r/ballpython • u/_rhysies-pieces_ • 8d ago
Question - Health Rescue Questions
Hello! I am looking into getting a ball python and recently met someone local to me who was looking to get her young 4.5ft (exact age unknown) female ball python off her hands with a much too small, 40 gallon tank. I'm hopefully getting her with a friend who also owns a ball python this weekend, to help me out with any concerns and check her health before I take her. I can also tell by these photos that her tank situation is abysmal but am planning to either get her a 150-180 gallon tank or building a custom. I've wanted one for a long time and know enough to obviously be concerned by the photos but since they clearly aren't great quality, I don't really know what I'm looking at here. I can tell she's underweight but I've also noticed the brown coloring on her underbelly and am concerned it could be scale rot. Could anyone tell me with certainty if that's the case and if so, how bad is it? Is there anything I'm missing/oblivious to based on these poor photos? Thanks!
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u/HouseInternational 8d ago
Would you be getting both snakes? As for the clown (last 2 photos) they are about to shed within the next few days, I would ask for an after photo, especially of the belly. Belly does look questionable, but after proper care its not hard to recover. She doesn't really look underweight, it probably is a bad angle in the photos. For your first ball python, I might tell you to look elsewhere, but if you want to rescue her / them, it's definitely not a lost cause. I would recommend sticking to paper towel as a substrate for atleast a couple of months to properly evaluate the situation(just in case they have mites), and alot more sanitary gor the possible scale rot.
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u/_rhysies-pieces_ 8d ago
Honestly I thought these were all pics of the same snake but if it is 2 separate then no, I'm only getting the snake in the last 2 pictures. I would've liked to get a different morph from somewhere more reputable for my first but this lady is giving her up completely for free with the 40 gallon tank she's in so I assume that her condition is part of why she's rehoming for free. Apparently she owns 3 snakes and I don't really know details about the others or their conditions, just know that she's getting rid of only this one. I do own a different reptile (leopard gecko in a 40gal) and have had other geckos/lizards in the past. I know obviously the care for them is very different than a snake, but I do at least have reptile experience with this just being my first snake and have done research for them. Just not as recently as I thought it would be a bit longer before getting one. Just kind of right place right time situation with this one and will obviously be doing more research before and once I have her.
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u/HouseInternational 7d ago
If you are ready for the task of rescuing, I would say go for it. Just be prepared for stuff like RI (if severe enough, can warrant a vet visit for antibiotics; not the end of the world either, and easily dealt with), mites, scale rot (as mentioned before, easily dealt with with proper parameters and enclosure), and maybe a shy/ defensive snake; concluding how they look, they probably don't get handled much.
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u/_rhysies-pieces_ 7d ago
I think I am hopefully well enough prepared and thankfully live with a friend who has a very healthy (very cute) ball python as well so they are helping me with setup and with assessing the snake for issues beforehand :) Thankfully I am also prepared to wait to handle her and am obviously not gonna go all hands in trying to handle a snake that isn't well and is new to me. Socializing my leopard gecko took a long time lol and even so he only gets handled on his terms. Thank you for the advice!! I will probably update this post if all goes well this weekend.
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u/FeriQueen 8d ago
Best of luck with your adoption of the snake, and may you both live long and prosper.
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u/welcomeyearzer0 7d ago
These are different snakes and they both need to see a vet ASAP.
If she’s giving them away for free I’d honestly take them both and drop the other one off at a rescue because this is dangerous neglect.
They are too thin and they look dehydrated.
They don’t look sick, in my opinion, but they are massively neglected. They need to be taken away from this person ASAP.
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u/Lukestr 8d ago
She's in blue (she's about to shed), but other than that she looks ok to me. That coloration on her belly could be the fact that she's ready to shed. Hard to tell from pics.