need some advice!

helterskelter · 06-29-13, 01:59 AM

I just adopted two 6 year old ball pythons (brothers) The problem is, that one is healthier than the other one...

Helter is really skinny, as in you can see his spine and feel his ribs and has flaky skin

Skelter is active and healthy ect.

fed both yesterday,in separate boxes, 3 mice each, Skelter got them quick and easy while Helter was struggling to take em down, but he did manage in the end...

previous home said they were being fed once a month, 3 mice each...

So I'm trying to work out why Helter is so skinny if they have both been eating the same? Maybe there's something the previous home isn't tell me?

Lankyrob · 06-29-13, 05:49 AM

Are they kept together in the same enclosure? They really should be eating rats rather than mice, how old are they? What heat and humidity are they kept at?

The more info you can give the better response we can give

Mikoh4792 · 06-29-13, 09:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lankyrob

Are they kept together in the same enclosure? They really should be eating rats rather than mice, how old are they? What heat and humidity are they kept at?

The more info you can give the better response we can give

Since he mentioned feeding them in separate containers, I would guess he is housing them together.

franks · 06-29-13, 09:40 AM

Hey. Welcome to the forum! Ideally, one prey for one feeding, appropriately sized (with a width of 1.5 times the width of the thickest part of your snake) is best for your animal. They can be fed more often, especially the emaciated one. I feed my young ones big meals once every 7-10 days and would feed adults once every 14 days. Make sure your snakes have a hotspot of around 90*F so they can digest their meals, and a cooler end of the enclosure they can retreat to to thermoregulate.

Chu'Wuti · 06-29-13, 10:52 AM

If the underfed snake is having difficulty, I would weigh him and then give him 15-20% of his body weight, no more. He will do better with smaller but decently substantial meals every week than with a huge meal that he has difficulty getting down and that makes him very lethargic. It's also healthier for them to eat somewhat smaller meals more often than to eat huge meals less often, as the smaller meals put on muscle better, whereas the larger meals put on fat more. You want to end up with a healthy snake.

The healthy snake can be fed 10-15% of its body weight; about 10% is a maintenance amount of food.

I would also switch them to rats; feeding 6 or more mice/week--it will likely need to increase as they grow--my biggest ball python would be eating 10 jumbo adult mice [at 50 grams each] per week all by himself if I was still feeding mice to him--is going to get more and more expensive. Also, many people consider rats more nutritious in terms of food quality.

The basking spot can range from 88 deg F to about 94 deg. F.

They should not be housed together. Housing them together can cause stress, and stress may be contributing to the underweight snake's condition.

helterskelter · 06-30-13, 05:45 AM

Thank you guys!

So at first i thought that it might be stress from keeping them together as well, but they're curled up together in one corner, and the previous home said that they've always been living together and that she didn't want to separate them...

The problem with feeding them rats is that most shops I'v been into since I'v been in Berlin don't sell rats, only mice and hamsters

Ill find some scales and weigh them both in and feed them 15% (skelter)-20%(helter) of their body weight...

Would breeding my own rats or mice be worth it?

Mikoh4792 · 06-30-13, 05:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by helterskelter

Thank you guys!

So at first i thought that it might be stress from keeping them together as well, but they're curled up together in one corner, and the previous home said that they've always been living together and that she didn't want to separate them...

The problem with feeding them rats is that most shops I'v been into since I'v been in Berlin don't sell rats, only mice and hamsters

Ill find some scales and weigh them both in and feed them 15% (skelter)-20%(helter) of their body weight...

Would breeding my own rats or mice be worth it?

The reason they are curled up together is because they want the same hotspot and same coolspot. They are living in the same enclosure so they have to use the same space.

Why do you care what the previous owner wants? They are your pets now so if the previous owner doesn't want them separated she shouldn't have sold them. It's up to you now to decide how to take care of them.

You can breed your own rats but if you don't want to there are many sites or breeders who ship frozen rats.

smy_749 · 06-30-13, 07:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by helterskelter

Thank you guys!

So at first i thought that it might be stress from keeping them together as well, but they're curled up together in one corner, and the previous home said that they've always been living together and that she didn't want to separate them...

The problem with feeding them rats is that most shops I'v been into since I'v been in Berlin don't sell rats, only mice and hamsters

Ill find some scales and weigh them both in and feed them 15% (skelter)-20%(helter) of their body weight...

Would breeding my own rats or mice be worth it?

Hi, the previous owner was a moron. Just separate them and see what happens. They won't miss each others company I promise.

Luis A. Reyes · 06-30-13, 08:15 AM

Feed him f/t mice so that way he doesn't get bit and get some injuries. Also his skin may be flaky because of a stuck shed, if it is a stuck shed be sure to soak him in warm water for a bit. Make sure to watch him too, and just assist him by rubbing the shed that hasn't come off. I hope I helped in some way.

**Aaron_S** · 06-30-13, 08:35 AM

1. The flakey skin is stuck shed from a previous shed cycle. You need to increase the humidity.

2. House them separately. Snakes are solitary creatures so them "curled up" isn't for companionship. It's wrong to think they have some sort of bond because they don't. If snakes could bond because they are brothers or whatever then breeders would never be able to breed siblings/mother to son/father to daughter etc.

3. You can order rats online.

Mikoh4792 · 06-30-13, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by helterskelter

I just adopted two 6 year old ball pythons (brothers) The problem is, that one is healthier than the other one...

Helter is really skinny, as in you can see his spine and feel his ribs and has flaky skin

Skelter is active and healthy ect.

fed both yesterday,in separate boxes, 3 mice each, Skelter got them quick and easy while Helter was struggling to take em down, but he did manage in the end...

previous home said they were being fed once a month, 3 mice each...

So I'm trying to work out why Helter is so skinny if they have both been eating the same? Maybe there's something the previous home isn't tell me?

I wouldn't listen to the previous owner on anything because of these things.

1. She sold you one in bad condition(skinny, bad shed)

2. She housed them together.

3. She tries to control your way of keeping snakes even after selling them to you because of her own selfish reasons to not have them separated.