Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok so I posted this on the snake forum then I noticed it would be better placed here so here we go sorry for the double posting..

So I have a rescue that has not eaten in months and by all means should be dead by the looks of it. Its nothing but wrinkled skin and bones completely emaciated and dehydrated to the point where it has slight dents in the head. Obviously its a fighter or it wouldnt be alive now so I thought I should do everything in my power to try and get it back to health. Its about a foot long blood python about 3/4 inch wide.

I started day before yesterday with a frozen rat pink slicing it paper thin and a tiny bit of warm water. I put it in a baby med dispenser that resembles a small turkey baster with the end cut a bit then melted so there is no sharp edges. Holding the snakes mouth open I gently forced it down the snakes throat and fed it. I gave it a days rest then today I did the same only I mixed the pinky and water with a bit of calcium powder. It took that no problem what didnt go down the snake ate on its own. after that I took a fk newborn pink opened its mouth and crammed the baby inside. It took that then after some time it took another in the same manner.

Now for my question should I stick to the rat pinkys? or should I try larger? In normal circumstances by no means should this snake be on food so small except for the fact that I'm afraid if I go too big it could regurge which so far it has not done or choke cause its weak. is there anything I should be doing aside from this?

Im wondering if I should be adding vitamins to the pinky mixture? Or if since I got it to eat just stick to pinkies. I wish I had a syringe to inject the food with extra nutrients to get it back on track quicker but then I wouldnt know what to add to it. I looked online and seen people feed them with chicken baby food, eggs and calcium powder. I would try that but I heard a while back that poultry was hard on snakes digestion. Wheather thats true or not I do not know.

My instinct tells me to stick with the pinkies BUT if someone knows of a mixture of food/vitamins that would speed up the process of getting this snake on the right track I will do that instead.

I had a red sumatran just like the one you've described, and faced the same problem. Now that he has some nutrition, enough to last awhile, I would recommend keeping him in a ten gallon enclosure with a glass canopy, or something blocking almost all of the escaping air. Make the humidity as high as possible without drenching the animal, to where the sides of the tank are at least partially foggy and a warm, mosit air comes out when the tank is open. have a heavy hide spot for him to feel secure agaisnt, perhaps just a large water bowl, also good if he decides to soak. His hydration must increase for him to be able to digest anything more than what youve given him. With my animal, I put him, dehydrated as hell, in a ten gallon with a sterile piece of brick and large water bowl and let it get steamy, didnt touch him for about a month. I never noticed him move, but he seemed to be getting better, by that I mean more shine and 'fullness' to his folds and skin. I decided to leave a small pk/ft pinky out for him overnight, and sure enough he found it and ate it. Your animal must become much more hydrated and maintain that hydration for him to be able to develop.

thank you I forgot to put her housing conditions in my post

I have her in a 20 gallon, the substrate is coconut she has a hide also plenty of fake plants to help with moisture plus they lower stress levels by adding a bit of cover (I know these can be very stressy snakes since I have 2 others) there is also a bowl to soak in. The cover is your basic tank cover and over that is a sheet of plexiglass that covers it completely aside from where the overhead light is there is also an under the tank heat mat. Everything is perfect as far as the temps and humidity requirements.

Its been nearly a week now since I got her going on the force feeding and with feeding her every other day(3 feedings in 6 days) blended rat pinks mixed with water and calcium powder she is getting much stronger. I am about to lower the feeding to every 3 days this week and after that every 5 starting on solid pinkies.. if anyone knows of a better feeding schedule I will be happy to hear it but for now thats what I am going to go on.

Here are a couple of pics I took so you all can see where Im at and dealing with...

Oh yea man he looks better than many I've seen! The fact he can hold his head up, (or so it appears), is very good. Id make sure the substrate is as dust free as possible, if it is moist it should be fine. paper towels also work great for recovery stakes. Id make sure he has a heavy/sturdy spot to really get under/push up agaisnt, they are heavy bodied and like feeling very secure as you said. Id even put a flat piece of rock down on the substrate with just a slight decompression under it and Im sure he will find his way under there.
The light isnt helping him at all, ambient light from the room is enough to satisfy his photoperiod needs and the heat mat will do fine on the 20 gallon. pay attention to the cages internal temp now that it is winter tho. The overhead light can make him feel insecure and also contribute to drying out. id just set him up simple, moist, warm and secure and leave him be for at least 2-3 weeks. let him get real darn hungry haha. keep up the good work man, good luck!