Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I took a 3.5' Ball into my shop this week not because I made money on it but because it was in such bad shape I couldn't send it back with its former owner. I have soaked it in shedease daily and some incomplete shed has sluffed off. He had caps on his eyes that had dried and cracked. So far I have removed 5 caps from each eye. After soaking him tonight I think there are 1 or 2 more caps. He had been fed 2 mice every 2 wks so "he wouldn't grow too fast" (he was a 5 year old's pet). He has since eaten a F/T small rat although he had to find it by smell. He is in a tank with damp cyprus and a basking area in the 90's. What else should I do to rehab him? Even not being able to see and through all messing with his eyes he has not offered to bite once. A real sweet snake.

Well, since he was "a five year old's pet" he is most likely pretty used to being treated like a toy and that could be part of the reason he is so docile.

My five year old son has a few "pet" ball pythons (of course, I do all the feeding, cleaning, etc. all he really does is hold them). Each of his "pets" he's had since they were babies and each has had time to get used to being handled by a child so they are invariably the calmest snakes in my collection (they are my son's snakes but they are in my collection). Whenever someone I know wants to hold a snake but is scared for whatever reason I always give them one of Jaden's snakes to hold. None are head shy, none attempts to strike, ball up or coil into a defensive position.

Maybe this is the case with your recent adoption.

It seems you are doing fine with him. I would suggest a couple things:

1) Get a vet check up. Most likely, he isn't in too bad of shape (other than the stuck eye caps and poor shed) by now I think you would have noticed any RI symptoms and the fact that he has fed for you suggests that internal parasites may not be too much of a concern...but this is one area where it is better to be safe than sorry. Remember to bring a fresh fecal sample if at all possible (don't freeze it).

2) Instead of wetting down all of his substrate I would suggest constructing a humid hide for him. Simply take a small Rubbermaid type container and cut a hole either in the lid or the side big enough for him to climb in and out of and place some damp substrate inside. Usually, I'll place the snake in the humid hide the first time it's introduced so they know where to find it (since most of the "rehabs" I've ran across are in much the same shape as the one you currently have and may have difficulty seeing/finding it on their own).

Wetting all of his substrate down isn't good for many reasons. It contributes to mold and fungal growth as well as raising the humidity throughout his enclosure. Being exposed to conditions that are too humid for a prolonged period of time increases the chances of him catching some sort of respiratory infection (especially if mold or fungus is present). It is better to offer the optimal heat and humidity requirements for a majority of his living space with a humid area that has somehow been segregated from the rest of his enclosure.

Once again I've rambled on...hope I've been of some help anyways.

Great advice. Running a successful wildlife conservation education facility, and, having kept bp's for all of my life (I still have a 38 year old that I've had since I was a young boy), and, having rehabbed countless of bp's over the years, it sounds like your's is going to be just fine. The fact that it is feeding voluntarily is a huge bonus and a good sign that the health of this animal isn't completely compromised.

I would caution against taking any more eye caps off at this point. Instead, I would just provide optimal humidity levels by providing a humidity box as described. Some bp's will not go into these retreats and if that's the case, you can partition off a portion of the cage w/an entrance hole and just keep one area humid w/slightly dampened cypress or something along those lines. In my experience, I haven't had to provide high humid areas for rehabbing bp's because I would rather ensure good, clean air flow (but not drafty) over stale air environments w/high humidity (that's why the humidity box is a nice way to go if your bp will use it).

I would encourage you to put weight on slowly with this snake. Since it appears it was slightly underfed, you want to prevent overtaxing the bodily processes. Just a small to medium sized meal every 7-10 days will be fine until the snake is back to optimal size and weight.

Doing fecals is always a good idea but not feasible for everyone. We do complete fecals and blood work for EVERY herp that comes to our facility.....gets very expensive but we have prevented some major outbreaks over the years by catching something early on. Hope this helps.

Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center
Lake Forest, IL

>>Well, since he was "a five year old's pet" he is most likely pretty used to being treated like a toy and that could be part of the reason he is so docile.
>>
>>My five year old son has a few "pet" ball pythons (of course, I do all the feeding, cleaning, etc. all he really does is hold them). Each of his "pets" he's had since they were babies and each has had time to get used to being handled by a child so they are invariably the calmest snakes in my collection (they are my son's snakes but they are in my collection). Whenever someone I know wants to hold a snake but is scared for whatever reason I always give them one of Jaden's snakes to hold. None are head shy, none attempts to strike, ball up or coil into a defensive position.
>>
>>Maybe this is the case with your recent adoption.
>>
>>It seems you are doing fine with him. I would suggest a couple things:
>>
>>1) Get a vet check up. Most likely, he isn't in too bad of shape (other than the stuck eye caps and poor shed) by now I think you would have noticed any RI symptoms and the fact that he has fed for you suggests that internal parasites may not be too much of a concern...but this is one area where it is better to be safe than sorry. Remember to bring a fresh fecal sample if at all possible (don't freeze it).
>>
>>2) Instead of wetting down all of his substrate I would suggest constructing a humid hide for him. Simply take a small Rubbermaid type container and cut a hole either in the lid or the side big enough for him to climb in and out of and place some damp substrate inside. Usually, I'll place the snake in the humid hide the first time it's introduced so they know where to find it (since most of the "rehabs" I've ran across are in much the same shape as the one you currently have and may have difficulty seeing/finding it on their own).
>>
>>Wetting all of his substrate down isn't good for many reasons. It contributes to mold and fungal growth as well as raising the humidity throughout his enclosure. Being exposed to conditions that are too humid for a prolonged period of time increases the chances of him catching some sort of respiratory infection (especially if mold or fungus is present). It is better to offer the optimal heat and humidity requirements for a majority of his living space with a humid area that has somehow been segregated from the rest of his enclosure.
>>
>>Once again I've rambled on...hope I've been of some help anyways.
-----
Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, IL

Thanks for the prompt answers. I should have thought of the humi-hide. Wish I could get fecals done around here. I usually wait till the snake has recovered somewhat then de-worm.