Sort of a rescue ...

[Charis]

Went to Montana to be with my husband's family for a few days and his best friend talked him into taking his neighbor's BP that the neighbor wanted to get rid of.
I just don't get people! We did come home with that BP and he's a bit rough. Guy had him on a mix of sand and gravel! It is supposed to be at least three years old but is about the size of a six month old or yearling. He's a little skinny, for his length but not starved looking or anything. No surprise he's got some stuck shed, somewhat surprising that it looks like only one shed and no retained eye caps. He's getting a sauna at the moment.

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/28845a171bf7dbdf53c5a522d552b7a4_zps638e4194.jpg

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/a79814a23d05ba713a4db1b881d8b835_zps0d586f79.jpg

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/305101fa7c739fae0f04392d7c371bc4_zps16ee6dca.jpg

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/25e6e1bddca27bbf0fa59cff868e8162_zps22f63a4b.jpg

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/b193f17cb860031c28bbc5a2808c36ec_zpsc09f565e.jpg

Neither of us are big BP fans, so we will probably keep him a few months, make sure he's eating, try to get some weight on him and make sure he's healthy and then try and find him a good home. Been saying "he" but no idea of the gender so far.
Sounded like he was eating fairly well for the guy and that he wasn't being short changed on feeding, so I'm not sure why he's kind of stunted size wise. Do you guys think he will stay really small if we get him eating well and he's otherwise healthy or do you think he will get closer to the usual size for a BP of a similar age eventually?

[wrecker45]

Good on you for giving/getting him a good home.

[sharthun]

Good on you for giving/getting him a good home.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^:)

[Charis]

Yikes! I just weighed the poor thing and it is 244 grams! I revise that, maybe the old owner was starving it.

[Mellik's mamma]

thank you for being a good person. i have no idea, but would hope "he" would grow. i don't know if there is a time limit for snakes when it comes to growing (like humans). to me, if he is taken care of by you, he should grown at least a little? i am not an expert though :( again, thanks so much for helping. he looks happy and relieved!!

[Jim Smith]

No "sort of" about it. That was a rescue plane and simple. That poor snake is lucky that you and your husband were willing to take it to finally give it the good home it deserves. Good on ya!

Jim Smith

[Hurrok]

Holy crap, only 244 grams? Yikes :( Sounds like this guy ate once a month....horrible. He should be closer to 1,000 grams by that age. Get him on rats asap and get him on a good feeding schedule. It will take time but he will eventually fill out and be a healthy boy. He looks okay besides the stuck shed though. It's great to see someone taking action in a situation like this :)

[Charis]

Yay! He ate today and has a nice little bump in his belly!

[wrecker45]

Good to hear. I think you are going to get attached and live happy ever after.

[Charis]

Got the little one out today for a weigh on an empty stomach and some pictures, the pictures didn't turn out too good though. But he's got all the stuck shed off and came in at 255 grams, an 11 gram gain over the day we got him, fairly decent progress there, so I'm happy about that!

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/15f1529a2cb0287fc2bb30ac740fb37b_zps9890ab0a.jpg

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/340e0662b57dacdd7fb2c1bf808c2531_zps1bd4891e.jpg

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/01a7530e94ffff320a762240bdc0344e_zps0f1f7377.jpg

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/b96ab7bee21e7322fa838b7432aecb81_zpsef7c868a.jpg

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/7e85137c2438e91c23961cca150e5b06_zps499f284a.jpg

[Mikoh4792]

Looking good

[Kera]

He's very gorgeous! And yeah...very skinny! Poor thing. Glad he's in good hands now. :)

[MizCandice]

Hes actually kinda pretty with those dark colors.. I'm sure he will thrive under your care and make some one ( maybe even you ;) ) very happy!

[guidofatherof5]

Good save.

[kelzerman]

omg he is so skinny! Thank god you got him. He is a looker ;)

[Charis]

He is kind of pretty, for a normal BP. So far he has eaten four times with us and is a super great eater! He realized that I was getting him a meal ready this last time I fed him even before I pulled the lid off his tub and he almost came clear out the tub to grab the F/T out of the tongs! Need to weigh him once he's digested this meal but I'm hoping for at least another 11 gram gain.

[vjdragonfly]

S/he is a beautiful BP, but definitely very underfed. I am sooo glad you rescued "him". I hope you you do not get attached you will find it a wonderful home. Would love to see update pictures before s/he goes :)

[Charis]

Took a new weight and some kind of crummy pictures tonight. He's been fed 7 times since we got him, will be 8 tomorrow and he was 244 grams the day we received him and came in at 311 grams empty tonight, a progress I'm pretty happy with. He finally has a bit of flesh over his bones and I don't feel so hesitant about handling him. I'm sure the feeling was probably an overreaction on my part but I didn't like handling him when we first got him, as I felt he was a little fragile. Here are the pictures.

