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How to recover an underfed snake

Posted By:

Katie M

In Relation To:

Betty

I'm picking up this little girl on Thursday, and when I say little, I mean little. She's been kept in a 40 gallon breeder tank for the past 8 years, and has never been offered food larger than a f/t adult mouse. Her previous owners did not have much experience with snakes (clearly), and only offered her one f/t mouse every 10 days. They would thaw it out, place it in a pillowcase, and leave her in with the food until it was gone. My question is how do I bring her to some semblance of health? She's only 3 feet long at 8 years of age, and I would estimate she weighs no more than 3 pounds. I'd like to slowly offer her larger meals, but worry about regurge and how she'll handle eating outside of a bag. I already have her enclosure all set up for when I get her home, with it being 4 feet long, 2 feet deep and 4 feet tall. Plenty of room to stretch her little snakey legs. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated!

Attached Photos:


Points:	150
Topics:	General Health , Feeding , Digestive
Tags:	Boa
Species:	Boas > Large Boas > Boa constrictor imperator
Administrative:	Show/Hide

Member Comment

7/1/2008 6:07:13 PM

Kim Heller

I really don't have experience with an issue like this, but I'd probably feed her in the manner she is accustomed for awhile until she settles in. If you are not comfortable, maybe placing the thawed rodent under a hide in her cage, so she has some privacy. Maybe still feed her the one f/t mouse per feeding, but every 7 days rather than 10 so that it isn't a shock to her system...too much/too big of a food item at once.

Maybe have a fecal and vet exam done to make sure she has no underlying health issues. I'm glad you are getting her...sounds like she will finally have a loving home that she deserves. She is a cutie.

Kim

Member Comment

7/1/2008 6:07:37 PM

aaron

For what it's worth, I bought a chondro that was the same ... small adult mouse once a week or two (five foot girlie), and she was in excellent shape, but you could definitely see ribs. She needed to get some fat reserves going. Don't get me wrong, she was a HEALTHY snake, but definitely on the very (very) light side.

I gave her a couple days after she got here, and then started with a large adult mouse (a meal a little bigger) and gave it a week. All was good. Doubled up the next week, and she was fine. Gradually, I got her onto small rats (after a couple of months) and after that, she just became another one of the family, and ended up on the same feeding schedule as everyone else.

Make sure she's quarantined well.

If she is alert and has good body tone (light on muscle, but you know, moves well, can hold herself and wrap around you pretty strong when you pick her up) you should have nothing to worry about. Just keep it slow and steady. Again, my experience is in chondros more than anything, so this might be useless information. lol

As far as the transition from pillowcase to cage, I've never had to do that, so I'm no help there.

Others feel free to chime in ...

Member Comment

7/1/2008 6:17:02 PM

FyreFocks

I had the same issue with my oldest corn Apollo. He never got more than a mouse every week for 12 years. I doubled up his intake the first week. After a month we jumped to rats. Hes huge now. More fat than long, but healthy. I wouldnt be this drastic with a boa. Corns eat like they never seen food before. But increasing the frequency of feedings would be a start. Then you can nudge him in the direction of larger prey items. As for the bag, if it aint broke, dont fix it.

Member Comment

7/1/2008 7:27:35 PM

Reptile Mania

My Maddie come from a similar situation, she was fed one small rat every month!! She is 5yrs old, weight was 11lbs and 6'6'. She also came to me very ill with RI which didn't help the feeding issue, and also she did not have enough strength to hold herself up if I was holding her.. I mean if she was around my shoulders she was ok as I held her weight, but as she started to go downwards she could not hold grip of me. Once treatment was done and she was over RI, I worked on the feeding. It took a month to get her to feed the first time, but I offered the same meal she was use to, and then offered again in 10 days. She now takes 2 prey items per meal appropriately sized to her, every 10-12 days, she has put on 8 inches in length and a little weight. With boas I find if they overfeed you can almost count on a regurge. Introducing more/larger food a little slower will hopefully help in reducing the possibility of regurge.
As for the pillowcase....I would simply put her into a rubbermaid for feeding and I think she should adjust to that being where food is offered.

