Reptile & Amphibian Forums

my dad is about to give up on the bullsnake he ought a while back. he is not willing to take it to the vet again nor do i have the funds to. he has had/does have the following symptoms
-refusal of food
-regurgitation/vomiting
-mucus in his stools
-very thin/ does not look like a bullsnake should
-failure to thrive
let me make this clear, this is not my snake and to those people who are going to critisize, we know we should not buy animals if we are not going to take responsibility for them and we know we can't go back in time to fix this. but he has been to the vet and the vet perscibed a dewormer to be given 0nce a week for 4 weeks, after my dad saw an improvement he stopped treatment or got distracted but the point is treatment was not finished. the same thing happened to a kingsnake ny dad had in the same location that eventually died. i don't know what to do and i don't want to give up on the bullsnake. so what can i do to get this snake back to health and again my dad is unwilling to take it to the vet and i don't have the funds to. so please help.

Describe the setup it is being kept in with as much detail as possible.

Did the vet do a fecal exam to test for parasites or just gave the dewormer preventively?

Is he regurging or not eating? It can't be both.

he is in a 18in high x 30in wide x 12in long enclosure. he has a 75 watt bulb and ann under tank heater (recently added to increase heat). he has a rug, a water dish, a few rocks, a log to hide in. he also has 2 off ground shelves to climb on and a stick going diagonally across the cage he also has a cork tile back round. the vet gave the dewormer preventivly. i am not sure if he had a fecal test done but it was supposed to happen but i don't think it ever did. he is now refusing food. and the set up is right in the coross breezes of a couple of windows and is in a high traffic spot.

if it helps the bullsnake took 3 live pinkies today and when i said the under tank heater was put in recently i mean over the weekend

Congrats to your sayi... there may be hope... Don't handle him for now! TJ

unfortunatley he at least threw up 1 possibly more. how long should we wait before feeding him?

can anyone please recomend a setup or something else quickly i am unsure of how much time he has left and how can i get him to keep his food down? also don't recomend the vet. this is not my snake and i don't have the funds to take it to the vet and the owner is unwilling to.

Just a thought but maybe you can take the snake to a rescue or SPCA where they can provide care for it such as vet bills and such?

thank you for the suggestion but i talked to my dad who owns the snake and he said no

It sounds to me like you and this snake are in a pretty tough position. If there is no way that this snake can be treated by a reputable vet than all you can do is offer small food, wait, see if it keeps it down, and offer again, which sounds like what you are doing. If this doesn't work than let this be a lesson to your father. Don't purchase an animal that you are not prepared to take the utmost care of. You sound like you genuinly care about this animal and are willing, if you could, go the distance for it's well being. Keep that in mind before you get another animal that needs special care. Hope all turns out well.
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Matt Kauffman