Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Greetings and thanks in advance for any help and advice.

I bought a CB 05 female BP as a youngster in Spring of 2005. It remained in my care in good health until Jan 06 when divorce and life circumstance forced me to find a new home for her. She was donated along with her full caging and set up & instructions to a local school whose science teacher had some herp experience.

I received a call 2 weeks ago from a school administrator asking if I could take her back. Apparently the instructor had resigned in April, and no one had really cared for snake since then.

Long-story short...

I don't know really any details but I found her in a pretty soiled environment with a spot light only and an old bowl of water. None of the tank belly heat or any thing else was on.

Unsure how she has been fed, but she left in Jan 06 as a 21 inch 320g snake and returns to me now at 30 inches but only 390g. For a 2 year old female very scrawny.

I have also been told that she "escaped" and was gone for 5 months but crawled out of a hole in the wall, and was returned to her enclosure.

So...

other than the obvious what can I do for this malnourished snake? She remains active, and is about to go into shed. I am getting her vet checked on Thursday for parasites, etc. Other than being skinny, she looks good.

I have had her 10 days now and have her set up completely right with all the appropriate temp, humidity, hides, water, etc.

I have left her alone and not fed her yet.

Any ideas about the best rehab feeding schedule? Any other general tips or advise would be very appreciated. Do BPs get "stunted" growth from malnutrition or should I expect her to recover to full size?

Thanks,

Mike

sounds like you're on the money.
try feeding her whatever she was eating when she left your care originally, just a little bigger. go with a once a week schedule. if that works , get a few meals in her before handling her. after she's up and running , she should be ready for regular handling. any critter that survived an ordeal like that is probably a real trooper and should make a great pet.
good luck , keep us posted,
ck

Thankfully someone called you , to bad they had not thought to do it sooner. I agree with poster above, do what you were doing when you did have her. It is sad to see how some take care of snakes, I am glad she is with someone that will care for her properly . Good luck and let us know how she is doing.

Thanks so much.

She will be a "pet" and not a breeder or anything like that so I don't need her to be some 7 foot monster, but... any thoughts on her potential to reach normal adult size?

When do BPs tend to stop growing in length?

Thanks!

Mike

Females usually are a bit longer than males, About 5 feet. Once she gets eating I am sure she will catch up in no time. That weight is definatly low for her age, I have a 1 year old that is 700 grams, I do not power feed . they are all different, I also have another 3 year old female that is 1000 grams she is a picky eater. Take your time and she will be fine.

melindaste & constrictor keeper...

Thanks again! Very reassuring. It IS disappointing what happened. I blame myself for not checking on her. Can't do anything now except plow ahead and try to make things right.

Anyway, thanks for the help.

Mike