Member Comment

7/1/2008 9:34:24 PM

MegF

I rescued a bermese that had only been fed one live adult mouse every 2 weeks for most of it's 2 1/2 years of life. It weighed less than my 4 year old cornsnake. I fed the appropriately sized animal (in this case a very small rat f/t) and it took it. With regular feedings it should put on some size and weight. I would be conservative and go up in size slowly. Once it's on regular weekly feedings of the proper size, I think it will be fine. You may never see full growth in this animal due to the length of time it was on what amounts to basically a maintenance diet, but it should improve. Better to have little or slow growth than to push it and end up with a regurge. Just going to weekly feedings may make a big difference.

Author Comment

7/2/2008 12:30:46 AM

Katie M

***UPDATE*** I get to go pick Betty up tomorrow evening. I was able to have a discussion at length with the current owner, and I really believe that she was misled by someone along the way, and really was looking out for Betty's best interest, but was led astray. Turns out that the picture of Betty that I have set as default is her in a 20 long... not a 40 like I thought. They intentionally fed her small meals infrequently, because they were told that snakes grow to their enclosure... so, this is why Betty has spent her 8 long years in a 20 long... My yearling outgrew hers by 8 months! First thing I'll do tomorrow is weigh her, and she'll get 2 f/t mice on Thursday. The owner says that she occasionally fed two when she felt Betty had gone a little to long without food. Seems that Betty gets a bit nasty when she gets hungry... you think? I will have her into the vet Saturday, if they're open for a fecal culture and exam, and we'll go from there :) Thanks for the suggestions everyone, I will be sure to take things slow...

Member Comment

7/2/2008 3:13:40 AM

Tea

I have nothing of any substance to add as it's all been said already but I will say how glad I am that the poor little thing is going to a good home finally. That's all well and good that the previous owner was led astray by someone's stupid advice... but how hard is it to do a bit of your own research and figure out what's right and what's clearly crap?! As if that poor little snake is an 8 year old boa! Bless her :( Kudos to you for rescuing her :D

Member Comment

7/2/2008 3:31:03 AM

Jeffriey

Ditto. I think it's wonderful you're giving her a loving home. To be honest I don't think she looks strong enough except to gradually increase her meals. All my snakes are casual eaters and take their time but I've taken in a couple of underfed animals and they couldn't get the food down fast enough at feeding time. Even had one of them bite themselves in the process of gorging down a meal. They're all doing fine now. Hope she does well....

Member Comment

7/2/2008 4:44:37 AM

MegF

Actually FyreFocks...corn adults can do quite well on a large adult mouse for their entire lives. They get fat pretty easily if you're not careful. I feed my adult corns every 2 weeks and they get one small african rat which is about the size of a breeder mouse...only younger and more fat content of course.
I agree with Tea though...these people could have done some research if they wanted to. It was the same with the Berm owners.....they had owned the snake for almost 2 years and got it from a guy who had it a year and they didn't even bother to find out what species it was or what it's needs were. I can tell you when I got my first snake, I was all OVER the internet finding out as much about it as I could. It's just plain lazy.

Member Comment

7/2/2008 5:12:37 AM

Tea

I find a lot of the fun involved in this hobby is in the learning. I mean... what's the point of having a snake if you're not going to learn about it and enjoy it... it's not like it's going to run around and around in a wheel for hours or get up and do a dance for you. Oh, but then there is the 'I've got a snake therefore I'm hardcore' appeal I suppose :/ I just don't understand how people can't get enjoyment from learning this kinda stuff... but that might be because I've been on a quest for knowledge since the day I learnt to read ;) There should be some sort of law stating that you can only keep animals like this if you can prove you've done your research with a basic knowledge test ;) Actually, saying that, the guy at my local reptile shop, and no doubt many other responsible shop owners and breeders, requires that younger potential herp keepers go away and do their research and then answer a few questions regarding basic husbandry before he'll sell them their first exotic pet. That sort of thing should be standard vendor practice... there'd be a whole load of much happier animals out there.

Member Comment

7/2/2008 11:56:11 AM

The Egal

Start with the same size mouse that she has been eating, put the mouse in at night, turn all lights off in the room and walk away. Since shes already an adult she may have became used to getting fed every ten days, so slowly shorten the days and keep shortening them until shes eating about every 3 to 4 days, this way she will grow faster. After a couple of weeks you can start to watch her eat.

