Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I got my first bp about 2 weeks ago. He was starting to shed at the time, but it was not a good shed, it was coming off in pieces. The pet shop guy blamed that on a problem with humidity in the store. (I am a sucker for a sweet face, liked his personality and decided to go with it anyway.) About 5 days later, we went to the vet because I felt concerned that he was becoming dehydrated. The vet agreed, and gave him an exam and some sub-cutaneous fluids (no poop to do a fecal with). He still hadn't shed about half of his body, so she instructed us to soak him, etc. Since he was past the time he should have been fed (we were waiting for the shed to come off) she suggested we offer him a mouse that night to see if he would eat. Surprisingly, he ate a fuzzy mouse, which seemed a pretty good sign and then he hid for about two days.
This past Saturday, he refused to eat (although he struck at the mouse, he left it a few minutes later). I mean, who could blame him, all this handling for medical care, etc...but despite soaks, he still hasn't shed about 1/3 of his body (from the head down) and the skin is quite tough. I can't get it off no matter how long I soak him, mist him, provide a humid hide... And now, his skin is starting to seem loose, like he's losing weight.
We have another appointment to see the vet on Saturday. Has anyone ever seen a comeback from such a thing? It's a bummer, I want to help him be healthy...and feedback would be great.

I obviously haven't seen your BP, so I can only assume, but it doesn't yet sound as drastic as I am feeling you think it is. Some sheds are harder to complete with MANY different factors involved. Humidity, soaks, temperature, 'parental' (or customer) handling, can aggravate a shed cycle.

Eating behavior can vary, and sometimes this can be new surroundings, picky eaters, bitten by their food (snakes are notorious chickens, who will shy away from food that has bitten them- I have gone F/T to avoid this), stressed and needing solitude to eat, is it eating in/out of the enclosure, etc...

Parasites can also come into play, a fecal exam would be helpful in this DX...

All in all, I would say HOPE is a good thing....

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Hope this helps...

I'd agree with the last post. Don't panic and don't give up. You've got it to eat one meal, thats a good start. You're also getting professional help and doing all you can do for it, and thats all that can be expected of you. I know it is diheartening and terribly worrying to go through it with them but once you get them out the other side it is a terrific feeling and well worth it. Even if it doesn't make it you can rest easy knowing you did all you could and made it as comfortable as possible in it's last momments. However, yours doesn't sound as bad as mine was with regards to actual body condition and she has remarkably pulled through, altho you will need to be careful about the dehydration and the digestion. If it hasn't eaten in a while it might be an idea to try and get some artifical gut bacteria and some vitamins into it either when it's given more fluid (if it needs it) or by injecting it into it's food. There are some products here in the UK (where I'm from) which you can add directly to the drinking water so that might be worth considering. Also ask your vet if it would be worth doing a cloacal wash to see if that reveals any parasites, and mention the above possibilities. It may be it is having problems shedding due to the dehydration and/or digestion problems but be guided by your vet on how to get that skin off. One last thought-do you have any rough stones or similar for it to rub itself on? Might be worth giving it one and see if it can rub off the old skin. Also make sure it has a good tight hide, possibly even cover the majority of it's enclosure to help it feel secure and only handle it when you need to. An unstressed snake will hold it's body condition better than one that is stressed. Once you have got it over these initial problems it might be a good idea to just leave it alone for a week or two just feeding and cleaning as it will need time to recover after being messed about with. I actually asked for Gretchen (my ball) to be given home to me early (she needed hospitalised for a week) as my gut instinct said all the handling and treatment was too much for her, and I was right. I think I pulled her off it just at the right time and so far (2 months down the line) we are doing really well. But good luck with your little un, sure it will work out fine.

Thanks for your feedback. I am definitely one of those neurotic pet owners...I can tell if I ever have kids, I'll be leaning over the crib every 10 minutes to make sure the child is still breathing, lol. Especially, since this is my first snake and I don't know what to expect really...books are good for information but practical experience is so valuable.
Thanks again!