Question about a 'stunted' Burm

Norm66 · 12-11-11, 07:40 PM

A friend of mine has a 9 year old albino Burm named Malikai. He was kept in what Shannon called 'deplorable, unbelievable conditions' until she rescued him this past May or June. You could count ribs and had a ton of stuck shed and eye caps on him. I'm not sure of the exact details, but obviously he wasn't fed anything like properly and was probably not housed well either. Thankfully he doesn't have a bunch of scars from live rats or anything. I haven't measured him but I don't think he's much over six or seven feet long.

For all he's been through he's remarkably docile. Puppy dog tame as Brian Barczyk would say. He's nearly doubled in girth since Shannon brought him home. He eats pretty large rats like a champ and sheds normally now.

Here's a pic of my wife, Becky, holding him Friday. This is only the 2nd big snake she's ever held (Shannon's other Burm, 2 year-old Merlin was the 1st) and I am quite proud of her.

My question is about the 'stunting'. With him being 9 already and not very large by Burm standards, how much bigger will he likely get? Will an abused snake exposed to better conditions down the line ever fully recover?

Just curious, my wife asked me, I didn't know the answer so I thought I'd ask the experts.

Jay · 12-11-11, 08:06 PM

That's horrible, why do people buy stuff they cant handle, kudos to your friend.

For future reference keep lg constrictors of neck. All wee need is a death deliverd from a snake to it's keeper.

red ink · 12-11-11, 08:18 PM

Yes it will get bigger if given sustained proper care.... how much bigger is anybody's guess?

Norm66 · 12-11-11, 08:38 PM

Jay, thanks for the concern, but you'll have to take my word for it that my wife was in no danger. First, his tail had just come up off the chair and I took just a second to snap a pic and also there were 4 of us in the room at the time. I would never in a million years put my wife in danger. Also, Shannon has a hard & fast two-person rule for her Sav, both Burms and the boa constrictor.

Red Ink, pretty much what I thought. No telling really I suppose.

Jay · 12-11-11, 08:39 PM

That is great to hear.

alessia55 · 12-11-11, 08:45 PM

Poor baby! I'm glad she's in better hands now. I'm sure she'll fatten up and grow. She still has many years in her, so who knows how much catching up she'll do.

**millertime89** · 12-12-11, 01:46 AM

I honestly don't know. I've never read any accounts of something similar, usually its a 2 or 3 year old snake that was severely underfed and they usually catch up eventually, I'm not sure how a 9 year old burm will fare.

Norm66 · 12-13-11, 06:05 AM

Thanks for the input. I appreciate it.

I spent an hour or so researching the subject and came up with basically the same thing as in this thread. I wonder if maybe he's a small-ish Burm to begin with on top of being stunted. But obviously only time will tell.

shaunyboy · 12-13-11, 07:18 AM

if you take away the bit where it says he's 9 years old and just look at him,he looks healthy and in proportion for a young burm

how sure are you that he's 9 year old mate ?

even taking into account his previous bad conditions he's tiny !

any slow starters feeding wise i've had,usually caught up size wise around 3 to 4 years old

if he truely is 9 years old he is incedibley small.

it will be interesting to see how this guy grows over the next year or two,now he's in good care

please keep us updated with his progress mate

cheers shaun

Jacob1750 · 12-13-11, 07:40 AM

I had a berm from the time I was little until about a year ago. He was kept in the best conditions and fed large rats. When he was seven I noticed he was still a bit small. I started letting explore out in the yard more often(supervised of course) and it was like he hit a huge growth spert! My suggestion is to continue giving him the proper care and let him get some exercise and he'll get massive. My berm got to be huge before he passed from old age a year ago. Good luck with your berm bro!

Norm66 · 12-13-11, 08:18 AM

Shaun, I only know what I was told which was what Shannon was told. I guess it's possible she was lied to, but I know that she had been aware of this snake for a while and had been trying to get him. The previous owners were convinced they were going to be able to sell him to a zoo or something.

Too bad there's really no way to tell.

Jacob, thanks for the input. It makes sense that a little exercise would help. I always get him out when I go over there, he's one of my favorites and other than during feeding times he's a real lover. BTW- it's good to see another WV person on here.

I'll keep this thread updated and see if I can get some pics of when he first came into Shannon's care for compare and contrast.

shaunyboy · 12-13-11, 08:29 AM

i'm hoping in this case your friend HAS been lied to and its a healthy young burm with a LOT of growing to do

i'm no burm expert but it looks healthy and in proper proportion

maybe kimberly (willow) will be along soon as she knows her burms

cheers shaun

stephanbakir · 12-14-11, 08:15 AM

I've NEVER had a "stunted" animal not bounce back to weight and size strikingly fast.

Jenn_06 · 12-14-11, 08:27 AM

stunted snake like that will grow but not to there normal size, and if i was you take it to the vet and get everything checked out. you never know if it might have kidney damage or other things wrong with it.

Norm66 · 12-14-11, 09:42 PM

I've got it confirmed tat he is in fact 9 years old. Shannon knows the girl's mom who had him.