Help! Our Ball Python NOT doing well!

Question
Hi  I discovered last night that Blake the Snake's heater pad under his tank, was unplugged!  Or outside temps have been in the upper teens and 20's Fahrenheit, and his tank sits on the floor were the temp can get chilly in our 100 yr. old house.  He usually camps out over the heater pad when really cold so I wasn't worried about him.  For some reason he has refused the last two rats I offered but didn't worry about that since it was winter. Found him laying in his very cold water container last evening and thought he was dead.  Got him out, dried him, and held him against my skin for a long while to warm him up.  My son and I took turns holding him. He's moving around now but moves weirdly.  Kind of stiffly and not all that gracefully.  He will move smoothly for a short while then do a kind of flop, like he can't quite control his body.  His eyes are sunk in and crinkly looking.  My husband just went to get a live mouse that I will smother and give him while it's fresh and warm to see if that will entice him to eat something.  He usually eats rats (Blake is 33 inches long)but I want to make this easy for him to eat.  He always eats thawed out frozen rats and I want fresh and warm this time in hopes he will be able to smell it and get excited since I don't know if he can see at all.  

Is there any hope here??  My oldest so was so upset he thought about putting him out of his misery and burying him, but instead left him with me and got out of the house!  I will check here often and post the results of the attempt at feeding as soon as we have tried that.

THANKS!
Lisa

Answer
Hi Lisa,

First off you will need to increase the temperature. the temperature in the tank should be around 82-84F (30-32C). hopefully after a few days in the correct temperatures he will get better.

the most worrying symptom is that of his poor movement and bodily control. this could indicate a serious neurological problem. if he has been in the cold for a long time, he wont have been able to properly digest and utilize the nutrients in the food he has eaten. so even if he has eaten well up till now, he wont have digested it properly.

i would take your snake to a vet asap. the vet will be able to tell you if your snake is capable of improving or not, and in such case will be able to humanely euthanize your snake.

i hope your snake gets better,

Andy