Member Comment

7/2/2008 12:17:09 PM

FyreFocks

Thanks Meg. I know they do ok, but at 11/12 years old when I got him, he was as thin as my 3 year old male. Hes fat now, no doubt about that. But hes healthier, in my opinion, and more active than most of my younger adults. Ive concluded he isnt up to breeding anymore. But Ive had him longest and I want to have him as long as possible. He likes his rats every week and I dont see a reason to change.

Good luck with your new snake Katie. Youll have to let everyone know how shes doing as time passes.

Member Comment

7/9/2008 12:11:05 AM

Playballp

At first feed her what she's used to eating but this time give her a second adult mouse. Try to increase quantities every other meal, let her gain some weight and get stronger then she'll be ready for a bigger size meal (rats). Good luck!

Accepted Answer

7/12/2008 10:08:51 AM

rob_carmichael

Good to see such great advice here. Our wildlife center has dealt with many situations including animals coming it at sub optimal weights. Just a few recaps/additions:

1) QUARANTINE, QUARANTINE, QUARANTINE....I can't stress that enough. Don't take any chances with any new arrival - particuarly one that is not in optimal condition

2) FECALS, FECALS....goes along with the quarantine process. I usually run at least three fecals and they must be clean before putting them with the rest of the collection (and that's after a 90-day quarantine)

3) Stress prevention: animals that are underweight are already immunocompromised so keep stress levels down - avoid loud music, high traffic areas, free roaming pets like cats (who are better off as snake meals...just kidding!....sort of), etc.

4) GO SLOW AND EASY: most folks recommended this. You can't put on weight over night so just take it very slow - maintain their regular diet for a while and just slowly add an extra prey animal. Give the snake ample time in between meals to digest its prey. Most captive snakes, particularly boas, are overweight. At our facility, our boas get one appropriately sized prey items each month and they maintain excellent weight, fantastic muscle tone and maintain active and healthy lifestyles.

good luck,

Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center
www.thegrassisrattling.com
www.robcarmichaelreptiles.com

Member Comment

7/14/2008 1:58:36 PM

Sonja K. Reptiles

How's she doing?
Getting her eating established in her new home is important. I have had good luck getting new acquisitions/rescues that are underweight, to eat by feeding them the same sized prey they are used to, and even sometimes I've gone with a just slightly smaller prey item. (You are very fortunate that she is used to F/T instead of live.) Once they have fed a couple times, then I have increased the size slightly or increased the frequency to about once/week or maybe even every 5 days. I wouldn't rush her. You know she is going to be better off with you in the long run. She has many years ahead of her.
Another factor that I don't think has been mentioned yet is -
She is used to a smaller enclosure. Putting her into a much larger enclosure may prove to be overwhelming for her at first. If she doesn't eat, you may want to consider moving her into a smaller cage - closer to what she had been in, or even the drawer of a rack system (around the size of an Iris CB 70 - since she was in a 20 gallon). If you don't have something smaller available, I would try an additional hide or two.
Good luck - she's a little cutie! Keep us updated!

Author Comment

7/19/2008 10:38:06 PM

Katie M

Wanted to give everyone that was so forthcoming with great advice the Betty update. She was a little worse off than I had expected, and I hadn't expected much. She weighed in at just 483 grams, and the mice she's eating are weanlings. The owners said she was 8, but they gave me the original documents from getting her, and she was born in 1997... correct my math if it's wrong, but that makes her 11. I was planning on waiting to feed her, but she took immediately to the new, larger enclosure, and seemed to be very calm. I fed her the two f/t weanlings that the previous owner had supplied. She took them immediately, in the cage with tongs. I think that she'll adjust to my way of feeding just fine. Thanks again for all of the support, and I'll keep further updates on my page!

Member Comment

12/21/2011 3:47:46 AM

LaraB

These answers (and looking at Bettys feeding regime under her tracking) has been really helpful as i picked up a Boa (Noah) yesterday who has been underfed too; and i wasn't sure how to build him up safely.

Member Comment

12/21/2011 8:36:50 AM

aaron

Love it when a system works like this.

Thanks to everyone who participated!!!!!!!

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