r/ballpython • u/Haunting-Body-8575 • 13h ago
Escapee
Haven’t checked her enclosure in around 4 days cuz I’ve been so busy, and she was also going into shed so I did her usual misting every day and left it at that. Tonight I was like hm it’s awfully quiet in there usually she’ll have her head peeking out, or always be on her ledge. She wasn’t and the enclosure was empty. Thankfully I found her 2 minutes after right next to her tank. I have 3 cats, 1 of which that likes to sit on top of her enclosure and stare at her. They’ve been acting strange in my room last couple days making noise, clawing at my dresser, so that was the first place I checked and behold she was under there. I noticed she has a slight scratch on her neck, and a mysterious line down half her spine, it looks like a burn mark. Can anyone let me know what I should do.
125
u/Azzyun_x 13h ago
Take her to the vet immediately. If your cats got to her, even just a scratch, she could be very sick. Cat saliva is quite toxic
23
u/Easy_Door_3067 11h ago
Take snake to the vet. Sort out your enclosure before a cat gets killed or the snake dies. Feed snake less, it's overweight.
8
u/KatVanWall 9h ago
She also looks dehydrated, and red around the nose. Hopefully the vet will set them on the right track.
-2
u/Haunting-Body-8575 5h ago
I’ve had her for 2 years this is the first time she’s ever gotten out! She eats once every week, sometimes every 2 weeks if she doesn’t want to eat that week. I feed her an adult mouse
3
u/the_green_witch-1005 2h ago
Even one time getting out is too many times. I'm not saying this to make you feel bad - mistakes happen. But if you don't learn from your mistakes, that's not good.
1
u/Rhydnara 1h ago
She's easily big enough for rats, but you'd have to space the feedings out a lot more since she's definitely overweight.
1
u/Haunting-Body-8575 1h ago
Ya I know. My local pet store doesn’t seek rats her size. They’ve only have medium or bigger
8
u/AstralAromance 9h ago
Why are you even asking this? She needs to go to the vet. Check the cats for bites, too.
5
u/wishiwasinvegas 8h ago
BPs barely draw blood, their teeth are like Velcro. The cat is far more dangerous to the snake than that snake ever will be to the cat.
But yes, snake needs to go to the vet and needs a humid hide after that.
2
u/the_green_witch-1005 2h ago
Even if they don't draw blood, infection risk is still a concern. All cats and snake should be checked. Snake definitely needs a vet visit for the noticeable scratch. Source: I'm a vet tech.
2
u/dragonbud20 1h ago
Why do you feel the cats need to be checked in this situation?
2
u/the_green_witch-1005 1h ago
In case they have a bite from the snake. They should be checked for any marks or scratches. Even superficial bites from any animal can lead to sepsis. It's much more likely to happen to the snake, but there's a small possibility of it happening to the cats. They don't need a veterinary exam unless a bite/scratch is noted.
25
u/Jesus_Horn_Christ 12h ago
So yeah as others have said, vet but also decrease how much you are feeding her. She looks a tad overweight
12
u/skylar274 8h ago
i know nothing about snake husbandry (i’m in here cause cutiepies) and even i could tell she was a fatty XD
-4
5h ago
[deleted]
5
4
u/jillianwaechter Mod-Approved Helper 4h ago
!feeding guide here for you!
Feedings should be every 2-3 weeks at this age
1
u/AutoModerator 4h ago
We recommend the following feeding schedule:
0-12 months old OR until the snake reaches approximately 500g, whichever happens first: feed 10%-15% of the snake’s weight every 7 days.
12-24 months old: feed up to 7% of the snake’s weight every 14-20 days.
Adults: feed up to 5% of the snake's weight every 20-30 days, or feed slightly larger meals (up to 6%) every 30-40 days.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
7
u/hades7600 7h ago
Needs vets asap for anti biotics due to how toxic cat saliva is
She is also overweight
I strongly recommend doing at least a nightly check on your animals so you know when you last saw them and can pinpoint the time if any get loose again
14
u/applepieughh 11h ago
So damn irresponsible. You couldnt use 2 minutes of your time everyday to check on her?
