# blood python help!!



## chica19 (Nov 6, 2010)

I purchased a blood python and it won't eat and along the top of him its a pointy feel all up and down. Any help?


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## Lucas339 (Nov 6, 2010)

we'll need more info.  temps, set up ect.  is it a baby?? are you offering live? how long have you had it?


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## Boanerges (Nov 6, 2010)

Lucas339 said:


> we'll need more info.  temps, set up ect.  is it a baby?? are you offering live? how long have you had it?


X 2 and any pics??


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## chica19 (Nov 6, 2010)

*picture*

http://mail.aol.com/32843-111/aol-6...hment.aspx?uid=26209881&folder=Inbox&partId=1


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## chica19 (Nov 6, 2010)

I've had it for 2 days. And really all I wanna know if snakes are suppose to have a pointy back its like a curve from head to tail. I just wanna know if he was an abused snake


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## Dyn (Nov 6, 2010)

If you just got it you need to leave it alone for about a week before you try feeding or handling it. Let it adjust to its new environment

Also I cant see the picture can you upload it to photobucket. It says I need to be logged into Aol to see it.


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## VickyChaiTea (Nov 6, 2010)

Yeah, if you just got the snake it's not going to eat for you. Wait 7 days, then try again.


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## Kuro (Nov 6, 2010)

i agree with Dyn leave him alone for a week.  he's got to be stressed from being moved and placed into a different home and he's not going to eat just two days after being moved.

could upload the pic to photobucket or someplace similar?  can't see it at aol.


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## JColt (Nov 6, 2010)

If you can feel it's back bone then it probably didnt eat for the guy who sold it to you. Blood pythons can go months without eating and not show back bone.


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## chica19 (Nov 6, 2010)

*kkkkkk*

Thanks that was very helpful. Well I'm on my phone I don't have a computer rite now umm let me try photobucket.....or someone email me and I can send u a pic that way...
Mandeekaye10@aol.com


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## chica19 (Nov 6, 2010)




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## chica19 (Nov 7, 2010)

*got it*

Ok I believe I post up a pic on here. Tell me what you think


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## AprilH (Nov 7, 2010)

and how is it being kept? what's being offered? The answers to these will help people give you an answer.

No, the snake wasn't 'abused.' Neglected? No way to tell, really. Some hatchlings just don't do as well as others. It's a little on the thin side, but I've seen worse. My suggestion would be to keep it in a small, dark container and leave it alone for at least a few days before offering food. They need to feel safe and secure, and it's hard to get that in a bigger cage or especially an aquarium. I can't say what to offer, since you haven't given any info about what you've tried.


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## Lucas339 (Nov 8, 2010)

don't let it get above 85 degrees in the hot spot.  juvies like it around 85.  adults can handle hotter.  i kept mine at 85 and kept them dark with hides.  it may take a while but leave it be and try feeding in a week.  mine would only eat in their hides for a long time.  they also only took live for about a month.  then they switched over to f/t.


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## the toe cutter (Nov 8, 2010)

For a P. curtus that thing is a little skinny! They should normally look like slugs with heads. But like everyone else said, give it time to adjust and keep a heat gradient of 85F hot side and 75F cool side with about 80% humidity. This species is a South East Asian rainforest specialist and conditions in your enclosure should reflect that. Now after a about 5 to 7 days of adjustment, try feeding it a F/T rat pup. I know it sounds odd to feed such a large bodied reptile a small sized prey item. But they prefer smaller up to weanling size rats when babies. In the wild young have been observed using "scent markers" such as urine, defecation or dander from rodents to find nesting spots and feed upon any young they find. Rodents usually use a trail they have used numerous times before. IF that doesn't work, the next thing to try a few days later mind you, would be to get a F/T chick and attempt that. Whenever I have issues with difficult feeders, ie Boiga, Elaphe, P regius etc who are not specialist feeders I have used F/T chicks and most snakes of adequate size to handle that size prey item will have no issues taking it. This is not the magical cure all, but something about chicks will usually get a feeding response. Now when feeding snakes I use a sterilite tub mainly for terrestrial or fossorial species to feed them in so that no substrate is allowed to get into the mouth and digestive tract of that animal. Leave the prey item in with the animal for a few hours UNDISTURBED. Snakes have very acute sensory perception and sometimes need a bit of solitude! I hope that helps


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## AprilH (Nov 8, 2010)

That's a P. brongersmai, not a P. curtus.

To the OP, it would still be helpful to let people know what the current conditions are.


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## the toe cutter (Nov 9, 2010)

P brongersmai was only updated as its own species and not P curtus brongersmai in 2000 and there is alot of speculation as to its elevation since they are phylogenically nearly identical to the branch species(P curtus). Most believe this to simply be a locality subspecies. And without knowing where it is from, P brongersmai being from a few small islands in the Malay penninsula. And P brongersmai USUALLY are characterized as having a much brighter orange/red/reddish brown coloration. But in regards to care its identical anyway.


