New GTP couple of concerns.

[bentonb]

So I got a baby Green Tree Python at the Reptile Super show a few weeks ago. Brought him/her home, set up the cage, popped him in and was good to go I thought. When I bought him I asked the feeding schedule and they said Mondays. That was 2 days later. I fed him, and he ate that Monday. He hasn't eaten since. And I've tried feeding him weekly with no luck. I have a cage fogger, and I fog twice a day. Today I was examining him and he seems to have some sort of what looks like a depression on his head? He shed at the end of the first week I had him, and it was a complete shed in one piece, so I highly doubt this is a shedding problem? Not sure what to do. I've read other threads and I guess I'm less worried about him not eating for 4-5 weeks, but this head thing is strange.
First picture is him right after I put him in the cage, second and third are today.

 

[Ellenantula]

I hope he will eat for you soon -- honestly, imo, and no GTP experience -- I gotta say the backbone looks prominent -- like he's on the thin side. Which may also explain the head depression.
I googled a few pictures and those looked 'rounder-ish'.

Good luck with getting him in peak condition -- it's obvious he will be gorgeous.

 

[bentonb]

Well good news guys, I either pissed him off enough, or he finally decided he was hungry, and he ate! now just to watch the depression. I'll feed him again in a week.

 

[14pokies]

Well good news guys, I either pissed him off enough, or he finally decided he was hungry, and he ate! now just to watch the depression. I'll feed him again in a week.

Lol.. Sometimes tease feeding is the only way to get these guys to eat when they are young. He looks a little dehydrated.. The prominent spine, some loose skin on the insides of the coils and the tight skin on the head are all surefire signs..

Are you misting him enough that numerous large droplets form on his body? These guys tend to drink better from there scales than water dishes especially untill they get well established. The best time to mist for drinking is early evening about a half hour or so before you turn off the lights..

 

[bentonb]

Lol.. Sometimes tease feeding is the only way to get these guys to eat when they are young. He looks a little dehydrated.. The prominent spine, some loose skin on the insides of the coils and the tight skin on the head are all surefire signs..

Are you misting him enough that numerous large droplets form on his body? These guys tend to drink better from there scales than water dishes especially untill they get well established. The best time to mist for drinking is early evening about a half hour or so before you turn off the lights..

Well I fog him twice a day for about a half an hour each time, and the tank maintains a humidity level of roughly 70-80% during the day and and of course up to 100% during and quite a while after fogging. He also has a large water bowl at the bottom of the enclosure. I've seen him go down there many times during the night after I turn off the lights. Should I get a sprayer and spray him as well?

 

[14pokies]

Well I fog him twice a day for about a half an hour each time, and the tank maintains a humidity level of roughly 70-80% during the day and and of course up to 100% during and quite a while after fogging. He also has a large water bowl at the bottom of the enclosure. I've seen him go down there many times during the night after I turn off the lights. Should I get a sprayer and spray him as well?

I wouldn't if you see him drinking.. If you just see him cruising around and over the water dish I would.. I've had numerous indo pythons ( mainly W/C individuals) that will completely ignore there water dish.

The fogger may be adding enough humidity into the air but it might not be enough of a "shower" to stimulate him to drink.. It's weird but it's like a secondary reaction. They feel the heavy and prolonged misting from a spray bottle which simulates rain much better than a fogger and within a minute or two start drinking from there scales.

If you notice that he is regularly drinking either from the dish or his scales and he still looks dehydrated after 2-4 weeks I would take him to a vet and have a fecal exam done.. If he's W/C (even LTC) the stress of the move and rehousing could be taxing his immune system allowing a parasite bloom.

He looks pretty good so I wouldn't really worry.. I've had some really rough ones pull through just by giving them some tlc.. Your set up sounds and looks great I would guess your just experiencing the life of a gtp owner.. They can be a tad bit fragile and can make You stress over nothing.Lol.

