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Emergency king snake help needed!!

I was afraid of that...

If it was a person, it would have been hooked up to EEG machine to check brain activity, and maybe diagnose seizure disorder. I have a relative who takes meds to control seizures. But I never heard of medicating a herp for it. What was his suggestion for watering her, or any other suggestions he had?
 
That's a good idea Becky, I bet a snake could drink from one of those bottles. Danielle, hang in there babe.
 
Interesting that you mention a water bottle...

I have always wanted to try to see if snakes could learn to drink from one, and have discussed it with other breeders in the past. I think they could, because just as you said, there is usually a drip hanging from the tip, which should encourage drinking. And I also thought a saucer or jar lid underneath would be good for catching excess. I always had too many snakes to properly monitor them, so never did it.

But this could be a great excuse for an experiment. You could set up the water bottle with saucer underneath, and still offer a soak once per day. After a while (especially if you see the snake drink from the bottle), you could offer a soak every other day, and watch to see if the snake appeared very thirsty when offered water. If you are able to successfully train a snake to get all of its water from a rodent water bottle, think of how helpful that would be to people who want to offer clean water to snakes, but can't change the water bowl everyday.
 
Really he just wants me to use a water source too small for her to submerge in and watch her for an actual seizure. However, he has never seen a snake have a seizure and said he wants to do some research. He had wondered if she could have fallen into the water while trying to escape, but after seeing my cage its not tall enough for her to fall anywhere and the dish is soft plastic. Her lungs had no sounds of water, whezzing, or popping which is good and he looked as stumped as me and everyone here because other than a freak accident snakes don't typically drown in their water especially twice in a 24 hr. period. He's going to talk to some other vets and see if they have heard of anything like this and in the meantime I'm supposed to feed as usual and keep the water shallow. I'll be bringing a fecal in when I get one because parasites can cause strange things to happen but until then the appointment was kind of a waste.

Does anyone know any other herp vets who might be willing to hear this and see if they have any clues?
 
Me thinks I'll try that Kathy at this point it can't hurt,lol and it would be cool to see. I'll probably put a little water in the jar lid anyway just in case, but how will I know if she is using it other than signs of dehydration? Urates I guess and if I can catch her in the act...
 
I think the fact that she was in the water bowl twice points out that she wanted to be in there for some purpose that we humans can't figure out. Yet. I don't believe she could just happen to be drinking/swimming and have a seizure right at that moment two times in one day. So if we assume that she was in there for a reason, and knowing that snakes can hold their breath for quite a long time, it's probably safe to say she didn't accidentally inhale any water. Too bad you can't set up some sort of video camera like a web cam to record what she does all night, to see if she is still attracted to her smaller water source, or exhibits any strange behavior anywhere else.
 
If you keep offering her water / soaking (supervised) every day or every other day, you will notice if she immediately starts sucking up water like she is dying of thirst, or if she casually just takes a drink. That will be your best clue as to whether she is getting enough water from a bottle or jar lid. Also, if you check her skin (look, and also touch it) every day, you will notice a difference if she starts look or feel dehydrated.
 
wade said:
That's a good idea Becky, I bet a snake could drink from one of those bottles. Danielle, hang in there babe.
Click to expand...

Thanks Wade. I figured if a snake can suck water off of the side of a tote that's been misted why not from a bottle.
 
Nanci said:
I think the fact that she was in the water bowl twice points out that she wanted to be in there for some purpose that we humans can't figure out. Yet. I don't believe she could just happen to be drinking/swimming and have a seizure right at that moment two times in one day. So if we assume that she was in there for a reason, and knowing that snakes can hold their breath for quite a long time, it's probably safe to say she didn't accidentally inhale any water. Too bad you can't set up some sort of video camera like a web cam to record what she does all night, to see if she is still attracted to her smaller water source, or exhibits any strange behavior anywhere else.
Click to expand...

Nanci has made some good points as well. Why does it want to be in the water tied in a knot? Does the water induce a seizer? If left in the water would it stick his nose up every once in a while and take a breath?

Danielle, if you have lots of time with nothing to do you might watch a see how it comes to be knotted in the water.
 
Personally, and I may be off here... the snake is just being goofy... yeah I know it sounds absurd, but God knows snakes like to sometimes get themselves stuck in horrid positions/places... unaware that they can end up being hurt.
The coiled pose you posted doesn't seem that odd to me... sure, it's not common, but I don't think it's the outcome of a seizure.

If you want, you can try using a webcam on her and see if anything's weird going on.

I have a LTR who loved to slide over the thermometer to get stuck on the glue sticker... I once found him flailing with 2/3 of his body up in the air... tail up... sounds like fun eh?

A tiny water dish and supervision is all you can do at this point... but I really don't think this is a neurological problem... the fact that this happened twice in the same manner in the same place makes me believe it is behavior/environment related.
 
Danielle, this vet was so helpful to me over the phone for my Leopard Geckos. I phoned there because they specialize in birds and exotics. I spoke with Jennifer and she gave all the details to the vet and then I got a response and apparently they are consulted often by other avian and herp vets. They did not care that I was Canadian and even put my information in the computer and volunteered to co-care for the Leos with a vet of my choice here.

I believe Jennifer said she works weekends, anyway here is the link to their website. Maybe they can be of some help with your little one. They are in Seattle Washington.
http://www.avianexoticanimalhospital.com/index.html
 
I would love to see "it" happen since I have only caught her after the fact. I do have a video camera though and like Nanci's idea of playing spy at night when she's out I'll have to figugre out how to mount it. I also just found a water bottle, but her cage is too short and I have no clue how to modify it so I can leave it in there upright...any ideas? Her name is officially trouble btw,lol I think it fits.
 
Just an update my little king has not been found in knots or in water again and just ate he first pink here with no problem:D
 
LOL Becky I know!!! I am hoping the vet was wrong and the cold just made her a little temporarily goofy because she seems 100% to me:)
 
WHOOO HOOO!!! Great news, Danielle! I HAVE been thinking of you and the little king. Glad to hear she's got this "glitch" and milestone behind her!
 
Hopefully the little king does alright... I think I would be more than concerned enough though to contact the person who you bought her from... You said that the person is from this forum as well, so they should be more than well aware of whats going on from just reading your thread here..

Regards... Tim of T and J
 
I guess if I thought the person knew there was an issue with this snakes health beforehand I would...but in all honesty I don't think they did. I am keeping a shallow water source in with her and keeping a close eye on her, but other than that I don't blame the breeder at all and would purchase from them again. Once an animal leaves the breeder a number of things can happen in transit beyond their control and though she was shipped to a hub and not my door, sent with heat, and a durable box who knows what her trip was like. The vet doesn't think the cold would have done it, but for all I know some fedex DB dropped, tossed, or banged her around before she came to me.

Since the vet suspected a random seizure from the way her body was twisted in the pic that may be the case too, but the thing is unless you see that happen you have no clue and as of yet I haven't seen this. She moves normal, eats, and is very active not indicating any permanent damage has been done so for now I am thinking this was a freak thing and playing it safe with a shallow water bowl.
 
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