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Long Term Malnutrition

DumGirl Aug 11, 2004 02:47 PM

Hi Everyone,
i'm new here, i have a yearling dumeril's ground boa, she is awesome, i got her from Tim Frazier last August.
Anyhow, my question is regarding 2 ball pythons that i found in the paper. i went to look at them, because i'm going to start homeschooling and my dum is a bit shy and balls are usually very laid back and great snakes for little people. So they were going to be class pets...
In the ad it says they are 5 years old, but upon further discovery i was then told they were closer to 3 years. But either way, they are the size of hatchlings. A boy bought them for pets and then left home, leaving them to his full time college sister and mother who hates snakes. They 'said' they feed them every 3 weeks, 1 mouse each, but that they always act like they are hungry, DUH!
Their necks to about the first 5 inches of their body is the size of a standard size pencil and the biggest part of their body is about the size of a nickel.
What are the long term effects of such malnutrition? Would these two balls ever come around and grow to their potential? Or will they more than likely have internal organ damage from starving for so long?

Please let me know asap i'd like to rescue them, but not if it will be heartbreak for me and the kiddos. You can e-mail me privately at JennifFrut@aol.com and thanks so much

Sincerely,
Jennifer

Replies (2)

meretseger Aug 22, 2004 08:28 PM

My guess would be that if they're still eating ok currently they should be alright. However, only a vet looking at the animals could tell you for sure.
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Eryx - All the fun of a boa in a convenient pocket size!

Dove_3 Sep 19, 2004 06:44 AM

They are probably very dehydrated too. Take them home, soak them feed them and make a vet appt. You can always teach the kids about the real scum that's in this world and how to save an animal from people like that! There's alot to be learned from these two snakes!
I do hope they come around and end up being heallthy and happy soon. Some people just don't "Get It" and never will
IMO
Dove

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