Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a 3 month albino boy i got in decemeber at 2 months old, he has not eaten for me since, he has gone to the vet and is currently on vitmain supplements thru a shot and anti-botics for a respitory, possibly or could be due to him not eating and getting weak with no food.

I have tried several methods to frozen, live, different sizes, etc.

I have maintain his temperatures 85 degrees on warm side, waterdish, on carefresh, and hide house,

could anyone give me advice? anyone who breeds albinos or has seen this problem. I do know they fast, but i cannot afford that ideal when he is so young,

please do not remove this post, if you do, i will not be able to get advice to save him, its not about me, i am saying all this to save my snake, i will try anything for him to live, so please, anyone who has experience, please, help me save my albino baby

emails welcomed since i go there more and if this post is taken off, i just want advice from those experienced or like me in this situation to help save my snake, i appreciate all ahead of time for your time and knowledge, and i cross my fingers

Email: Wingsofademon84X@aol.com

Well, I have a few questions which might help myself or others help you.

1) What does your vet say? He/she has obviously examined the snake. If the vet is knowledgable at all, they will be able to tell you the severity. I am unclear about the resp. infection you mentioned - has it cleared up or is it still symptomatic. If a snake is not breathing well, it sure shouldn't try to squeeze a food item down it's throat. Also, sick snakes tend not to eat as their body is busy fighting the infection.

2) How big is it, and how long since it has eaten. You mentioned not for the last month, but did it eat before that? Did you get it from a reputable breeder who established it well (shed and fed a few times), or is this one right out of the egg?

3) Is the snake dehydrated, or is it recieving saline with the "vitamin" shots? Just water in its dish might not be enough to keep it from dehydrating. You might want to give it soaks or at least make available pedialyte to correct any dehydration. Ask your vet about this.

4) Please give exact setup description: does the snake have at least two hide spots in which it can feel secluded and secure (one warm, one cool)? What is the thermal gradient (how cold does it get on the cool end and at night)? How large of a cage and does it have cage mates. A young snake after a big move (esp shipping) will need time to acclimate without stress of handling, other snakes, high traffic, cats, etc. Stress can cause or exacerbate everything you listed.

5) What did the breeder feed, and how often? Did you get any sort of feeding record? Also, I'm sure several others can give you links to some great feeding tricks. Remember, force, assist, or tube feeding should be a LAST resort. Again, if you are in with a good vet, follow their instructions. I know that vets are expensive, but so are albino ball pythons.

I hope you don't feel that I am talking down to you, that is not my intent. I am just trying to cover all bases. I know I missed a few, but these will probably get you pointed in the right direction. I have lost several snakes due to stupid and preventable things over the years, and I know it hurts.

Good luck,
nate.

Hi there -

First, why do you think he is sick? Can you explain about the respiratory infection? What are his symptoms and did you have those symptoms when you got him?

How much does he weigh in grams? Are you certain he ate for the breeder? What does the breeder say about this? Who did you get him from, by the way?

How big is his enclosure?

Do you have a picture of him?

What are you trying to feed him? Explain what you have tried to get him to eat.

I know you are worried but take a breath and give us some info so maybe we can help .

Christy

Keep him in a small size rubbermaid with a hot spot of 95F and a hide box. Feed him live mice. Leave him alone!

Corey

I suggest the same as mentioned above, provide more info. If I read correctly and that was not a typo, your temps are too low. 85 is a warm cool end temp. 80-85 cool end, 90-95 warm end. I personally aim for 82 Cool, 92 Hot. Humdity between 40 - 60%, if you suspect an RI, I'd keep that closer to 40. Your low temps would probably be casue for an RI, but many other factors can cause RI. If he's under 400g's, a shoebox sized rubbermaid is a good enclosure. If it's larger provide multiple hides, one on each end. Leave him alone, in a secluded quiet dark place, and feed either live adult mice, or ratpups/fuzzies. I'd stick with rats myself. Hope for the best.

