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Need advice, Please help

R

Rycheck

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My story

This started on 11/28/2005

I have been looking for a boa for several months, least one that I could afford.

I was in a pet shop looking when one of the customers told ne he had a snake for sale, said he needed to get rid of it cheap.

So I get his address and go look at it the next day. It wasnt a boa it was a ball python. Not a ball fan I started to leave.

I was about to leave when he took it out of the tank. I could smell it from 10 feet away. The snake simply stank. I asked the guy when was the last time he had cleaned the tank. He said he hadnt. There was snake poo and urates all over the tank, and what looked like a hand full of tree bark. Smelled like rat pee as well. A small dish for water, it was empty. :hot:

He said he would sell everything for 200. I told him no I thought the snake was gonna die it looked terrible. Worst I have seen. I told him 75 and he agreed. Gave me the 55 gallon tank as well.

I couldnt leave the snake there it was heartbreaking. I would have paid 200 if thats what it took.

When I got everything home I took a good look at. The snake was very thin and weak. It smelled terrible. The guy told me the snake had just eaten. I couldnt tell by my exam that the snake had eaten at all.

I cleaned him up as best as I could. I dont have a great deal of cash so a vet visit is outta the question, at least for now.

I spent 2 days cleaning out the tank and letting it soak in bleach.

I have been keeping him clean and warm. Handiling him most every day. He is getting much stronger now.

Hes about 4 1/5 feet long very pretty. I dont have a camera so I cant take pictures.

My biggets problem is he isnt eating. I have tried everything I can think of. I love this guy to death and dont want to lose him.


Need advice. Please help.
 
Balls are sometimes prone to go off feed. When they're stressed from bad living conditions it makes that tendency worse. Add to that, if it is a male, then many are not feeding now anyway due to the seasonal changes.
I bought an adult female about 15 years ago from a bad situation, 4 feet long, living in a 10 gallon tank with plastic carpeting that was covered with loose ventral scales. She refused food for 6 months and three days after I brought her home. I still have her though and also have a couple of her daughters.

You can try various things, but it may be a waiting game.
Live mice, white, brown, small, large. The same with rats. Gerbils sometimes get them started too. Often live will spark an interest when dead is completely refused. Sometimes though with a stressed snake a live rodent just scares them. I try stunned in these cases. The mouse still kicks and moves to draw attention, but doesn't actually walk around or on the snake.
I'd give him at least a full week of isolation (no handling or anything) in a clean cage at the proper temps with a hide box before I tried him again.
Last resort would be assist feeding him if he's losing weight. He will not appreciate this at all.

I know of some breeders who have noticed a dose of flagyl resulting in a stimulation of the appetite.
The female I mentioned earlier finally began eating with a live fuzzy mouse of all things. After six months, I was really getting concerned. It was sort of funny watching this four foot snake eat a fuzzy, but she followed it with an adult mouse and was back on feed after that.
 
Great info Clay. I will just add, try feeding it in the dark. Some balls, especially wild caught adults are very much more likely to eat in the dark.
 
That is too bad that someone would treat something that way, but they do. Unfortunatly we can't save them all , but thank God when we save the ones we do!! Hopefully your snake will be fine. You really do need to give it some "alone time" and hopefully it will start eating and make a full recovery.
 
Ryan, the advice given by Clay and Evan is right on the money. Give him the time undisturbed, and don't try feeding every day, give a few days in between each attempt. Only disturb him at all to check his water or do a quick spot-clean if need be.

It's so nice to see folks that care enough to try taking on needy critters, good for you. :)
 
:wavey: Kudos to you for taking the snake, even though it was in such bad shape!

Nice going!
 
Thanks for the advice.

I haven’t disturbed him since Saturday morning when I changed out the water and paper towels.

I will leave him alone for a while and see what happens.

Another question.

I haven’t bothered to place anything but paper towels and 2 cereal boxes in the tank. Water in the center. One side is around 80-85 the other side is around 85-90. He stays on the cooler side. It also has the smaller box for him.