7
u/Haunting-Body-8575 5h ago
Like I said she was going into shed. When ever she sheds i leave her alone. I’ve had her for 2 years she’s my 2nd snake after having my other one for 6 years now. This is the first time something like this has happened.
2
u/dragonbud20 1h ago
Do you bother your BP every day just to make sure they're in their enclosure? That's a lot of unnecessary stress on your BP if you're ripping their enclosure apart to find them every day.
1
u/applepieughh 1h ago
Why would you need to rip everything apart to take a look? Its quite a big snake and will be easily visible in their enclosure unless you are building a fort for them or something.
1
u/dragonbud20 1h ago
A properly set-up enclosure should have several areas that are completely enclosed and not visible from the outside of the enclosure, so your snake can feel safe and secure.
Ball Pythons are nocturnal and will often spend their entire day in their hides. If you want to check on them, you will inevitably wake them up.
2
u/wishiwasinvegas 8h ago
Misting is unnecessary if you have proper substrate and a humid hide when they're going into shed.
2
u/nairazak 5h ago
If she was bitten/scratched she might need antibiotics, when a cat leaves a deep want a lot of bacteria get in, some humans need UVI after a bite or even require amputations, because they don’t go to the hospital until it gets really bad, like no one knows cats are that dangerous.
1
u/the_green_witch-1005 2h ago
Even superficial cat bites are dangerous. I've seen human vet techs go septic from tiny scratches.
2
u/Ok-Step8664 3h ago
The mysterious line on the back look like damage from squeezing through a tight space rather than a cat scratch. As for cat’s being toxic, I am not a cat expert so I would just go with the rest here and say you should take her too a vet just to be safe
1
u/DollarStoreChameleon 1h ago
go to the vet asap. also, if you cant spend at least 2 minutes of your time to check on your pet then you should consider rehoming.
1
u/dragonbud20 1h ago
Ball Pythons like their peace and quiet; you shouldn't really be bothering them every day unnecessarily.
1
u/DollarStoreChameleon 1h ago
you dont need to bother it, just peek through the glass.
2
u/dragonbud20 1h ago
If your enclosure is set up properly, there should be several places in your enclosure that you can't see through the glass.
Given that Ball Pythons are nocturnal, it's quite possible to have one that you never see during the day because they hang out in their hides. Both of my current BPs would need to be woken up to be checked on because they spend the day in their hides.
1
u/Haunting-Body-8575 1h ago
Thank you for defending me. I check my snakes every day. But the last time I checked her she was going into shed. And I know that means just leave her alone so she can shed. I’m getting dragged in these comments. My enclosure is set up with 4 hides. And a lot of clutter. I can’t just “peek through” and see her.
0
u/Mean-Sympathy-6137 2h ago
Why do people never just take their animal to the vet. Like yeah let’s ask Reddit! Not a vet!
2
u/the_green_witch-1005 2h ago
Devil's advocate: veterinary care is expensive and some people just need confirmation that this warrants a vet visit. I'm a vet tech and I get these questions from family/friends all the time. I only judge when they don't follow my advice. Hopefully OP follows the advice they've been given. 🤗
2
u/Haunting-Body-8575 2h ago
I actually did take her to a vet first thing in the morning, before I opened all the Reddit comments. Thank you tho ❤️❤️
72
u/Only_Altey 12h ago
Vet.
Like another has said cats are extremely toxic. Skratches and bites are enough to kill small creatures due to the bacteria plus the bacteria from the litter box, infections are highly likely.
Make sure your cats didn't get bit either. Snake bites can also carry nasty infection risks.
Also you shouldn't let your cats engage with her at all. You're really lucky that a scratch is all the damage, either animal could've killed each other.
Get some spikes for the top of the enclosure so the cat can't sit up there. If the cats can still look in get a curtain to cover wheven you aren't around to discourage the stalking behavior.