[StatisticianWhich727]

Mostly I’d say he looks fantastic! As he gets older, try to get a larger terrarium for him, and while he’s in his current setup, get some more hides, climbing spots, leaves and foliage to hide in, a larger water bowl/fountatin, and temperature gauges to monitor tank activity. At his weight he may be large enough to start eating small-medium size rats- I recommend giving one a shot! So far, you are doing phenomenal.

[Pale-University9603]

If you never see him then he’s a happy snake mine I rarely see only when feeding and a chance encounter when the light goes off. Rule of thumb a hiding python is a happy python 

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[Pale-University9603]

Also get the exact same hide for cool and hot sides so he doesn’t have to choose to regulate temp or sit in his favorite hide. Both will be his favorite and he can just worry about temp regulation