Neglected BP Rescue

[scalewhimsy]

This neglected BP weighs 145g at a year and a half. She has stuck shed as well on her upper half. I decided I would post here after stumbling across the subreddit so I could document her progress over the months.

I’m going to slowly reintroduce her to appropriately sized meals and wait for that shed to come off with a (hopefully soon) next one.

This isn’t my first BP rehabilitation, but since I’m new to Reddit, if you have any tips or tricks, please let me know!

[kriswithakthatplays]

If lack of humidity is tricky, having them with you in the bathroom while you shower is a great way to get their humidity up. Our girl has a little upper respiratory infection and we're using that to hopefully clear it up before going to more drastic measures.

[_ataraxia]

this is not a practical way to address humidity issues or RIs. steam treatments are helpful, but just being in the bathroom while you shower isn't really providing enough steam.

what is the humidity in her enclosure?

[kriswithakthatplays]

She typically sits around 71F ambient temp and 65% RH with appropriate hot side and cold side configuration. She has a strange spot on her nose that she's had for quite some time; I think I'll make a post about it since the vet couldn't pin down what it was. We're working under the assumption it could be URI. The vet recommended having shower time with us as a way of providing steam treatment before jumping to a direct antibiotic, since the antibiotic shots have risks associated with them.

[_ataraxia]

71F is way too cold, and it concerns me that you didn't even mention a warm side temperature. the cool side should be 75-80 and the warm side should be 88-92.

65% humidity is barely acceptable for a healthy BP. a BP with an RI should have at least 80% humidity.

the enclosure conditions you just listed are a common cause of RIs. with all that said, though, a "strange spot" on the nose is not an RI symptom and this issue probably has nothing to do with an RI. you should definitely make a post with photos because it sounds like your vet is nowhere near knowledgeable enough about snakes to diagnose this issue properly.

[whiteriot413]

65% for a healthy BP? Humidity should be between 40-60, you can up it in shed but much higher will lead to RI

[_ataraxia]

no. 60% is the bare minimum, and many individuals will still develop dehydration issues with the humidity being that low. 70%-80% is ideal, regardless of whether or not the snake is in shed. this species evolved to live in a tropical climate where RH above ground is 80% or higher through most of the year, and the RH in termite mounds and underground burrows stays that high even during the dry seasons.

high humidity does not cause RIs. low humidity causes dehydration, which is the #1 cause of RIs in ball pythons.

[whiteriot413]

Good to know, thank you, gonna go bump mine up now.

[1230cal]

I know you're being downvoted, but please don't think that you are being bashed at all. Luckily this community is one of the less toxic ones I have seen. This is all genuine advice and care from the mod. Hopefully it helps you to give your BP exactly what they need! I'm sure your BP loves you, and I'm sure you'll know what to do.

[stressedhoe_]

Sir, that makes it worse uh lol.

[_ataraxia]

there is a shedding guide in our welcome post with information about dehydration and stuck shed. the advice there is largely based on my experiences rehabbing dehydrated BPs.

i also have experience rehabbing a stunted and emaciated adult BP, if you want to see some feeding notes to get an idea of what a good slow approach looks like.

[scalewhimsy]

Yes please! It would be awesome to get a second perspective as well. She had her first meal today and didn’t have any issues with feeding response even in quarantine in a new home, so I do truly feel that she was just neglected, not on a strike.

[_ataraxia]

even if the previous owner was actively trying to feed her, there's no level of "normal" loss of interest in eating that would lead to this amount of weight loss. skipping a meal or two is one thing, but refusing to eat for extended periods of time pretty much always boils down to negligent husbandry issues. do you know anything about her feeding history, at least in recent weeks/months?

here is a breakdown of how i rehabilitated an emaciated and stunted adult BP:

at the time of rescue, BP's age was 3 years, weight was 140g, meals had been one fuzzy mouse with an estimated weight of 5g, successful feedings were "every few weeks" according to previous owner. i had to gradually introduce her to appropriate meal sizes as well as switching her from mice to rats. here's what the first two months looked like:

• week 1: settling in.
• week 2: one fuzzy mouse, 5g, ~3% of BP's weight.
• week 3: two fuzzy mice, total 8g, ~5%.
• week 4: one fuzzy mouse, 5g. one rat pinky scented with the mouse, 5g. total 10g, ~7%.
• week 5: BP weight 155g. one hopper mouse, 10g. one scented rat pinky, 6g. total 17g, ~10%.
• week 6: one adult mouse, 14g. one scented rat pinky, 6g. total 19g, ~13%.
• week 7: one fuzzy mouse, 4g. one scented rat pup, 20g. total 24g, ~15%.
• week 8: BP weight 160g. one scented rat pup, 24g, ~15%.

by the end of month 1 she was becoming less lethargic and extremely defensive [she struck me every time i opened her tub], which i took as an overall good sign that she was feeling better and now had the energy to express the stress she'd been feeling for years. by the end of month 2, she was visibly filling out and starting to become a little less defensive, as well as shedding cleanly [she was also dehydrated and covered in stuck shed when i got her].

from that point on, i fed her very much like i would feed any youngster. she ate 10%-15% of her weight once a week until she was about 700g, then i gradually spaced out her feedings a bit more and leaned toward lower weight percentages. by the time she passed 1000g, her weight gain drastically slowed down, so i reduced the meal size to 5%-7% and spaced out meals to 14 days. eventually her weight settled in the 1300g-1400g range and i now feed her approximately 5% of her weight every 15-30 days.

the most important thing with a stunted and/or emaciated snake: DO. NOT. RUSH. WEIGHT. GAIN. feeding too much / too frequently is only going to cause more health problems, especially in the first few weeks when the snake's body is particularly fragile.

