rescued Bredli

[ShepQLD]

ok, I said Id start a new thread when I picked the little guy up, I got the go ahead an hour ago so I dashed out to get him.
it was in a huge glass tank with no hides and NO HEAT.
he says it ate a whole pinky last week but thats the first time its eaten a whole one. usually he was chopping them up for it (?!) He also said that in order to get it to eat he has to open its mouth and put the pinky in it. (?!!) it also has a partially retained shed. (a little around its middle and a little bit on the end of its tail. mine have never had issues with sheds but Ive read that you just spray them a little with water is that right?)
anyway, I have got it home and looked at it, he picked it up in may last year and its about the same size as my nine month old Stimson. (It didnt have a hatch date only the date he picked it up)
he has no records of when it has eaten or shed or anything so I am getting a meal ready for it as we speak. given that it is over a year old and my two nine month olds are on velvet mice I thought Id offer it one of them.
Naturally I have also got it on heat right now to warm it up a bit before I try to feed it! Im just going to give it a go exactly how I feed my other two and see how he goes.
if anyone has any hints or advice Im all ears. I havent got (or researched) Bredli's so Im thinking tonight is going to be a big study session!!

*side note: its BEAUTIFUL! and other then the retained shed looks to be in good health with no sign of obvious illness or injury. Ill attempt to get a photo when I feed it

Also... please lets not have a string of abuse for the guy had it, please remember he has now done the right thing by giving it to someone who WILL look after it.

 

[ShepQLD]

 

[ShepQLD]

I couldnt get the pics any bigger sorry my real camera is in getting fixed so had to use my phone. its not interested in eating but the shed thats still on it looks really tight! I wet it with warm water and really gently rubbed it a little but I dont want to hurt it, should I leave it to settle in for a few days before attempting to do anything else with it or should I try to get the shed off asap? I dont know how long its been on it.
any suggestions??

 

[Dar1stheory]

You can buy a reptile moisturising spray that may also help in softening up the remaining shed, I think most will say don't attempt to pull it off, let him have a chance to do the work (or at least try), give him something slightly rough to rub against to wear it off, like a rough rock, or a branch with some rough edges to it...

And give him a bit of time to settle in before attempting the feeds and let him be for a while without handling, he looks healthy enough in size in the little phone pic that he's not gonna keel over from hunger...

All the best, bredli's are great, my favourite Aussie snake for sure...

 

[Dallas]

To get rid of the retained shed you can try soaking it for 20 minutes in warm water 30degrees then with a wet clean towel gently rub the area. It can be stubborn to get off so you may need to soak him/her a couple of times. Just be gentle and patient and it will come off. Just use a click clack and put enough water in that it can soak but still leave its head above water.

Another method I have heard of but never tried is a wet pillowcase or bag with a bit rougher texture. As the snake moves around inside it should rub the retained shed off.

Since you are already getting ready to try feeding it i'd wait a couple of days and then try getting the old skin off so you don't stress it too much.

Good luck with the little guy, bredli's are an absolute joy to keep and he/she is so lucky to have been rescued by you

 

[D3pro]

whao that python is messed up... good on you for rescuing it

 

[zuesowns]

Hey Shep. good to hear that you are looking after this bredli now. I couldn't believe what I read. even with the basic info out there - you would know pythons need heat. and assist feeding is a last resort.

my opinion would be to let him settle in for 5 days at least first before trying to feed as I posted in your last thread. as for it's shed if it isn't to fighty then soak it in warm water and use a damp rag, cloth and dab, wipe and the shed, it should come off, like above post said - you may need to do it a few times.

how big is your bredli? if he is around the same size as your stimmie then yeah offer the same food item but allow him 24 hours heat 30-33 degrees and let him settle in for 5 days before offering. you may waste your time, if he hasn't had heat he won't eat. pythons need heat to digest and if there was no heat he won't eat.

How are you offering your pythons mice?

 

[Snakelove]

Wow that bredli is incredibly small for a yearling. Maybe give it rats instead of velvet mice of similar size? Mine is only 6 months and is double that size. good luck!

 

[Serpentess]

Oh man. That sounds like a sad life.
But all is good from here on in.

All I can suggest is what others have already said.
Good luck!

 

[Alldone]

Yay that he has been rescued & will be looked after by someone who knows what they are doing. He's so cute.

 

[ShepQLD]

its such a little sweetheart, with all its been through it hasnt tried to tag me once (though it may be that it is just in alot of shock!)
Im taking on board all your suggestions and making a plan of attack lol.
firstly I will leave him alone for a few days before doing anything else at all.
I have bumped up the heat a little more (he is sharing a large heat mat with my stimson that escaped last night) seperate click clacks at each end of course, but I figure my Stimmie was freezing when I found her at lunchtime so it would probably do her some good to be a little extra warmer then usual aswell.
I will keep a close eye out for respitory infections and any sign of that and I will whip to the vets quick smart.

