breeders dying??:(

[franklin]

I've got a few ?'s. I have one more breeder female that will probably be dead in the morning. The reason I know this is that i had another female die 2 weeks ago with the same symtoms. They both made this backwards serpentine movement like she is going to vomite, but nothing comes out. Her appetite is non-extisting. She also seems to blow herself up with air. I've heard that maybe it could be parasites, but what kind? how would she of got parasites. I keep their cages really clean. Could they be getting some kind of parasites through mice?
The other thought was that maybe they got parsites from the bugs that have invaded my incubator. They are really small and crawl fast. Their larva are these little small white maggot looking things. Can someone shed some light on this problem I;m having this year??? PLEASE:(

Thank You,

[Drizzt80]

Sounds to me like you need to visit your local herp vet. . .

D80

[DAND]

The bugs are fruit flies. The maggots are fruit fly larva. I don't think they would be the cause of what you are describing. As Brent stated, a trip to the herp vet is needed.

[gala2k5]

hi there i had the same kind of bug in my tank last year and found that it came from the substrate i was using,it was the large wood chippings that is damp when you buy it,it was for reptiles too,i was quite shocked and havent used again since,luckily my snakes were fine. :(

[MegF.]

Are you feeding live or frozen thawed mice. If live, you could possibly transmit parasites thru them. Also if the water is left for long periods it can get bacteria in there. I agree with the others, if you've had one fatality, I'd get the other to the vet. If you have other snakes, I would quarantine the sick one so that you don't chance spreading something to the rest of your collection.

[MastersHaven]

what ever happened with this snake?
Did you take her to the vet????

update please?

[franklin]

what ever happened with this snake?
Did you take her to the vet????

update please?
No I havn't taken her yet. She seems to be doing ok. She's been drinking a whole lot of water. I spoke with the vet and she said I need to take in a fecal sample. I can't because she hasn't gone poop in about 3 weeks. What do you avice me to do???

[franklin]

No I havn't taken her yet. She seems to be doing ok. She's been drinking a whole lot of water. I spoke with the vet and she said I need to take in a fecal sample. I can't because she hasn't gone poop in about 3 weeks. What do you avice me to do???
I just thought of something. I feed freshly killed mice to my snakes. What are the chances of west nile virus being transmitted through mice like it does with birds? I have noticed a few dead birds in and around our neighborhood.

[MegF.]

No chance of that. West Nile is only transmitted by mosquitos that have fed off birds that are infected. It's a dead end vector after that. You can't get West Nile thru injestion. However, there are a host of other parasites and such that you can get from the rodents you're feeding. Freezing kills a lot of those, which is why frozen thawed has benefits to it. Usually, even if they haven't eaten in weeks, they'll still have a little left in them. Try handling her and then putting her back on paper towel and see if she goes. I know my male still had poop in him after not feeding for a month.