Now, don't take this too personally but if you really are keeping your warm end temps at 85 then you did not do proper research before acquiring your animal. It bothers me enough to see people seeking assistance with normals, due to glaring husbandry errors. The fact that in this case it's a beautiful and costly animal such as an Albino irks me even more. Where has the breeder been throughout this?? A responsible and reputable breeder should have had you on the right track, and would be the best person to address any concerns too. If I'm wrong and the 85 was a typo, I apologize.

Just MY thoughts.....

Colin

sorry, its a little past 90 on the hot side,

ive had no problems with my normal balls, they have been healthy and eating, this is my first no eater

In my Opinion you need to VERY careful in letting someone(VET) give such a small snake any medications. Vets don't know everything about reptiles and if you get one that is not used to taking care of snakes they could kill your snake. With that said. I would definatly raise the temps to get rid of the RI, that is bad bad news in a baby Ball.

If the Albino Ball(or any baby ball) has been a long time without feeding I usually get a pinky rat and place the head of the pinky rat in mouth of the Baby ball, and slowly set the snake on the ground, BUT YOU CANNOT EVEN MOVE A INCH. You might have to do this several times before he actually takes it down, then right before he is through with the first one I place another one infront of his mouth SLOWLY and when he is almost done I gently move the next pinky in his mouth. They usually take then easy. All of the above is done gently. Also if after 4-7 trys the snake don't take it I stop and try again the next day. HOPE THAT HELPS. Where are you located maybe I can Help? Thanks David

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1.0 Pied(04)(RDR)
1.0 Albino(04)(RDR)
0.1 Spider(04)(RDR)
3.2 Pastels(03's)(04's)(ASF,Graziani,Bell lines)
0.1 Yellow belly(unproven)(04)
1.3 Yellow belly(unproven)(02,03,04's)
2.0 100% HET CLOWN(04's)(MHMR)
3.3 100% het albinos(03's)(high contrast bell line)
0.1 poss Het Albino(03's)
2.0 100% het pieds(03's)(Vin Russo,CRE)
0.2 100% het pieds(03's)(04's)(RDR,TWL)
1.2 Poss het pieds(03's)(PETE KAHL)
2.1 Poss het pieds(00's)(01's) hoping to get PIEDS this year(Vin Russo, Pete Kahl)
25 Normal adult females
60 04 females
15 normal mixed 03's
20 Assorted weird ball pythons 04's

Hmmmm...like force feeding, but without the force.

Do the snakes get stressed out by this. I have personally never force fed a snake, but I did have a vet try it once on my very first BP that later died becuase it refused to eat. The vet wasn't able to force feed the snake, it just kept pushing the mouse back out. Later the snake finally ate a live gerbil as my last resort. I can remember how happy I was....then the next day it regurgitated the gerbil and died....

Then I wasn't so happy...

I have been Assist and Force feeding for years so I guess it's like it is second nature for me. I have force fed everything from corn snakes to milk snakes to green tree python babies. The green tree python babies were probably the worst( ones that scared me the most because of what I had read about force feeding them). But I usually only use the FORCE feeding as a last choice. The Assist feeding in my opinion is safer than the force feeding. I usually try and keep stress down by assisting and putting the snake on the ground as fast as possible. It usually only take 4-6 assists before they start feeding by themselves, That is with babies, With the older snakes it becomes harder to got the results but can still be done.
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1.0 Pied(04)(RDR)
1.0 Albino(04)(RDR)
0.1 Spider(04)(RDR)
3.2 Pastels(03's)(04's)(ASF,Graziani,Bell lines)
0.1 Yellow belly(unproven)(04)
1.3 Yellow belly(unproven)(02,03,04's)
2.0 100% HET CLOWN(04's)(MHMR)
3.3 100% het albinos(03's)(high contrast bell line)
0.1 poss Het Albino(03's)
2.0 100% het pieds(03's)(Vin Russo,CRE)
0.2 100% het pieds(03's)(04's)(RDR,TWL)
1.2 Poss het pieds(03's)(PETE KAHL)
2.1 Poss het pieds(00's)(01's) hoping to get PIEDS this year(Vin Russo, Pete Kahl)
25 Normal adult females
60 04 females
15 normal mixed 03's
20 Assorted weird ball pythons 04's