Saved this guy

Mack0331 · 03-27-14, 11:24 PM

This guy was in Craigslist the owner just wanted it gone. Picked him up for 100 enclosure and all. I have NEVER seen any shed issues as bad as this !!

Mack0331 · 03-27-14, 11:24 PM

Here's a closer view

Mack0331 · 03-27-14, 11:26 PM

I can't figure out how to post more then one pic at a time sorry.

MCB · 03-28-14, 02:04 AM

Well done for taking the little guy in

Me too, never seen anything that bad before, just hope there's no lasting complications, good luck.

Great Mormon · 03-28-14, 02:17 AM

a good soak should encourage the shed to come off quicker. Poor guy, I hope he'll get nursed back to good health soon!

Starbuck · 03-28-14, 04:12 AM

Lady bug has some great tips for working with gtps with shed issues that is less stressful for them than soaking.... hopefully she will comment so I dont mess it up,

But the general idea is she puts them in a plastic box with a perch, and warm water in the bottom of the box, then covers it allow in ng for steam and vapour to so all the hard work.

Mack0331 · 03-28-14, 08:06 AM

The story was the guys brother have him the snake as payment for a debt and told him it was worth a lot more then it was. The guys brother didn't even have it in a enclosure just had it up on a curtain rod. This guy went out and bought a zoomed set up for it and everything he just knew nothing about snakes and didn't know how to take care of it or deal with the shedding issues so he gave it up me for 100. I'm more of a big snake guy but I couldn't let it suffer in poor conditions so I picked it up. A lot of people on a local reptile group wanted it but they all said the guy was shady on the phone and were scared to go get it. Me being a former marine kinda got volunteered to go get it lol. Guy turned out up be a nice guy he just knew nothing about snakes.

Big_V · 03-28-14, 08:30 AM

If I may be of some help I would like to give a few suggestions from my experience with the species.

First, nice job getting it out of the situation it was in.

Please post your temps, humidity lighting schedule etc, it helps a lot in settling in new animals.

In terms of rescuing chondros, I would first off quarantine that animal away from anything else in your collection or home. Just in case it carries a parasite load with it. As the source of the snake will never be confirmed assume it is full of everything bad.

Also, this snake is not just suffering from bad sheds but by the pics is severely dehydrated. Bump the humidity up for at least 24 hours before the soak in my opinion, this will help loosen the sheds well enough before letting it have a soak. Get a towel or something around that glass cage to reduce some of the visual stress. Sometimes when an animal is in this bad a shape you can bring on RI very quickly if you soak for too long and the water temp is too low. Right now the amount of stress on that snakes body is pretty high and handling, putting in a bin with water may be a recipe for RI disaster. If the core temp of the animal hasnt reached it's daily high and you put it in cold water, that animal will not be able to warm up as easily, hence will sit under the heat longer, and dehydrate again.

My first priority would be to make sure this animal has a LONG COOL drink of water and has a massive water bowl that is changed daily. They drink from bowls no matter what people say, all of mine do and daily. Cool temps can make a snake sick, but too warm and dehydrated usually means death.

That setup it is in now is not going to work long term, driftwood is not a good perch material and also has large amounts of surface space for bacteria to grow. I would go with paper towels on the bottom for now, they will hold humidity and easily changed for no cost until the animal gets in better shape.

I dont check this site often so PM me if you have any questions.

**Tsubaki** · 03-28-14, 09:07 AM

aw poor guy, i hope he recovers quickly

drumcrush · 03-28-14, 09:20 AM

Nice save, good luck!

GUITARZAN509 · 03-30-14, 06:49 AM

Besides soaking it, you can also put it in a damp pillow case for awhile, that usually does the trick also, great job on the save, some people just should not own a pet let alone a reptile

sharthun · 03-30-14, 08:03 AM

Kudos for the rescue! Best of luck with the recovery!

Mack0331 · 03-31-14, 12:08 PM

He's doing pretty good. Still a lot of shed stuck to him but he is getting better. Got a new home for him set up.

nyjon · 06-10-14, 01:37 PM

Nice save. Hope he is doing. $100 is a steal

Vysathi · 06-10-14, 02:24 PM

Wow. I'm really glad you were able to go get him. He looks like he's in really bad shape in the first set of pictures you posted. Additionally, it looks to me (could be wrong) like there's more than one shed stuck on him in spots.... Keep us up to date on his condition! Hope he regains his strength soon!