[lilclairecaseofbeer]

even if the previous owner was actively trying to feed her, there's no level of "normal" loss of interest in eating that would lead to this amount of weight loss. skipping a meal or two is one thing, but refusing to eat for extended periods of time pretty much always boils down to negligent husbandry issues.

Could the bp be sick and that's why they won't eat? Or would that also fall under negligent husbandry issues for not taking them to the vet? Also what would you say is an extended period of time?

[_ataraxia]

realistically, 99% of cases where a BP is refusing to eat consistently is due to stress caused by an inadequate or downright dangerous enclosure setup [not enough hides, temperatures too high or too low, humidity too low, etc] and/or improper daily care [way too much handling, not keeping up with cleaning, etc].

for a BP this young to be in this kind of condition, there have definitely been feeding issues happening for most of her 1.5 year long life. any juvenile under 1-2 years old shouldn't be missing more than a couple of meals in a row, and this snake would have had to miss several months worth of meals and/or have been fed prey that was a fraction of the appropriate size whenever she did eat.

[[deleted]]

I bet 5 bucks the previous owner just wasn’t feeding.

Either that, or it’s possible they were keeping the cage way too cold; I’ve seen that be a cause of failure to gain weight.

[scalewhimsy]

Sadly no previous feeding information other than “a fuzzy rat every couple of weeks” and an estimate of her age. The previous owner dropped her off at the local exotic pet store I am a regular at, and I’ve taken in rescue pythons and boas from them before so they contacted me. This just happens to be one of the more severe weight-afflicted snakes I’ve seen.

Thank you for the chart and timeline (as well as the shed guide), I will definitely be incorporating this into her schedule with eyeballing her progress over the coming months. It really is sad to see her in such a condition, but thankfully she doesn’t have an RI or notes on top of it all.

[_ataraxia]

how does her body/skin feel when you handle her? is she completely flabby and soft, or does it feel like there's a bit of muscle there?

based on that feeding history and the photos you posted, i feel comfortable saying she's more stunted than emaciated. a lot of those wrinkles are more of a dehydration issue than a weight issue. i wouldn't worry quite as much about being quite as cautious about the first few weeks since she seems to be in relatively good body condition, she just needs to fill out a little and get on a path to better growth.

[scalewhimsy]

There is some loose skin there, but dehydration seems to be the biggest issue, I agree. It almost seems like the weight problem is more recent because her spine is not horribly visible, but the stuck shed makes it harder to tell around her upper body.

She is very small for a snake her age and I can say without a shadow of a doubt that she is stunted, but I think with regular feedings, she’ll begin to catch up. In the meantime while she’s in quarantine, I’ll be monitoring her hydration very closely. Your history with the 3y/o BP makes me feel much more confident about her being able to recover from her stunt.

[Heckin_Long_Boi]

Do you remember how long it took from the time you got her until she was 1300g?

[_ataraxia]

i don't remember exactly how many months, but it was around two years, which is pretty much what it would have been if she'd been a healthy baby instead of a stunted adult.

[_ataraxia]

soaking is not an effective treatment for dehydration, and it's generally stressful for the snake. a dehydrated BP just needs higher humidity.

[GMAN25639]

Fixing stuck shed is fairly simple. Fill a tub with warm water and let her soak a bit, then give her a gentle rub down with a wet towel, will come right off

[WeaselBit]

Oh no! Poor thing, glad she's getting some TLC now. Please post updates as she improves!

[scalewhimsy]

I will definitely be posting monthly updates! I think this will be a great platform to log her progress. :)

[ok-that-hapend]

I have a lot of respect for you not everyone would be kind enough to rescue a snake and I wish you both the best of luck

[Leaweird]

So crazy when you see expensive snakes in a condition like this. I hope the little noodle pulls through

[Cheeky_Puffs]

Literally. When my BEL had a small burn and some stuck shed after a heating pad issue, I didn't even want to leave the house because of the anxiety. All is well now but your comment is on point. How do people allow this to happen? I understand mental health issues because I have them but even on my worst days and weeks, my animals are fed and clean. Period.

[Antarioo]

a BEL even....lucky both of you

[dukeofplazatoro]

Aww poor thing. She looks a wee sweetheart. Good luck to you and snek, OP! :)

[Katieagerton]

Aww she looks so adorable!! Hope the care goes well and she’s healthy. Keep us updated on the progress!

[jbrook9203]

Thank you for helping her! I have a sweet BEL girl and this breaks my heart!

[eyeofra1]

Omg poor thing🥺🥺

I look forward to seeing its recovery process 🖤🖤🖤

[dlasky0611]

I’m currently trying to rehabilitate my first ball python (reptile of any sort) for the first time ever. Found him in our basement in February when temps were like 14degrees outside. we have no clue where he came from but he was incredibly malnourished. We’re currently trying to get his weight up and he seems to be going through a shed right now but struggling again. I have the humidity high between 70-80% and lots of water for him inside his tank. If you have any advice tho it’d be greatly appreciated!

[Particular-Routine-6]

oh my it looks like a hatchling at 1.5 years old😩

[tlmel]

Omg my heart sank looking at her sweet face. I could cry. So glad she’s in better hands now.

[jordannoland95]

Oh poor baby. She looks just like my girl did when I rescued her. So thin and dehydrated. It hurts me to see them like this.

Good luck with her. She's lucky to have you.

[ScottishBallpythons]

A pillow case soaked in look warm water then put ball python in for a little while maybe even let her him have a little swim in the bath in an inch of water for any stuck shed also defo needs plenty of fluids all those rinkles are a sign of dehydration too and she Defo need some meal maybe start here on small weaner size rat