Information/advice or help about spotted python

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Alana Stevens

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Im a relatively new snake owner, I got a spotted python thats female and was on special new years time start of the year she was around 150 and ive had trouble with her the last few months and then the bad winter came and now I'm just starting to get her back to normal. But shes only eating one pinkie a week and shes over a year old now. I'm keeping her temp at 30 degrees steady and monitoring the heat as summer time comes. I just want to know is there a trick to get her eating bigger sizes slowly or do I just up the sizes as she takes them? I only want whats best for her but as a new owner I dont know alot and if anybody wants to be my mentor ill take it because I only want to help her

I also have a male spotted who has never had an issue and ive had him since a hatchie
 
30 is a bit cool, 32-33 hot end during the day would do her better

yes try bigger feeds, pinkies are way too small for a year old snake (have u tried offering her bigger foods?) I would start on something like a hopper or weaner, if she takes that no worries, you could try something slightly bigger
 
30 is a bit cool, 32-33 hot end during the day would do her better

yes try bigger feeds, pinkies are way too small for a year old snake (have u tried offering her bigger foods?) I would start on something like a hopper or weaner, if she takes that no worries, you could try something slightly bigger
I try big feeds which I also feed my male spotted but she does this weird head tilt which concerns me and then doesn't eat, and I've taken her to see the vet before when I first got her and they gave me antibiotics for an illness she had ( it was respiratory infection, they told me stress from a different environment) I did the proper rounds of needles and she came good but still struggle with feeds. The last winter really did a doozy on her because she wouldn't eat at all. Shes a very timid snake. I haven't received any details from the seller to change her to my name either. I've struggled with this snake since I've received her because I'm not sure how else I can help her.
 
Hi Alana
I would try raising the hot end to about 35c during the day, and let it cool down over night. As previously stated, keep offering larger prey. Good luck.
Thankyou! Ive noticed over times with her shedding too, she has hard times during shed as her nose holes seem to get blocked by the shed so I'm trying to raise humidity more
 
Not quite sure what you mean by old skin stuck in her nostrils, never seen or heard of that before ? Constant high humidity is not good for them. I keep my enclosures at 30 - 35% and have never had any issues. Infact i think internal hydration (having access to plenty of fresh water to drink and maybe soak in) is more important. Good luck.
 
When she goes into her shed cycles the old skin she starts to shed like covers her nostrils and she can't breathe through her nose. I should of took a picture while she was in shed. I have one snake who's super chill and nevwr had an issue but this girl has been a process
 
Should have mentioned earlier, im not sure what kind of setup your keeping it in, but it should include some sticks and or stones (rough surfaces) to rub against, to aid in removing the old skin.
 
Hi Alana
I would try raising the hot end to about 35c during the day, and let it cool down over night. As previously stated, keep offering larger prey. Good luck.
Totally agree with Constrictor’s advice. Commonly recommended range is 25C to 32-35C. Bumping it up at the high end will help stimulate metabolism and hopefully appetite, as well as helping to boost the immune system. Given you say the snake is timid, you can add some extra hides along the temperature gradient. Pill boxes, with a corner of the end torn off for access, are great for this. When soiled you just throw them away and put in a clean one. Make sure you provide clean fresh water at least once week. Twice weekly is even better as pythons are reluctant to drink water that has been standing for more than a few days. To add a little more to Constrictor’s advice on shedding: the surface of clay bricks /pavers, concrete building blocks, unglazed terracotta, and the like, are of suitable roughness. The old skin breaks along the lips, but the snake then needs to get it rolled it backwards over its face to allow the slough to be dragged off as it moves. Just like we might do to start peeling off a sock.

If you noticed the visible symptoms of respiratory infection (RI) only shortly after you got her, then she likely already had when you bought her. That may well be why she on special. Lethargy and loss of appetite are early signs of illness that the seller may have picked up on, but did not inform you about. Given it has been 9 months and they have still not completed the paper work, they sound dodgy anyway. While stress can induce RI, it is normally long-term stress due to incorrect or poor husbandry, rather than the short-term stress of a simple change of environment. Otherwise there would be a lot of people returning snake that they just bought. The sorts of stress factors are snakes not kept at the proper temperature range (most often consistently too cold), enclosure not cleaned and left unsanitary, insufficient ventilation resulting in too high humidity, insufficient access to clean water, and poor diet. Other causes can be the presence of certain parasites, virus or fungal infection or another underlying illness. This makes me wonder how experienced the vet is with reptiles.
 
Totally agree with Constrictor’s advice. Commonly recommended range is 25C to 32-35C. Bumping it up at the high end will help stimulate metabolism and hopefully appetite, as well as helping to boost the immune system. Given you say the snake is timid, you can add some extra hides along the temperature gradient. Pill boxes, with a corner of the end torn off for access, are great for this. When soiled you just throw them away and put in a clean one. Make sure you provide clean fresh water at least once week. Twice weekly is even better as pythons are reluctant to drink water that has been standing for more than a few days. To add a little more to Constrictor’s advice on shedding: the surface of clay bricks /pavers, concrete building blocks, unglazed terracotta, and the like, are of suitable roughness. The old skin breaks along the lips, but the snake then needs to get it rolled it backwards over its face to allow the slough to be dragged off as it moves. Just like we might do to start peeling off a sock.

If you noticed the visible symptoms of respiratory infection (RI) only shortly after you got her, then she likely already had when you bought her. That may well be why she on special. Lethargy and loss of appetite are early signs of illness that the seller may have picked up on, but did not inform you about. Given it has been 9 months and they have still not completed the paper work, they sound dodgy anyway. While stress can induce RI, it is normally long-term stress due to incorrect or poor husbandry, rather than the short-term stress of a simple change of environment. Otherwise there would be a lot of people returning snake that they just bought. The sorts of stress factors are snakes not kept at the proper temperature range (most often consistently too cold), enclosure not cleaned and left unsanitary, insufficient ventilation resulting in too high humidity, insufficient access to clean water, and poor diet. Other causes can be the presence of certain parasites, virus or fungal infection or another underlying illness. This makes me wonder how experienced the vet is with reptiles.
Yes! I did as you guys said and raised the temp and she is a lot happier already. Should I wait a couple days and try feeding her or try and feed her asap?

Yes, she's been a special case since ive had her and I was half decided on maybe giving her to a rescue but shes coming good with all the advice I'm getting already.

I had her in a larger enclosure with a heat lamp with cage and logs and hides but she didn't like it so I put her in a smaller enclosure to try and find out whats wrong.

I appreciate all the help I'm getting for this snake
 
You could try feeding her tonight, but i don't think it wouldn't hurt if you leave it a little longer either. I realy would try to get her to take something larger, but anything is better than nothing. It could take some time and patience to get her up to a healthy weight. Their metabolism is slower than a mamals so it can take longer to recover. Best of luck.
 
In good news to everyone who has helped me here I got my female spotted python to eat a larger pinkie rat this time, I'm hoping for a slow recovery from everythong that has come to pass. Thankyou for all the help 😁
 

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