He doesn’t have a bad odor anymore. I did however get a chance to handle a healthy ball python last weekend. He was about the same length but was much thicker than mine. I also got the impression that the other snake had a great deal of muscle tone and strength. I get no such impression from my snake.

If he doesn’t eat within the next 7 days I am taking him to a vet. At this point I don’t care what it cost.

Anyway thanks for the advice, I will keep you updated on his progress.
 
Yea

He came out of his hide lastnight.

Hes never been outta that box since I have had him without me taking him out.

He got a drink of water too.

Im very happy. :)
 
Ball Pythons

Just to add, Ball Pythons not eating this time of year is a common problem all over. Luckily for us we have never had that problem and have looked and researched and found this from the people at NERD in an interview on kingsnake.com. I looked for it on goolge but could not find it. They stated that the overhead light (clamp light, light bulb) cuts the humidity and causes the Ball not to eat. After I read that I realized that the answer was already here. I had been overlooking it. We have always used fluorecent lighting on them and never had a problem. Since knowing this we have been able to get wild caughts eating better and faster and have been able to help other Ball Pythons get back on track with their eating schedule.

I will keep looking for the interview and post it on this thread when I find it again
 
Rycheck said:
Yea

He came out of his hide lastnight.

Hes never been outta that box since I have had him without me taking him out.

He got a drink of water too.

Im very happy. :)
Click to expand...

Aw, glad to hear he's perking up!!! Keep us posted on how he does! :)
 
scalesnstuff said:
Just to add, Ball Pythons not eating this time of year is a common problem all over. Luckily for us we have never had that problem and have looked and researched and found this from the people at NERD in an interview on kingsnake.com. I looked for it on goolge but could not find it. They stated that the overhead light (clamp light, light bulb) cuts the humidity and causes the Ball not to eat. After I read that I realized that the answer was already here. I had been overlooking it. We have always used fluorecent lighting on them and never had a problem. Since knowing this we have been able to get wild caughts eating better and faster and have been able to help other Ball Pythons get back on track with their eating schedule.

I will keep looking for the interview and post it on this thread when I find it again
Click to expand...

Humm.

I have lights on my tank. I shall remove them and see if it helps. The lights are off most of the time as I like to keep an eye on the temperature of the tank at all times. So whan Im not home the lights are off.

He was out of his hide again last night moving around his tank. I will try and feed him tonight. I hope he is out because he is looking for food.

Its hard to resist the urge to pick him up, but I havent touched him since 2/20/2006 following some advice posted earlier in this thread.
 
I notice mine tend to be "out and about" a lot more when it's time to eat, so hopefully it's a very good sign that he is hungry and ready to eat. :)

And I KNOW how hard it is to resist holding him, lol.....but once you've gotten him on an established feeding schedule, you will be able to hold him more. Just remember to not handle him for at least 24 hours after he does eat.
 
Weighing

Are you weighing the snake and tracking that as well. If there is no drop in weight then I would not worry as bad, if there is a rapid drop you will need to address it quick.
 
Let me clear that up. Yes it is imprtant to get her eating before that happens, but in my experience if you wait till she starts losing weight then it goes down hill very fast.
 
coyote said:
Ryan, are you using something other than lights to provide heat?
Click to expand...


Aye. I have 2 under the tank heaters controlled by dimmer switches. I was using the light more for me really. I had a setup ready before I went looking for a pet.

Hes really getting active at night now. The little sucker almost escaped last night. If it hadnt been for the screwdriver I left on top of the tank hitting the floor no telling where he could have run off too. Hes way stronger than I thought.

Any way off to the pet shop to grab a few small rats to see if hes ready to eat. Wish me luck.
 
:party: Yea thats right its :party: time.

He ate. I had to get a small rat. They were out of mice.

Soon as I dropped the rat in he looked like the flash. Never would have thought he could move that fast. :shrug01:

So Im one happy camper now.

Thanks for all the advice guys.
 
Yay! i'm so pleased, you are such a good snake rescuer to take the poor thing. I wish all snakes could end up with such great owners! best of luck!
 
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