Need some serious help.

[Sasha2]

I was given a ball python today.I gave this to my friend in October when I bought my pair. They are all siblings.
So mine are fat, healthy and big.
This one I was given looks like it did when I gave it to her but skinnier.It has horrible stuck shed, maybe looks to be two sheds in one.Its obviously dehydrated too.
She said it only ate three times since she had it.She tried dead, live, rats and mice.She tried putting it back in the bin I gave her with the snake from the 40 gal tank she was keeping it in.

So now its mine..I am not sure how to proceed.
Should I soak it or just put wet paper towels in a bin over night?
Do I wait till the shed comes off to feed it, I dont imagine it will eat in the condition its in anyway.It looks just horrible, I knew it wasnt eating properly and had given some advice, the usual stuff.I had no idea it was this bad.
I hope it wont resort to force feeding but am prepared to try this before I give up.

[lady_bug87]

First I would keep it separate from your own ball pythons. You can attempt feeding a live rat pinky or pup to see if it will eat for you.

You can try a soak to loosen the shed

[Mark Taylor]

Don't force feed. Sort the shed out first then just get it in the correct temps and a higher humidity and fresh water for the dehydration then leave a day or 2 to settle, then I would offer her a slightly smaller but still appropriate size feed.

[smy_749]

By separate, she means separate room, separate tools to feed / bathe/ everything with. You don't want any cross contamination. Also if he has stuck shed, thats the owners fault (feeding might be excused but if she didn't give him proper humidity to shed then she probably isn't providing proper husbandry in general)

[lady_bug87]

Oh I forgot... You can use diluted pedialyte (I think its 3:1 water to pedialyte) to soak the animal to help rehydrate

[Mark Taylor]

True forgot to mention that part I was trying to help the snake and should have thought about the healthy ones first both good points lady bug and smy.

[Sasha2]

Okay thanks all.I will keep him quarentined.I listened closely and didnt hear any pops or hisses so hopefully no infection.

I also soaked him for 30 min and most the shed slid off, including the eye caps.He did plump up a bit and now looks much better.ITs amazing how the stuck shed can make them look like a dried up road kill. He is still very small and thin but not so thin as to make me think he wont make it.
Now the big hurdle is getting him to eat and catch up..Unless there is some miracle I imagine I will be back to ask more advice about getting him to eat.

[Aaron_S]

Oh I forgot... You can use diluted pedialyte (I think its 3:1 water to pedialyte) to soak the animal to help rehydrate

While pedialyte is not harmful it's not necessary.I was going to say once the shed comes off it'll look way better but the OP already stated as such so it should be a-ok with proper husbandry from now on, barring any unforeseen issues. I'd keep the animal in a simple bin, offer it food and it's hydration shall bounce back.

Here's some general information for others.

Ball pythons come from the savannahs of Africa. Which is rather dry. Furthermore, their favourite hiding spot is an abandoned termite mound. These are not usually found near water so these snakes go prolonged periods of time without any. They will reserve what they get in their prey or go out looking for it if absolute necessary.

[Sasha2]

Thanks again.
I have him in a small bin, two hides,water dish, newspaper.
She gave me the t-rex under tank heater, its tiny and fits on part of the bin perfectly.I had an old dimmer so its sitting right at 90 on the heatpad.

I measured that heat pad it runs 128 without a dimmer.She said she was using the little heat pad and I told her several times to get a digital thermometer and a rheostat.I dont think she ever listened to me and listened to the petstore guy instead.
I really think this guy was way over heated.She said he was very active so I imagine he was trying to escape the heat.

[jarich]

While pedialyte is not harmful it's not necessary.


Agreed. This is a weird thing that seems to pop up a lot more lately. Pedialyte is not useful in a bath as the raised salt and mineral content actually hinders osmosis. It was designed for ingestion by dehydrated patients of diarrhea who were also loosing salt and minerals. When your body is already low in salts from diarrhea or vomiting, then plain water can actually further reduce these salt concentrations and cause hyponatremia. If the animal is dehydrated simply from being in too dry an environment or other straight water loss, then plain old water is the best thing for it.