Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, there. Here's a little background and the problem....

I bought a couple of borneo short tailed pythons a couple of months ago. When the snakes arrived the male was awesome and the female was a total disappoinment-- very sickly. I contacted the seller immediately, but he had nothing to say and would not respond to me at all. So I got stuck with a really sick snake. She was highly malnourished to the point that you can see every bone in her.

I have tried nursing her back to health and she was doing well at first, but seems to be going backwards again. The last two feedings she has regurged the rat. The strange thing is that she eats and is fine. Then 3-4 days later she regurges a half digested rat.... Can someone please suggest something that will help me feed this snake and help her keep her food down? Could this be some illness that the vets are not familiar with? Please help. All advice is welcome.

Man my very first baby red blood did the same thing, wasn't as skinny but wasnt' that healthy.Sounds like internal parasites, get her to the vet NOW, if you have any stool from her that would be a plus, but they'll have to put a tube down her mouth and pump her full of something I dont' recall.I'm no expert but this is what I would do.And to add to the bad news I didn't get mine intime and she didn't make it, so go, go now.Let us know what they say and how shes doing.Best of luck to you, I just got over a bill of $160 for RI treatment so I know how worried you are.Good luck again. Later, Ethan

Hi, there and thank you for the great advice. I have taken the snake to my regular vet, but she was not to familiar with snakes and suggested the animal was too far gone to be helped. I still beg to differ with her because I've "fixed" snakes in worse condition. I just worry that I'm not doing my best because I am more familiar with ball pythons and with brbs. I'm most definitely taking the snake to a different vet for a second opinion.

I will keep you posted.

Hey,
Well, let me start by asking you if you've taken the snake to the vet, and whether they have suggested to you that there is nothing wrong with it. You said something about if "this is something that the vets are not familiar with". I guess that was a rhetorical point. At any rate, with these cases of malnourishment or under nourishment, it is possible that these animals are suffering from some kind of an internal ailment secondary to a parasitic infection.

What throws off the ability to hold the food down is, the abnormally high bacterial load in the gut, that is usually held within acceptible levels in an otherwise healthy animal. To return the gut-flora to a possitive homeostasis, it is usually recommended, that, the animal or animals in question be treated by a vet or someone with experience with this type of ailment. If, such an ailment is ruled in - parasites and abnormally high bacterial load, and is found to be the cause, the animal should be treated with the appropriate medications. Flagyl and Metronidozole (Panacur), could possibly remedy the cause for the regurgitations. But, the meds must be administered by a vet the first time around and treatment must be followed up by several doses thereafter, by you. A fecal examine is warranted and should be examined by an experienced vet, accustomed to treating reptiles, and one that understands reptile ailments.

If you get the chance to collect fresh fecal material from the snake, you should take that into a vet to perform a fecal examine. These are only suggestions as to what the possible cause can be -- there are other possible causes and agents that can cause regurgitations and distress in a snake.

If the snake was housed communally with other snakes, while in the care of the original owner, it is possible that the other snakes too, were infected with a similar malady. Vectors for transimission of either parasites or bacteria, take on various forms, including bad husbandry. Fowl water, recycled food, not eaten by one snake and subsequently offered by the keeper, to another, can contribute to disease. Saliva, feces, mites and other insects, such as flies and roaches and other vermin, can all participate or act as vectors for disease. Look into the first option and get a fecal examine of the snake done, along with a possible treatment for the snake started as soon as possible.

-Angel
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Discovered and defeated of your prey, You skulked behind the fence, and sneaked away. --Dryden.

Angel,
Excellent coverage of the topic, you hit all the important points. I just have a slight correction on the medications. Flagyl and metronidazole are synonymous, and Panacur is the trade name for fenbendazole. Both are excellent anti-parasitic drugs. It sounds like an intestinal bacterial infection, but although unlikely, I would additionally have the vet run a fecal for cryptosporidia, just to rule it out. Regurges after 3 to 4 days makes me think it should be checked.

Kelly

Hey Kelly,
Thanks for the correction. Unfortunately, there is no way to edit post here, and I did catch that error, but felt that the person would figure it out; at least I hoped. At any rate, the cryptosporidia, is not as common with Pythons, as it is found in newly imported Emmy's and other Boids and thus, chose to intentionally leave that out as a result. But hey, it is worth a try if nothing else shows up, or if all else comes up negative. Thanks again.

- Angel
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Discovered and defeated of your prey, You skulked behind the fence, and sneaked away. --Dryden.

You are correct that it is more commonly seen in boas, but it will show in some pythons after exposure. The person he purchased this snake from could possibly have an infected boa, or other taxa, in his facility. It is unlikely that he does, but you never know. About 10 years ago a friend of mine lost several bloods to crypto that had been exposed to a suriname boa that was infected. Some python species are asymptomatic carriers of crypto, but apparently bloods are susceptible. The acid-fast stain detection procedure is a little more involved than a standard fecal, but it is probably worth a look.

Kelly

Hey Kelly,
Thanks for the information on the contaminated bloods. It is that kind of imperical experience that never goes reported by keepers not accustomed to writing or posting on such forums; glad to know that you can share that kind of knowledge with us.

- Angel
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Discovered and defeated of your prey, You skulked behind the fence, and sneaked away. --Dryden.

Angel,
You are correct, we need more keepers posting husbandry information on the forums so that we can all disseminate as much info as possible on the proper maintenance of these animals in captivity. Your posts have been quite informative as well. Thanks,

Kelly

Educated man you are Angel with good thought in your posts.I'm just the average man but man you nailed it to the point like always.Make me feel like a grade schooler LOL.

Hi, there and thank you for the great advice. I have taken the snake to my regular vet, but she was not too familiar with snakes and suggested the animal was too far gone to be helped. I still beg to differ with her because I've "fixed" snakes in worse conditions. But, I've never really dealt with a regugetator--at least not one who waited 3-4 days before doing the deed.

I just worry that I'm not doing my best because I am more familiar with ball pythons, corns, and brbs. I'm most definitely taking the snake to a different vet for a second opinion.

I have been unable to get a fecal from her. The last time she defecated was 4-5 weeks ago and that had been long gone before this problem arose. I worry about self-medicating with vet approval because I had one friend kill his argentine boa doing that.

All great advice, though, and great to know that I've thought up some of the same steps. It's reasurring to know I'm not a total dummy.=)

I will keep you posted.

Henry,

As usual Angel was right on with his explanation. And you definately need to get it to the vet, its not going to get better by itself. Here is a link for reptile vets just click your state and find one in your area http://www.arav.org/USMembers.htm

jordan
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"It's my snake, I trained it, so I'm going to eat it!" - Mad Max, The Road Warrior

... you should post their name at the appropriate site so we can avoid them in the future.

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There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Rom 8:1