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## Lucas339 (Nov 9, 2010)

i would exhuast all rodent options before trying any type of different prey item or senting technique.  having to get chicks all the time is not easy for some and with patience, it may not be needed.  better to be safe and try several different rodent offerings than have the animal develop a taste for another prey item and then have to back track and swtich over to rodents.


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## the toe cutter (Nov 9, 2010)

Chicks are readily available and usually cheaper than rodents of the same size from any online rodent feeder shop! I have never had an issue with feeding different food types to any generalist snakes? I recommend americanrodents.com, as they have free shipping to alot of states with a purchase of 100$. 100$ usually feeds my entire collection for about a year.  Feeding live is a last resort if anything is.

1) Tease feeding, using some long tongs or very long forceps/tweezers hold the rodent by the tail and gently thrash it about in front of the snake, and maybe tap it gently on the snout. There is a chance of getting bitten using this method, so be careful!


2) Braining or cutting, with a sharp razor cut a slit in the top of the rodents head, on the nose or right along the side of the abdomen. This is what I use for picky hatchlings.


3) Size and color do actually matter! So try different sizes and colors to incite a feeding response. 


4) Scenting, with lizards, snakes, frogs, fish, chicks, fish oil or even a live rodent. This is more for your specialist type reptiles.


5) Pre-killed, this involves actually killing a live rodent prior to feeding, and most people have a hard time with this method. But it does work in some cases.


6) Force feeding, this is usually not the way you want to go, especially with viviparous snakes as they are more prone to sudden anorexia due to stress. And this should only be attempted by a vet who specializes in reptiles. I have had to do this with a Rhamphiophis who got a rather sizeable infection in the roof of his mouth and had no other choice until the anti-biotic treatments were finished. It cost me about 30$ per feeding.


If all of those fail then try a different food source, chicks, hamsters, gerbils, finches etc. Now each of these methods have been proven and are pretty common within the reptile hobby. But you cannot try to feed your snake everyday if it refuses its food offering. This will cause undo stress and make the animal more reluctant to eat. So try to space it out at an attempt every 3-4 days. Then as a last hurrah, try a live rodent of appropriate size but stay and observe the animals closely. If the rodent starts to show any sign aggression or just plain hunger and wants to take a few nibbles out of your snake, then remove it immediately. I hope this helps out a little more.


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## jere000 (Nov 9, 2010)

That's definitely a P. Brongersmais.P. Curtus are black bloods/sumatran short tailed pythons and well are black colored sometimes with chrome heads or orange eyes.I wouldn't worry about him not eating it's not that serious with a new acquisition.Be careful with how much you feed people tend to let their blood pythons/short tails get over weight in captivity.For my blood python to eat I had to put the rats head in front of him and leave the room I'd come back later and it would be gone.


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## arachnidsrulz12 (Nov 9, 2010)

have u ever heard the word read or search before u boy?:evil:

lol just saying

not trying to be mean or anything

I search a lot before I buy a new pet;P

just a hint so u know


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## jere000 (Nov 9, 2010)

arachnidsrulz12 said:


> have u ever heard the word read or search before u boy?:evil:
> 
> lol just saying
> 
> ...


Since the OP already has the snake this is obviously not going to help Mhm kay Captain Hindsight.;P


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## AprilH (Nov 10, 2010)

I realize that it doesn't affect the care, but again that is a P. brongersmai, not a curtus (The article reclassifying them as species was published in 2001). If you read the article, genetically, P. curtus is much much more closely related to P. breitensteini than brongersmai. 

An example of this from the 2001 Keogh et al. paper:


> In terms of cytochrome b mitochondrial DNA sequence data, brongersmai is almost as distant genetically from the short-tailed pythons (8.9% divergence) as is the reticulated python (P. reticulatus: 10.3% divergence). The other two taxa (P. breitensteini from Kalimantan and P. curtus from western and southern Sumatra) are closely related (3% divergence), despite their disjunct distribution (separated by P. brongersmai).


Blood pythons (P. brongersmai) have a lot of color variation. Babies are not nearly as colorful as adults, and that looks like a regular blood baby to me. It's not going to be a colorful adult - probably just a duller brown/yellow snake, but the pattern and color look nothing like a P. curtus.

It's very possible that all the food suggestions may not be needed. I'm guessing that it may just be a husbandry issue stressing out the snake and making it refuse food. We still don't know how the OP is keeping it. If there are improvements to make, that would play a big part in getting it feeding.


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## the toe cutter (Nov 10, 2010)

Good info thanks! I have not read that, what paper did that come from?



opiate said:


> I realize that it doesn't affect the care, but again that is a P. brongersmai, not a curtus (The article reclassifying them as species was published in 2001). If you read the article, genetically, P. curtus is much much more closely related to P. breitensteini than brongersmai.
> 
> An example of this from the 2001 Keogh et al. paper:
> 
> ...


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## AprilH (Nov 11, 2010)

Link to full journal article


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