Hi Team,
I have (legally) acquired a Eastern Coastal; as she wasn't being cared for properly where she was. I had been asked to pet sit, previous owner has not made any attempts or even asked to collect her. I believe she may have been poisoned after some strange behaviour she displayed and some super unhealthy looking poops. The previous owner is a now former friend/housemate of mine so I've had the pleasure of watching her grow up all but 6mths last year.
It was apparent upon receiving her that she hadn't been fed properly and it had been some time since her last shed - if her former owner was even telling the truth about her having had a shed (I suspect not). Lord knows she had not eaten as recently as he had claimed.
It was clear she was hungry and on the advice of the reptile place she was bought from she's now a happy chonka.
She was a captive bred and prior to her previous owners decline in providing care for her, she was handled regularly with ease (and even snuggled).
I lost contact with the previous owner for about 6mths, reconnecting not long before i was asked to pet sit. I don't think she's much older than 2yrs (she was the size of a bracelet, sold as a hatchy in April 2023 now shes as long as a Queen mattress is wide) Im 5'2" and her shed is getting to the same height I am.I know before I lost contact shed had 4-5 sheds and was looked after really well.
She was CLEARY ravenous when she got here, displaying obvious hunger signals, looked visably dehydrated, behind her head was quite skinny compared to the rest of her, and she seemed constantly hungry for quite some time after I got her back. As a result I've been hesitant to handle her, more so because she seems to be 'hunting' just about anything that moves outside her tank, even misting has become a bit of a task often having to use her poop scoop to protect my hand. The poor dogs have no idea "mums box of branches" has been sizing them up for main course when they walk past.
She initially was hesitant on rats, so I got support to transisition her from mice ... I started her on smalls just to make sure she could handle them, she's now upto 2 med rats fortnightly. The guides I have found state that I should be feeding her 7% of her body weight but I assume that would be maintenance feeding not rehabilitation feeding. I'm not 100% sure on her age so knowing where she should be at is difficult.
Ultimately, my question is, is there a sure fire way to tell when she's just looking for affection VS hunting?
I've had her back since September 2024. She has shed once (almost entirely in one piece). I have not tried to handle her at all during this time. Is she now possibly beyond handling now?
Tonight she approached me through the tank, wide eyes, slinky, and tried to sniff my finger. She was looking very curiously at me - and didn't have a S bend indicating she was hunting like she does when she feeds - very relaxed.
I don't want to push her; but I also don't want to be depriving her of enrichment - she really used to quite like hanging out and being carried (hoodie hoods were a fav) often throwing a noodle fit when we tried to put her back in her tank. She used to be so docile she'd give us a lil love boop as soon as she came out.
I can't find any solid advice about rehabilitating a starved snake ... it would be great to get her back to being handled before taking her to the shop we get her food from, where we know she'll be cared for until she's rehomed to an experienced reptile owner - the shop is family owned by extremely lovely people. We have an agreement we breed rats for them to sell, they give us frozen prey stock; they also ethically sell other snakes, lizards, monitors etc.
Side quest- is a pillow case an appropriate storage solution for her while I clean her tank? She came home in a canvas bag - obviously only for a small amount of time.
I want to put fresh sand down for her. Advice I've recieved is mixed, some say pillowcase, some say tub with ventilation ...
Thanks in Advance
Pics of 'Escobar' Eastern Coastal Python displaying behaviour described, curious, mostly relaxed and outstretched towards new... close up of "whatcha doin"
I have (legally) acquired a Eastern Coastal; as she wasn't being cared for properly where she was. I had been asked to pet sit, previous owner has not made any attempts or even asked to collect her. I believe she may have been poisoned after some strange behaviour she displayed and some super unhealthy looking poops. The previous owner is a now former friend/housemate of mine so I've had the pleasure of watching her grow up all but 6mths last year.
It was apparent upon receiving her that she hadn't been fed properly and it had been some time since her last shed - if her former owner was even telling the truth about her having had a shed (I suspect not). Lord knows she had not eaten as recently as he had claimed.
It was clear she was hungry and on the advice of the reptile place she was bought from she's now a happy chonka.
She was a captive bred and prior to her previous owners decline in providing care for her, she was handled regularly with ease (and even snuggled).
I lost contact with the previous owner for about 6mths, reconnecting not long before i was asked to pet sit. I don't think she's much older than 2yrs (she was the size of a bracelet, sold as a hatchy in April 2023 now shes as long as a Queen mattress is wide) Im 5'2" and her shed is getting to the same height I am.I know before I lost contact shed had 4-5 sheds and was looked after really well.
She was CLEARY ravenous when she got here, displaying obvious hunger signals, looked visably dehydrated, behind her head was quite skinny compared to the rest of her, and she seemed constantly hungry for quite some time after I got her back. As a result I've been hesitant to handle her, more so because she seems to be 'hunting' just about anything that moves outside her tank, even misting has become a bit of a task often having to use her poop scoop to protect my hand. The poor dogs have no idea "mums box of branches" has been sizing them up for main course when they walk past.
She initially was hesitant on rats, so I got support to transisition her from mice ... I started her on smalls just to make sure she could handle them, she's now upto 2 med rats fortnightly. The guides I have found state that I should be feeding her 7% of her body weight but I assume that would be maintenance feeding not rehabilitation feeding. I'm not 100% sure on her age so knowing where she should be at is difficult.
Ultimately, my question is, is there a sure fire way to tell when she's just looking for affection VS hunting?
I've had her back since September 2024. She has shed once (almost entirely in one piece). I have not tried to handle her at all during this time. Is she now possibly beyond handling now?
Tonight she approached me through the tank, wide eyes, slinky, and tried to sniff my finger. She was looking very curiously at me - and didn't have a S bend indicating she was hunting like she does when she feeds - very relaxed.
I don't want to push her; but I also don't want to be depriving her of enrichment - she really used to quite like hanging out and being carried (hoodie hoods were a fav) often throwing a noodle fit when we tried to put her back in her tank. She used to be so docile she'd give us a lil love boop as soon as she came out.
I can't find any solid advice about rehabilitating a starved snake ... it would be great to get her back to being handled before taking her to the shop we get her food from, where we know she'll be cared for until she's rehomed to an experienced reptile owner - the shop is family owned by extremely lovely people. We have an agreement we breed rats for them to sell, they give us frozen prey stock; they also ethically sell other snakes, lizards, monitors etc.
Side quest- is a pillow case an appropriate storage solution for her while I clean her tank? She came home in a canvas bag - obviously only for a small amount of time.
I want to put fresh sand down for her. Advice I've recieved is mixed, some say pillowcase, some say tub with ventilation ...
Thanks in Advance
Pics of 'Escobar' Eastern Coastal Python displaying behaviour described, curious, mostly relaxed and outstretched towards new... close up of "whatcha doin"
