Help please my baby is dying

herplover92 · 10-23-15, 09:14 AM

I have a one year old(according to the unreliable pet shop that sold it to me) purple albino reticulated python that has been acting weird and lately im convinced that If I dont get any help it might die, but I am scared that taking it to the vet might stress him out too much.

Reptile's Info:
Albino reticulated python. Male. Aprox. 1 year old. Ive had it for about two months.
Handling - He poops and pees almost every day so I take him out for about 15 minutes everyday to clean his cage and inspect his health and of course drool over him.
Feeding - two small rats every four days, but the problem started when i tried to feed him a jumbo rat and he couldnt kill it so i killed it for him and then he took like 6 hours to swallow it and 6 days to digest. It was huge. I buy the rats from the only reptiles store around my house so I just get what they have available.
Fecal Description - I have never tested for parasites but his poop is kin of soft. My burmese poops way more solid and way less often than this guy.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - I keep him in a plastic tub i forgot how big is it but its about 3'x2'x1' with a big enough water bowl for him to completely submerge inside.
I use a heat tape that covers 1/3 of the cage.
Temperature - the heat tape side gets up to 90F and the cool side varies from 80-76.
Humidity - 60-70%
I live in Taipei so its not far from his natural environment.

So basically a month ago on his 4th feeding with me I fed him a jumbo rat that he had trouble with but ended up eating and digesting. He then spent two weeks before he took any food. Rejecting the normal small live rats that i used to feed him. I tried killing one and he refused. So he spent three weeks without eating before he ate a small rat after a long time of the rat being in his cage. His next feeding a week later he refused to eat and the rat bit him on his belly and he has been acting weird ever since. He seems very weak, and scared. He is not his usual active self curious self anymore.

PS: he has a weird bulge right before his cloaca that I think might be his hemipenes but I havent noticed this before. Ive also been finding these dusty looking things at the bottom of his waterbowl that might be semen. And the temperature has been dropping here so ive had to put in a heater in the room but its manual so they have experienced some cool drops periodically for the last two weeks.

KSTAR · 10-28-15, 11:59 AM

I know this is a late reply but if he's still with you take him to a vet ASAP and as far as the feeding the rat might have been a bit too big for him so let him take a week or two off and keep the temps high and fresh water as always in the cage and try feeding again but if I were you I wouldn't feed live I'll feed prekilled or Frozen thawed. It's just safer and better and frozen is cheaper since you get more for your money and don't have to make trips to the Petshop all the time hope this helped

reptiledude987 · 10-28-15, 12:53 PM

I agree theat the jumbo was probably too large. due to the size of the last feeding it makes sence that he wasnt hungry yet. give hime extra time to digest that huge meal and he should come around. as far as the swelling goes it would be best adressed by a vet. I understand your concern about the stress of the trip however if untreated there is the possibility it could be fatal instead of just a bit of stress.

David VB · 10-28-15, 01:51 PM

He pees and poops almost every day??? And the poo is soft? I would take him to your vet asap and wouldn't care about him being stressed.

reptiledude987 · 10-28-15, 02:41 PM

My friend has a sd retic that goes frequently as well. I dont have one myself but I know my friends is similar. I dont know if its every day but more frequently than his others for sure.

earr · 10-29-15, 07:09 AM

Go to the vet! Run!

Relentless · 10-29-15, 08:22 AM

Hey there. I'm sorry to hear about your boy. I would take him to the vet immediately, stress or not. It's always better to be safe than sorry and a stressed snake is better than a dead snake, right?

In response to the information you provided, try not to jump prey item sizes so quickly. If you can't get consistency from the pet store you buy from, consider ordering online. It's more expensive up front and to ship the frozen items, but they will last you a long time and you know you're getting quality feeders. Try Layne Labs or Rodent Pro.

I would highly suggest you do not feed live prey items, especially ones that you know are too large for him. Live prey fights back and you up the risk of your snake getting hurt for no reason. If he has trouble taking frozen, thawed, there are options you can try to help him switch over.

Try to prevent too many temperature changes, especially when he's digesting food. If temps change too much, it'll impact his ability to properly digest his food and he may regurgitate.

Good luck with him!