Rescue BP--need some info

[Chu'Wuti]

Hi, everyone,

A friend brought me a young BP after her son was arrested for dealing drugs. She asked me to "foster" the BP for a few months while her son is in rehab because none of his friends would take it and her husband cannot stand snakes. She apologized profusely because she knows I'm dealing with a health problem right now, but she had no where else to turn. So OK, I'm fostering--actually, rescuing!--this poor baby.

I say rescuing because this BP is supposedly 6-months old, but it looks pretty much like a hatchling to me, and it weighs only 95 grams. Her son was keeping the baby in a 10-gallon aquarium. It does have an under tank heat pad; that's about the only good thing I can say about its husbandry. The water bowl was not only completely dry, but it was also covered with what appears to be cat fur, had feces in it also covered with fur, and the fur was matted and dried on in a way that suggested to me that the bowl hadn't been washed in God knows how long and had been dry for at least a week if not longer. I said, "You didn't empty that water bowl for the trip over here--that's been dry for awhile," and she said, "Yeah, it looks like it's been dry for quite awhile."

After I washed the bowl and put fresh water in for the baby, he came and drank immediately and for a very long time. That was one very thirsty snake. I was told that her son had been feeding him live prey because he "won't eat pre-killed prey." Other than clearly being very dehydrated, he's in remarkably good shape. Only a little bit of stuck shed, which has now come off.

I've spent the last week getting the temps & humidity right and letting the baby adjust. Tonight, without any hesitation at all, he ate 2 rat pinkies for a total of 13 gms (they were what I had in my freezer that were of an appropriate size, as my own BP eats much larger rats). So F/T prey is not going to be a problem, and I'll be ordering larger frozen prey items for him.

What I'm wondering is--What's the typical weight of a hatchling BP? I swear this guy cannot be six months old--either that, or this poor baby has been nearly starved for six months! Yet he does not exhibit the signs of emaciation that I've seen in pictures--with spine standing way out and ribs showing--though he certainly is very light. I'm thinking--hoping, actually--that she doesn't really know how long her son has had the baby and her "six months" is a rough guess, though I could be wrong.

The big relief is that he's eating, of course, but I'm really curious as to how close his current weight is to that of a typical/average hatchling weight. Anyone?

Thanks, Sandy

[Freebody]

im not a BP person myself,never had one and i dont know weight i could see by size if it was smaller but weight im way out in left feild. but surely nice of you to take it in although i hate the idea of you giving it back to this guy, sounds like hes much better of in your permanent care. if you need to give it back when he gets out maybe you could tell this guy to join are forum and we can all help him take the proper care of it.

[kayleegrace]

sounds like a good deed......well i have a bp and he is about a year old and is still very small....he is a boy and they tend to take longer to grow and dont get nearly as big as females, so my guess is that he is a boy, and just a little small like me little guy....i commend you for taking him in if you are anywhere close i would take him in a heartbeat...

[infernalis]

Kudos on the rescue effort, sounds like you have it under control.

Our BP was a rescue, love him to bits......

[Flatheadhunter3]

Sounds like a very lucky snake there. I hope that things continue successfully for you both. I plan to rescue one day also.

[citysnakes]

hey Sandy its good to see you around here rescuin' snakes and all and doing your thing. to answer your question, in my experience, i've had hatchlings anywhere from 45-80g but im sure that ball python hatchling weights are not limited to that range. i would assume that a 95g snake would only be a couple months old at most but i wouldnt doubt the possibility of a six month old ball python that has been seriously neglected to weigh that much. i cant remember exactly but for this year more than a few of my six monthers weighed over at least a few hundred grams and at eight months a few are over 500g. this is on a 5-7 day schedule of appropriately sized f/t rodents with a week off here and there.

hope this helps and good luck with the rescue!

[Chu'Wuti]

Hey, Julian, thanks! It's good to be back on, if even just for this. And thanks to all of you for taking the time to read this thread and respond.

Yeah, I knew I remembered my first BP weighing much more than 95 gm at six months, though I didn't pull out the paper records (never did get them computerized--my computer locked up on the program I tried to use).

I can tell you I was greatly relieved when this little guy--and Kayleegrace, I agree with you, this is probably a male, though I haven't tried popping him--ate so readily. I put the pinkie in front of his nose, two tongue flicks, and wham!

The kid had been keeping this little guy like he was a colubrid--not nearly enough humidity. Yet, as I said, he seems to be in remarkably good shape, and he doesn't have mites or any RI that I can tell so far, so things could be worse.

Maybe the kid will forget about his snake as he goes through rehab . . . we'll see.

Thanks again, everyone! Sandy

[Will0W783]

Congrats on rescuing him. I hope he does well for you; it sounds like you've done everything you need to. I would not give that animal back. A few weeks ago, I took in a BP from a guy whose son had gone off and left it with him for 5 months. The animal was not only dehydrated, but had multiple layers of eyecaps stuck on so badly they were dried and cracked and crystallized-looking, and stuck shed everywhere. It was supposed to be a year old but was the size of my 4-month old yellowbellies. She was a beautiful little snake and I was caring for her all night with soaks and ointment on the eyes and the next morning the kid called saying his dad had no right to give his snake away and he wanted it back. He called the cops on me and everything, so I had to give it back. I was so upset and devastated- poor little snake, I hope the kid did the right thing and got it care. I wish I didn't have to give it back; it was just a normal BP, but I wanted to get it better and give it a good life.

[infernalis]

I remember that Kim........

[Chu'Wuti]

Stuck eyecaps were one of the things I looked for (along with mites & signs of RI), but none! I was really amazed. A little it of stuck shed on the top of his head, a bit on the tip of his tail, and a little on his side--almost all of it has come off just fine with the increase in humidity.

I'm still really surprised at how good this little guy's condition is for the treatment he had.

Sandy

[mykee]

Wow Sandy, sounds like you're doing everything right. Just keep doing what you're doing, and I'm sure he'll get bigger and healthier.
As for hatchlings, they range (for me at least) from about 65-90g. This is also not hatling season, so he was most likely a (possibly) late '09 (OCt-Nov) baby.
Regardless, seems like he's thriving in your care.
Good work.

[Chu'Wuti]

Thanks, Mykee! I'm glad I found this forum when I first got my own BP--you guys have taught me a lot.

So if he's an Oct-Nov baby, he is five or six months old, but he sure hasn't grown.

I just cannot understand not feeding an animal in one's care . . .

The kid's mom is checking back with me pretty well for the kid. If he does want this snake back, it's going to be with lots of info, my phone numbers, this forum's access info, and strict instructions, but I have to say I'm nervous about it. *sigh* I didn't really want another normal male BP, but I may end up with one. I don't have high hopes for drug rehab, as I hear of many more failures than I hear of successes. Drugs and animals don't seem to mix well--at least, they evidently mix to the detriment of the animals, because those responsible for them lose too much mentally to take proper care of their responsibilities.

Well, that's months in the future. Right now, gotta keep this baby eating.

Thanks again, Mykee--I know when you and Julian tell me I'm doing something right, I'm OK!

Sandy

[infernalis]

Originally Posted by Chu'Wuti

Drugs and animals don't seem to mix well--at least, they evidently mix to the detriment of the animals, because those responsible for them lose too much mentally to take proper care of their responsibilities. Sandy

Very powerful true statement....