Trying to help a friend

[ineedsoap16]

My wife's friend obtained a bp from the same store i did about the same time at about the same size. She recently called for advice about her snake. It would only eat once a month and was shedding like a lizard in sections. She asked if I could take it for a little while and see if I could help. I got the snake last night and was horrified to see the condition. It is very obviously underfed and dehydrated. This snake is at best 1/2 the size of my bp of similar age. It was being kept in a 29 whick seems humongus for this size snake with enough heat to maybe heat a 10 gallon. I decided it would be best to switch tanks to a 15 with better heat and humidity and let it be for a day or two before I try to start feeding. It has some skin spots left from it's last shed so I think a swim may be in order. I have her at aroung 60% humidity and 86F on the hotside, 79F in the cool. I am gonna try and soak her tomorrow and feed later tomorrow night.

Any suggestions other than what I am trying?

[Chu'Wuti]

Raise the humidity. 60% is great most of the time for BPs, but not when they're having shed problems--or when they are in shed. Some of the experienced people on here raise their humidity to 100% when they see their BPs go blue. I raise my BP's humidity to at least 85% and he always has a complete shed.

You will hear different opinions regarding tank size for BPs. Some people feel they are much better off in smaller tanks; other people do not feel tank size is an issue. I'm one of the latter. I keep my BP in a 55-gallon natural vivarium. With two hides and lots of plants, he is doing very well; he's been in it for over one year now. I don't think tank size is the real problem here.

If your friend is following the pet stores recommendations for feeding her BP, that would explain the lack of growth and failing condition. Pet stores underfeed their animals; they call it "maintenance feeding," but I call it cheap and cruel. Just MHO. Anyway, back to your friend's BP:

Make sure it has a bowl of water it can get into to soak. Also, get a pillowcase (or burlap bag, if you can) and soak it in water. Put the snake in the bag and tie it shut and leave it for 3-4 hours (in the enclosure so it doesn't get chilled). When you take it out, you may find that the remaining shed has come off.

As this snake is in poor health, don't let the cool side temps drop below 80 deg F even at night. Provide ambient temps of 80-85 during the day--lean towards the higher end of that range--and provide a basking area at 88-95, again aim for the warmer, not the cooler end of the range, or the BP could end up with a respiratory infection on top of its other problems, as its immune system is probably not functioning as well as it should be right now.

BTW, the temps I'm giving you are those recommended by Kevin McCurley in his book, The Complete Ball Python. In addition, a good general rule to follow for a sick snake or a snake that is dehydrated/in poor condition is raise temps & humidity, as it can breathe better at higher humidity, and you can maintain higher humidity better at higher temps. Simply put, "Warm air holds more moisture than cool air" (McCurlye, p. 67). In addition, any animal's immune system functions better at temps at the higher end of that animal's normal temperature range.

Don't try to feed her the same size prey item that you're feeding your BP, as she probably won't be able to take it. You might want to begin with a couple of rat pinkies, and if she keeps those down, give her something a little larger in a week. That's just my idea for what might be easiest for her (inexperienced) digestive system to handle at this time to get it kicked back into gear; others may have a different opinion.

Lots of luck--Hope she gets better fast. Keep us posted!