 

[bentonb]

Alright, Update.
He's eaten once more (Thursday). but this head thing hasn't gone away, I'm misting and fogging him regularly and I'm assuming he's drinking, but as you can see in the pictures this head thing is getting worse, and it looks like it's spread to his lower jaw and down his neck. It looks like his mouth is stuck open? I'm so frustrated, I don't know what I could be doing better, and yet he's not getting better.
Please help! or refer me to someone who might have an idea?
Thanks.

 

[bentonb]

Bump, he ate again this evening.

 

[ShyDragoness]

that does NOT look good ! I would personally say vet asap but I have 0 experience with these guys!

 

[dragonfire1577]

Bump, he ate again this evening.

The head thing looks very bad, some sort of infection maybe. He needs a vet ASAP. If you haven't seen regular drinking mist his body so he can drink off the coils and also mist the glass and decor near him. These guys need a semi tall, wider tank with perches all across it so they can have horizontal heat gradient with one side being the warm side and the other being the cool side your tank looks like it may be providing a vertical heat gradient instead since I see the exo terra bamboo forest stuff in the background which means this either a 12x12x18 which isn't quite ideal, or an 18x18x24 which is more workable but still not better than say something that is 24 wide x 18 deep x 18 tall. Hope I could help with care for this guy and that he can recover from whatever is going on with his head.

 

[bentonb]

The head thing looks very bad, some sort of infection maybe. He needs a vet ASAP. If you haven't seen regular drinking mist his body so he can drink off the coils and also mist the glass and decor near him. These guys need a semi tall, wider tank with perches all across it so they can have horizontal heat gradient with one side being the warm side and the other being the cool side your tank looks like it may be providing a vertical heat gradient instead since I see the exo terra bamboo forest stuff in the background which means this either a 12x12x18 which isn't quite ideal, or an 18x18x24 which is more workable but still not better than say something that is 24 wide x 18 deep x 18 tall. Hope I could help with care for this guy and that he can recover from whatever is going on with his head.

its an 18x18x24. The size of the cage should be fine for now since he's young. I mist him multiple times a day. He's eating, and from what I can tell, drinking, so I'm really just waiting for a shed to see if it get's any better. It does look better than the pictures currently, it's not protruding upwards like a sideways mowhawk anymore that's for sure.

 

[14pokies]

Alright, Update.
He's eaten once more (Thursday). but this head thing hasn't gone away, I'm misting and fogging him regularly and I'm assuming he's drinking, but as you can see in the pictures this head thing is getting worse, and it looks like it's spread to his lower jaw and down his neck. It looks like his mouth is stuck open? I'm so frustrated, I don't know what I could be doing better, and yet he's not getting better.
Please help! or refer me to someone who might have an idea?
Thanks.

*Edit* after looking at the pic a bit closer he could just be in shed. I'm not positive it's stuck yet. There skin is very thin so sometimes it looks thick and dry like your boy.. I would soak him every other day for a week and see if he sheds on his own.. If not or it looks as though it's peeling of in pieces go on to what I said below..

He has a stuck shed.. Soak him in room temp water for about an hour and gently rub the shed off with a "rubber finger" ( it's something commonly used for counting money) it works wonders on stuck sheds..

A shed stuck that bad is a great indicator that your enclosure isn't holding enough humidity. Restrict ventilation by half and only open it's enclosure for feeding and maintenance.

If you have any more questions be sure to tag or quote me so they come to my attention sooner..

Chondros are very fragile at that size so work gently when your removing the shed.

 

[14pokies]

The head thing looks very bad, some sort of infection maybe. He needs a vet ASAP. If you haven't seen regular drinking mist his body so he can drink off the coils and also mist the glass and decor near him. These guys need a semi tall, wider tank with perches all across it so they can have horizontal heat gradient with one side being the warm side and the other being the cool side your tank looks like it may be providing a vertical heat gradient instead since I see the exo terra bamboo forest stuff in the background which means this either a 12x12x18 which isn't quite ideal, or an 18x18x24 which is more workable but still not better than say something that is 24 wide x 18 deep x 18 tall. Hope I could help with care for this guy and that he can recover from whatever is going on with his head.

