BRB Losing Scales? - Page 5

Snakesitter · 10-26-16, 09:09 PM

Good news! :-)

RAD House · 10-26-16, 09:21 PM

I am pulling for the little guy.

bigsnakegirl785 · 10-26-16, 09:56 PM

Good news! He kept it down and defecated today, just a few hours short of 7 days.

Bad news....he weighed in at 44 grams today. That's 20% of his body weight lost. At this point, he's eating, I'm just going to have to try to get him on larger prey ASAP. But unless he starts picking weight back up I'm afraid this may be the end of the line for him...the back half of his belly is so concave, and he's so skinny. If he continues to lose weight like this I don't want to make him suffer unnecessarily. I'm so upset about all of this. But other than keeping him eating I literally don't know what else to do. None of the vets around here are experienced enough to help with him and I'm not wasting money just make him suffer if nothing works.

dannybgoode · 10-26-16, 10:29 PM

Fingers crossed for you bsg. You're doing all you can. Hopefully he'll keep a few down in a row and start getting some weight on. Shame be struggles so much to eat wolsey being anywhere around shed time as this causes forced breaks in the feeding (not always a bad thing of course in this case undesirable).

I'm sure you have thought of this but just in case-do you have any good zoos round your area who may have access to specialist vets etc?

bigsnakegirl785 · 10-26-16, 10:42 PM

Yeah his next shed is due in a week and a half, so hopefully he's got time to digest this next meal before that happens. He usually poops within a week.

No zoos anywhere in the state I know of. If I lived in Raleigh, there is an extensive exotic vet system there and they could help me but it's a 4 hour drive and the drive there might be too much for him. I think the vet I usually use has ties to the vets out there but I'm not sure how much they could help without actually seeing him. I can get ahold of him again after the weekend and see what he thinks. He doesn't feel comfortable with it himself, and I never could get ahold of the other vet in town.

Albert Clark · 10-27-16, 05:54 AM

Wow, it's great that he is holding down his meal! Did you consider supplementing his recovery with tube feedings and using a critical care formula? The liquid nutrition would be easier on his gastrointestinal system. Also the online vets that Reptile Magazine offers may prove helpful. Congrats on getting him on the road to recovery.

bigsnakegirl785 · 10-27-16, 06:25 PM

I did but I had someone(s?) tell me it wouldn't be effective with boas because one of the nutrient levels were too high or something...I know boas have much more delicate systems than pythons. Like I said, I'll see what the vet thinks. Whether I should just continue what I'm doing, add supplements, or whatever.

bigsnakegirl785 · 11-04-16, 12:06 AM

Well Morzan ate 8 days ago today, and there's no sign of a bulge anywhere in his body. I've dug around in his bedding multiple times and haven't found any feces, just a few urates. So, either he's holding onto it and used so much of it it isn't leaving a bulge, or I've somehow missed it in his bedding. Either way, I don't think there's a danger of him regurging any time soon. He's been curling up in a hide rather than exploring lately, so hopefully that means he'll be shedding soon. I plan on changing his bedding again today or tomorrow as well, just to make sure his bedding stays nice and clean.

bigsnakegirl785 · 11-09-16, 09:58 PM

Well Morzan never did poop - I've dug through the bedding many times and by now it would be growing mold. He also does not appear to be going into a shed cycle, so I do not feel comfortable holding off on feeding him any longer. I fed him a 4 gram fuzzy this morning, about 2 weeks after his last meal. Good news - he hasn't lost a single gram, whereas last time he went 2 weeks he lost 7-8 grams in weight. He hasn't gained any, either, though. Another interesting thing I noticed is that the mouse hardly left a bulge at all despite being an average-sized 4 gram fuzzy. Usually even 2 gram fuzzies leave a huge bulge right after he eats. He definitely ate it, the mouse is nowhere to be found and the bulge is there, just smaller than usual.

Oh - also. I did the flip test with him again (the 3rd time thus far if I've been counting right), and he actually almost managed to flip all the way onto his belly! I got too excited and set him in the bucket to do his bedding, but I'm sure he would have succeeded if I had waited. I'm hoping that means he gaining some strength.

SnoopySnake · 11-09-16, 10:44 PM

Awesome news!! I hope he comes around for you! Maybe there just wasn't much for himto poop out so he's holding onto it for next time? Lol no idea. I'm glad he seems to be doing ok. Hope he keeps this meal down for you.

bigsnakegirl785 · 11-09-16, 10:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SnoopySnake

Awesome news!! I hope he comes around for you! Maybe there just wasn't much for himto poop out so he's holding onto it for next time? Lol no idea. I'm glad he seems to be doing ok. Hope he keeps this meal down for you.

I'm thinking he probably used virtually all of the nutrients in that mouse, and he either will have a minuscule poop later (which will probably be bigger with this second mouse in his system), or he's just holding onto it like you said.

I am kind of interested in why the mouse left a small bulge, though. Before it looked like he swallowed a football even with a 2 gram fuzzy and that's when he weighed ~10 grams heavier. I do still think he's gained some length from when I first got him, but he's so thin right now he's looking even longer than he probably is. He still looks incredibly thin but not bloated or anything so it's weird the mouse bulge looks so much smaller.

I cannot stand seeing him in this state, I'm fervently hoping I can get him to improve and I don't want to put myself or another snake through this if I can. I thought having a picky ball python was bad, this is way worse. I'll take him maintaining weight again and gaining strength as a good thing.

bigsnakegirl785 · 11-11-16, 02:47 PM

Ugh OF COURSE the day I feed him he starts turning milky. :/ He's over a week late so I was starting to think he wouldn't shed. Well guess I'll have to give him time and feed him again. He's kept a 4 gram fuzzy down before (the feeding before this one), so I know it isn't the prey size.

bigsnakegirl785 · 12-11-16, 01:54 PM

I fed him and he actually pooped this time, he's holding his weight steady and gaining more strength. I flipped him over and he was able to roll into a tight ball where before the most he'd do is roll over.

He never did shed, which is unusual. In the entire time I've had him he pretty much shed every month on the dot. I never did see him go fully blue, but he was slightly milky for a few days. He looks like normal right now.

He continues to be docile, but aware of his surroundings. He's acting more like when I first got him, where he'd do nothing but ball up when I picked him up. He's still active at night, though, saw him crawling around last night when I came in to check on the temps in the snake room. My new space heater is heating the room really well, even at 18F it was a cozy 80-85F with no cold drafts going through the snake tubs.

SnoopySnake · 12-11-16, 08:00 PM

I was just wondering about your little guy today.

glad to hear that he seems to be doing better!

bigsnakegirl785 · 12-12-16, 12:27 AM

Here are recent photos of him, he's looking so bad, it's hard to believe he's maintaining weight now looking at these pictures.