The retained shed worries me though because I dont know how long its been there, it does look pretty damn tight and Im willing to bet its been fed with that still on. But I think for his peace of mind its best to leave him overnight at the very least before soaking him... ummmm... isnt it? its not going to kill him for more night Im guessing, although I did wonder if soaking him might actually help him warm up a bit aswell?

it makes such perfect sense that he wouldnt eat if he was cold! cant believe that didnt cross my mind *palm-face* LOL. so first things first... settle in and heat.
poor little guy, he's going to think he is spoilt rotten here! I love him already!

 

[ShepQLD]

oh @Zuesown... I feed them in a 'feeding' click clack, not in thier regular click clacks, I heat the food with warm water out the kettle (so its sterilised) and then wave it around in front of thier faces with tong's. The diamond needs no encouragement at all but my stimson has always been a bit of a problem feeder (though she is improving with age)
I would say that the Bredli is about 50cm. really there seems to be very little size difference at all between them all.
Both the Diamond and the Stimson will take either mice or rats but at the moment I have velvet mice since thats what my Diamond was on before I got her (I only picked her up the morning of the Gold Coast expo, not AT the expo... before hand lol)

and yeah I agree... I was really shocked to find it had no heat. I think its been getting by on the sunlight through the window during the daytimes. *shakes head* at least thats something that can be fixed instantly I guess!

 

[LadyJ]

You can buy a reptile moisturising spray that may also help in softening up the remaining shed, I think most will say don't attempt to pull it off, let him have a chance to do the work (or at least try), give him something slightly rough to rub against to wear it off, like a rough rock, or a branch with some rough edges to it...

And give him a bit of time to settle in before attempting the feeds and let him be for a while without handling, he looks healthy enough in size in the little phone pic that he's not gonna keel over from hunger...

All the best, bredli's are great, my favourite Aussie snake for sure...

Reptile shed spray isn't really worth it... it mainy consists of water anyway which you can give them directly via a bath.

But great rescue, I'm sure it'll love the proper care and be back to good in no time! Let us know how it goes and sorry I'm of no help (not a snake owner)... but you could offer the snake a damp/wet cloth/towel to crawl through and hopefully dislodge the shed?

 

[pythonmum]

Do you have your heat mat controlled by a thermostat? I highly recommend this, as you don't want to roast the poor little thing. You could try putting a damp face washer along one half of the click-clack. That will take up the humidity and if he lies on it, it will help hydrate and loosen the shed. You could use this for a few hours or overnight as a prelude to more direct removal.

Whenever I've had a snake with retained shed, I've used a tea towel soaked in lukewarm water and wrung out. Then I loosely wrap the snake in it (just wrap it around the coiled snake, don't try to make it a sausage casing). Sit down and watch TV for 15 or 20 minutes, holding the snake inside the tea towel. Then let it wriggle out, helping by gently pulling off retained shed if necessary. If really tight, this may need a couple of gos.

I think you have the right idea letting it settle in before attempting feeding. When you do feed it, leave it with a fuzzy mouse or whatever for an hour in the dark before checking whether it has eaten.

 

[ShepQLD]

yep its all running through a thermastat

I like the idea of the damp cloth in its click-clack. Its actually out of the hide and moving alot at the moment, the other two rarely come out. I wonder if its because it hasnt had a hide before, or maybe its just enjoying being warm enough to move around lol

Im still just going to leave it be tonight though but I will try that idea with a wet tea towel in a few days

 

[Chris1]

ewww, chopped up rodents, thats so gross!!

good on you for taking him in,..i bet hes happier already!!

as has already been mentioned water works fine to help loosen shed, try putting him in a click clack with a cm of water for 15 mins or so and let him soak (use the feeding click clack on the heat mat?) then gently rub it and see if it comes off,....

good luck!

 

[shellfisch]

Just a question for those who know about such things, isn't removal of any retained shed a matter of some urgency?

 

[jamesbecker]

yah id definatly try to get that retained skin off ASAP! IMO it doesnt really matter if it gets stressed a bit, but it could oppose serious threat to its health if its not removed, as we dont know how long its been on there for!

other then that, sounds like its finally getting the care it deserves

 

[ShepQLD]

thats a good question shellfisch, the more I look at it the more concerned I am, it does seem to be quite tight and it looks to me like theres a slight buldge just before it, Im concerned that it would be restricting its food going through it normally. (he said it ate last week) Ive just been sat watching it, for everything its been through its very active. I have just put a really rough fake log hide in it (it is a specific snake hide so its safe) but the poor little guy is just going back and forth all over it, its not keeping still much at all which perhaps could just be that its warmed up enough to explore but im wondering if its that active perhaps it could handle being soaked it in a little warm water for a bit right now, whats everyones opinions on doing that now?

 

[ShepQLD]

Thanks James, Ill put a facecloth in a bit of water in a tub and put him in there for a bit. Do I put the tub with the water in it on the heatmat to keep it warm?