I have a bit of extra space and extra cash at the moment, so I offered to take in rescues from my community.
This is Keiko. He is 3 and was brought to me by a family that had lost interest. When he got here he had multiple layers of stuck shed. He’s looking much better with proper humidity, but still has wrinkly eyes/stuck eye caps. I just want to be sure that there’s nothing I should do but wait for his next shed.
He also appears pretty malnourished. I can feel each of his ribs. He’s 700g at ~3.5-4’. I’m aware of refeeding syndrome, but am unsure how to address it in a python. He gobbled up a medium FT rat soon after he came to me. Is going back to feeding him once a week appropriate?
These seem manageable so I’m trying to avoid the vet to save cash for noodles in more dire straights.
Attached are photos if him; one they sent me, another of him post humidity, and one of his eye.
First off, thank you for taking in the little guy.
If he’s already eaten for you then that’s not too bad of a sign yet. I would maybe wait the 10 days between the first couple of meals just to make sure he doesn’t have a regurge, but these photos aren’t the worst I’ve seen for a BP rescue.
Sometimes BPs can be a little bit fussy about food and he may turn his nose up for a week or two after this meal while he settles in. It’s kind of like a starvation response but then when they’re digesting they start feeling like something is amiss.
Have you already given him a soak? You can offer 2x a week without stressing him out too much. And then let him slither through a damp washcloth in your hands to hopefully get any other stuck shed off.
It’s a bit difficult to tell from the photos, but I feel like the 1st and 2nd photo has me more concerned about the shape of his nose. It looks pretty swollen. The 3rd photo looks much better but I’m not sure if it’s maybe just the angle? This is something that can happen when they get a double layer of stuck skin on the snout. If it was swollen and is better now then that’s a great sign. Otherwise I would try to carefully check his mouth for infections just in case as well.
The eye is a tough call from the photo. They almost look more like some dehydration to me than stuck caps. If he was my little guy I’d offer a couple of soaks to give him a chance to hydrate. And hopefully after a few good meals, soaks and his next shed the problem should correct itself. But if he still has trouble shedding eye caps for you with the correct humidity and the soaks then you may need to consult someone to help remove the eye caps if the washcloth trick didn’t help.
Surprisingly he has a super strong food drive. I will be sure to wait the full 10 days between the next few feedings.
I have given him two soaks. He didn’t like it much at first, but after a few minutes in the steam he loved it was hard to get him out. I’ll attach a picture of his first spa day.
I didn’t even notice his nose! Great catch. I’ll take a better picture of it in the morning. He also seems to have a bit of a scar on his crown, but I can’t quite tell. I’ll do my best to check his mouth for an. Infection in the morning. Unfortunately, picture 2 was after picture 3)
I lied. I got curious and couldn’t help myself. Here are some photos of his snoot.
I didn’t feel comfortable looking inside his mouth. If you think it still looks concerning in these photos, I’ll either take him to the vet, or to my local shop to have them teach me how to do it properly.
Also, I have spent lots of time with him and I haven’t noticed any strained or whistling breathing, like he would have if his nostrils were full of shed or if the swelling was causing trouble breathing.
Awesome job on those photos!
If there was swelling before it definitely isn’t there in these photos. So getting that nasty shed off definitely helped.
Also great eyeshots. The left eye does look like there’s an eye cap still. The right still looks more like dehydration to me.
There does look to be a scar there. It could have been from rubbing and trying to get out of the enclosure. That can also cause swelling on the nose as well.
I just wanted to throw in this suggestion, something that was suggested to me that I tried yesterday. I took a pillowcase cover, the kind with a zipper, and I soaked it in very warm/hot water. The I squeezed out about half the water but it was still very wet. I put the BP in it and zipped it up. I put it in a tub with a lid and put the tub partially on the heat mat. After about 30 minutes I removed the BP and the stubborn shed on its head and neck had come off! I was amazed. I had been working with this guy for a few weeks but as most bps are, he is extremely head and neck shy so I was fighting a losing battle with his stuck shed. This method worked beautifully for me so you might want to try it sometime if you ever run into a stubborn situation!
No not hand scalding hot but just really nice and warm. And if you put the tub partially on a heat mat it will stay warm enough for him. I believe this method is less stressful than putting the snake in water. Maybe. But others may disagree……
Awww, that poor baby! @nstanley, thank you so much for takdling him in and dedicating so much time and care towards him.
Christina, thank you so much for all the wonderful information and support. Caron, I love the pillowcase tip.
Maybe I’m feeling extra emotional today, but I have to say that, reading this thread, my heart is just so thankful for all of you and people like you in this community.
If you have a thermometer, I would go no higher than 86-88f. Anything over that can potentially cause problems if they can’t regulate temperature. So a heat pad set to that 88 is a great spot to have part of the tub on.
Also as Caron said, squeeze out the case first. Make sure it’s not leaving a lot of water in the tub because the weight of the wet fabric can hold them down in the water.
Yes absolutely make sure there is no standing water in the tub at all. But the pillow case thingy needs to be kinda like a wet towel or wash cloth that’s Not dripping water. Just wet. Also yes be mindful of the heat. But by the time you twist out the excess water and get the animal into it and zipped up, the cover will have cooled off some.
Let us know if it helps any. If you do still have to do a little coaxing, the shed should slide right off…….
Awesome! I do have a thermometer, I just didn’t want to assume.
Thanks so much! I’m actually headed to go pick up some poorly cared for noodles from a “breeder”. There’s 4 and the majority look like they have pretty bad stuck shed. I’ll be sure to try this trick!
They look pretty rough. One has a bad head wobble, another has a stubby tail, the third has a kink in its spine, and the fourth is just super emaciated and dehydrated. If it’s alright, I’ll share some pictures once I get home (about two hours from now).
I plan to give them a soak when I get home; first with clean water, then with a few drops of dawn once I. Unfortunately I’m out of Nix, but I’ll try to find some. I didn’t see any mites or eggs, but that doesn’t mean they’re not there.
Thankfully I got my first rack today. It will help with quarantining and keeping my fiance sane by not filling the place with enclosures.
Ooof. hopefully the wobble is stress and muscle weakness related and some good food can help improve it. The kinked one… if it’s closer towards the first 3rd of the snake I would definitely try to offer smaller meals just to make sure he can get them down well, or if it’s a severe kink might be good to do that for now regardless.
I might not get back to this til tomorrow morning, so I’d focus on getting them settled in. I’d still take a few photos for records and such regardless, but no worries about posting them here much later.
If you’re worried for mites, and honestly with that poor care, I’d worry about what else they can have… I’d definitely try to keep them as far away from all your other guys as possible. Because unless you confirm it’s a spider complex morph like champagne or spider with a wobble, that can also be a sign of something like IBD/arenavirus as well.
I didn’t get a good look at the kink, I kinda wanted to get outta there. This one is from a clutch that he hatched, and I’m thinking, based on the conditions of the current snakes, incubation temps dropped or something else happened. If I am feeding smaller meals, should I feed more at once, or more frequently?
Yeah, I’m hoping that with some proper husbandry his wobble is reduced. He said the genetics are Bumblebee Freeway, which after seeing it, I would kind of agree.