Gotta be careful giving care advice for species this specialized.. With all do respect if you can't recognize a failed shed (which is what's going on) you shouldn't be offering input on caging and husbandry. No offence intended at all but there is really no way to beat around the bush on this one.

 

[dragonfire1577]

Gotta be careful giving care advice for species this specialized.. With all do respect if you can't recognize a failed shed (which is what's going on) you shouldn't be offering input on caging and husbandry. No offence intended at all but there is really no way to beat around the bush on this one.

I haven't seen damage this bad from a bad shed before albeit I have no experience with juveniles of this species and I've also just never seen these guys fail a shed firsthand in general, I was going off experience with other species in regards to the skin, the damage just looks severe to me, like the skin on the head is scraped back I would say it at least creates risk of infection if not monitored. I was offering input based on what I have observed as I regularly worked with a large collection owned by a friend for a long time, I just found the tall horizontal cages (like 3 long x 2 tall x 2 deep or so for an adult, maybe more based on the snake) make great heat gradients and things like PVC type setups assist in keeping up humidity by having a little more customization in regards to ventilation. I am just aware that is a common misconception that they need a vertically oriented setup so wanted to help the OP with enclosure choice as the snake grows.

 

[14pokies]

I haven't seen damage this bad from a bad shed before albeit I have no experience with juveniles of this species and I've also just never seen these guys fail a shed firsthand in general, I was going off experience with other species in regards to the skin, the damage just looks severe to me, like the skin on the head is scraped back I would say it at least creates risk of infection if not monitored. I was offering input based on what I have observed as I regularly worked with a large collection owned by a friend for a long time, I just found the tall horizontal cages (like 3 long x 2 tall x 2 deep or so for an adult, maybe more based on the snake) make great heat gradients and things like PVC type setups assist in keeping up humidity by having a little more customization in regards to ventilation. I am just aware that is a common misconception that they need a vertically oriented setup so wanted to help the OP with enclosure choice as the snake grows.

Na the skin isn't damaged it's just stiff from the shed.. Gtps have very thin skin and fine scales so they wrinkle up easily during shed.. The only way a secondary infection would sink in is if the snake were to rub it's exposed gums on the caging or accessories. It's very unlikely..

However a stuck shed can lead to a host of problems.. Mainly restricting blood flow to the tail tip causing it to become necrotic.. The other is the eye caps.. Bacteria can build up between the new and old one and cause an infection.. It can also cause them to stop feeding because the loss of elasticity in there skin.. Their old shed becomes a tomb.

I agree the Exo- terra style enclosure are not ideal.. But neither are tub style enclosures.. I have raised gtps just about every conceivable way. With proper knowledge they can be raised in a card board box..

They aren't tricky to care for like most people think. Stable humidity, hydration and temps.. If you have that down your golden.. If not then the problematic side of these pythons shows it's ugly face rather quickly..

 

[dragonfire1577]

Na the skin isn't damaged it's just stiff from the shed.. Gtps have very thin skin and fine scales so they wrinkle up easily during shed.. The only way a secondary infection would sink in is if the snake were to rub it's exposed gums on the caging or accessories. It's very unlikely..

However a stuck shed can lead to a host of problems.. Mainly restricting blood flow to the tail tip causing it to become necrotic.. The other is the eye caps.. Bacteria can build up between the new and old one and cause an infection.. It can also cause them to stop feeding because the loss of elasticity in there skin.. Their old shed becomes a tomb.

I agree the Exo- terra style enclosure are not ideal.. But neither are tub style enclosures.. I have raised gtps just about every conceivable way. With proper knowledge they can be raised in a card board box..

They aren't tricky to care for like most people think. Stable humidity, hydration and temps.. If you have that down your golden.. If not then the problematic side of these pythons shows it's ugly face rather quickly..

Yeah like I said never ran into issues working with the species myself, also was not referring to tubs by PVC setup, more so the vision style cages, preferably in custom sizes. I'm very familiar with the species just the majority of my knowledge comes from research and maintaining a few that were already established in setups when I got to them, never babies lol didn't realize how thin their skin actually was.