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/923712df869734e15631d445f8586b75_zpsa9b5160b.jpg

He kept trying to check the camera out.
http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/9a661bbcb1beb3395a0c77c5cfbe6c51_zps5b146625.jpg

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/e7789ef19eae6c5087fe8e731178790d_zpse4feaca7.jpg

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/01f1d1884dfd1380a546aa2e3d958bf5_zps9fa11eb5.jpg

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/54dc3f4db679333e16160d6a312633a9_zps68caca0d.jpg

[Mikoh4792]

Great progress! Looks better now that the sheds all off and he's had some meals in him.

[Kera]

Awesome!! :)

[Lubeybooby]

You are a guys are good people. Keep on being awesome!

[Charis]

Well, just had a breeder friend who has a probe set by and she is 98% sure the BP is a female. Both popped and probed it but didn't want to try too hard, since it's still so skinny. So I guess now I will have to get used to saying 'she' instead.

[Charis]

New pictures (actually some decent ones!) and weight taken today. She is now up to 373 grams!

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/223338fdd99a090dfbb3a3821e5d2ffd_zpsfa23d847.jpg

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/00bedb3b3f9c0c2c949511de3c93c093_zpse98fdb7c.jpg

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/b2023ce78a2cf3a013f51224d38da006_zps6c011470.jpg

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/dd91f2dff6f99684c878e491904d8052_zps06fdd195.jpg

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/32cd26c03fc98deb0a38d1106567399a_zps90e23679.jpg

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/4c224452e815b06f6d4a84ebc64662d2_zps6109d1fb.jpg

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/8d517d3aa4f6707ffee1e830ec017b49_zpsac3ec81a.jpg

[sharthun]

Looking good!!! :)

[Teal]

She looks so much better! Good on ya for fixing her up (:

[Charis]

Thanks! Really lucked out, this girl has an insane feeding response! Not been hard to get weight on her at all.

[Hurrok]

Such a cutie! She's doing really well in your care, job well done! :)

[Charis]

Didn't take any pictures but weighed her again today and she is now up to 437 grams!

[Brylee1233]

Thats nice! It's really nice to see people saving nice animals like this :) ... Is she nippy or anything like that at all?

[Charis]

She is a little ... I guess you could call it cage aggressive ... She tends to think that every time the bin opens she is going to get fed and gets ready to strike anything that moves! She has not managed to bite me so far, although she has struck at me a few times. But once she is out of the cage, she realizes that she isn't getting fed and settles down in to typical calm BP behavior.

[Brylee1233]

Well thats nice I guess (?)... At least she isn't bity outside the cage :) ... Have you thought about hook training her? I have never done it, only heard about it... Maybe that will help her stop striking inside the cage... Or she just maybe really hungry still :p

[Charis]

Yeah, I'd prefer having to dodge strikes over a problematic eater! I have been hook training her a bit, I think its starting to help a little.

[Charis]

Took a new weight and some pictures today. She is up to 500 grams and feels very healthy now! Pardon the hairy couch, didn't realize how furry the fur balls had gotten it until I started to take pictures on it.

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/38ca7a373ca337fae7c5a2ef81375b3e_zps7338a52f.jpg

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/b8750fdd16df81ec801e52f23521ad4b_zps865eb338.jpg

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/96ae42416afc57ea3bb43e0656b40bc6_zps424104dc.jpg

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/1dc143f51443f3e4079e33697e23ecc4_zps7028587d.jpg

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/b3f353bd60f88b3e6efecb4880c7a12a_zpsfaa3cb9f.jpg

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/aec9c47b570075a5c6a27631c467ea6b_zps47d24391.jpg

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/c122423d63b4f705806d8ac53f49bb64_zpsc83a9a61.jpg

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/925cc27a4c220139641fcfe9094186ff_zpsee5c4895.jpg

[sharthun]

Looking good on that 'hairy' couch!

[Tsubaki]

Looking good :D So nice and dark.

[Sharlynn93]

normals have a special beauty! really starting to love mine! he is a momma's boy, though...both my bp's stay in a ball for anyone that holds them, but as soon as I take them, they unwind and crawl all over me! great job rehabilitating this one! hoping mine does just as well!

[dragonsblood]

How sad! It was awesome for you to take him in like that. The poor baby, probably needs some help shedding.

[Charis]

She has been adopted by a local family who are very thrilled by her.

[Tsubaki]

That's nice to hear!

[thinkbig317]

Great save!!! Already looking better!!! ;)