Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Last night I took in a blood python that I know is about 1.5 to 2 years old. He/she's not in the best of shape (very dry, seemingly underweight for a blood) and I know it couldn't have been fed as it should have. Despite the apparent lack of care, the snake does appear alert, "tame" and be all means, ready for a fresh start. I'm knowledgable in the care of bloods, and have no doubt that I'll be able to turn this guy around, but my question is this: This supposed two year old snake (that has to be at least one and a half) is about 16 inches long. If I put him on a feeding schedule a) to initially fatten him up and bring him up to a proper weight, and then b) get him on an appropriate maintnance diet to keep him where he should be, could he be expected to grow to a full sized adult, or should I expect his growth to be a bit stunted due to the lack of food in his first 2 years? Also, would it be a good idea to ease him into a heavier feeding schedule, or should he be ok with it from the start? I'm used to dealing with previously properly maintained animals for the most part, so turning this guy around is going to be a bit of a switch.
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1.0 8' albino burmese
1.0 14' normal burmese
1.0 4' normal retic
0.1 5' bcc
0.0.1 nile monitor
3.0 cats
and a breeder rat colony

I have aquired several animals in this same way" give it to me before you kill it" and most do seem to turn the corner rather well. I think it is inportant to get as much info from previous owner as possable. this can give you clues as to how the animal was treated/ fed before. you say the animal is alert and semi freindly then I personally would attempt to feed a slightly smaller than apropriate size rodent. If all goes well and the animal seems to process the food well IE "good poop" well away you go. If it does not eat of course then you have to follow the basic trials of feeding a problem feeder. If the poop does not seem right have it checked by a vet. If the animal looks worse then malnurished you should probably go to the vet. One word of caution is that people somtomes tend to think of these snake as "obiese" looking when in fact they are just stout. Look at pictures to verify appearance babies look thinner. this is how I would go about rehabbing. as far as groath it is hard to say.
The range of sizes on bloods are usually given in foot veriances like 4 to 5 feet.Remember,no one really knows what the potential of the animal was in the begining so to say that potential would be reached is hard. but in the same (long) breath not feeding a baby anything will stunt growth.hows that for strattaling the fence everyone will have opinions this is just mine.

If you have more questions post them there is a wealth of knowledge.....and opinions here and that is a good thing

sorry about the length I get excited when I talk herps
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thanks
Kevin
I am lost w/o spell check

Thanks a lot for the advice, I appreciate it. Despite usually waiting a good week for new snake to get used to it's enclosure before I start feeding, I decided to try feeding this guy after only one night in his quarantine cage simply because although he isn't very thin for snake standards, he IS thin for a blood, and he looked ready for a meal. So I plucked a rat pup from my breeder colony and decided to try feeding him live prey for his first meal with me because: a)I thought it would be a little more enticing to the blood, and b) because I didn't feel an unweaned rat pup could cause him any damage, and to my delight, the snake fed instantly, and began looking around for more. I held off on feeding him any more just to see how he'd do with that one, but without seeing how he processes it, I'd have to say that things look good for this guy. Although I've kept reptiles for a decade, and have experience with burms, retics, balls, and boas, this is my FIRST BLOOD, so (and I realize the name is probably allready played out in the blood scene) I've decided to name him RAMBO. Luckily he doesn't appear to have a matching attitude. Anyway, thanks again.

-Jeff
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1.0 8' albino burmese
1.0 14' normal burmese
1.0 4' normal retic
0.1 5' bcc
0.0.1 malaysian blood
0.0.1 nile monitor
3.0 cats
and a breeder rat colony