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OMG!! Is my poor snake suddenly sick?

D

Dennis Cada

New member
I fed him a mouse on Sunday and he looked fine. During the week I didn't get much chance to admire him but today I took a look and he looked dreadful! His deep colour had just about faded away and he was alive but looked barely.

I'm wondering, is he sick, or just molting?

When I fed him the mouse on Sunday I had taken it out of the freezer and put it in the fridge the night before instead of thawing it in a cup of hot water as I usually do. It's possible that the mouse was still cold from the fridge but he ate it as usual. Would this have caused problems for him? The water in his dish was quite low but there was still some in it.

What, if anything, should I do? What should I expect in the next few days?
 
Hi Dennis!

I'm pretty sure if that mouse was bad he would have regurgitated it. Are you sure he didn't? Is he DUE for a shed? How are the temps in his enclosure? Also, is everything ELSE OK in his cage? Like the water, substrate clean, no poops lying around ESPECIALLY in the water?

I think we would need more details also: How old is he? What's his usual behavior like? How often do you handle him? Does his grip on your hands and arms feel strong and does his tongue flicker in and out regularly? Eyes & nose clear? Etc.

Will check back for your response!
 
I haven't seen anything nasty like a regurgitated mouse in the terrarium. It is a bit past due for a cleaning but there isn't poop everywhere.

I don't know if he is due for molting because I only got him 6-8 weeks ago.

I have never handled him since getting him. I tried to when I cleaned the terrarium and added bedding 3-4 weeks ago but he didn't seem to want me to do it. I figured I would try again when I do that again.
 
Hi Dennis, he's quite possibly just getting ready for a shed. Their colors get very muted and they tend to lie quite still for the week or more that it takes for them to prepare to shed. He'll then start to look milky colored and his eyes will get cloudy as well. How old is he? If he's still young and hasn't shed in the 6-8 weeks you've had him, he's probably due for a shed. If he's older they shed less often, but this could still be what is happening. Could you post a picture? A snake in "blue" (getting ready to shed) would be something we may be able to help you identify by looking at him.

What makes you say he looks barely alive? If you touch him, does he still respond/flinch/move? Does his muscle tone feel okay? Is he hiding, or laying out in the open? Is he doing something strange, like laying on his side or belly up? Again, pictures or more descriptions would be helpful.
 
I was told he was six years old when I got him.

That description does sound accurate. :)

I'm at work now but about to leave. I'll check him and his terrarium when I get home.

Should I try to feed him another mouse, or would he not eat as he is? He is about due for one.
 
I would do a little reading on shed cycles when you get home. If your snake is doing strange things that are not explained by what sounds normal after some reading, then describe that for us. I would hate to tell you it's just blue if it isn't... but it probably is.

Some snakes will eat while blue, some won't. If he's so deep in blue that he looks half dead, I would wait until he's done shedding. I don't offer food to mine until they've shed.
 
Since you don't have one continuous piece of shed, be sure to do a hands-on visual inspection to make sure there are no stuck pieces. If there are, you're going to have to get them off. I let my snake slide through a very damp washcloth a few times; that is usually enough moisture and friction to remove the skin.
 
Hmmm... he has been slithering around quite a bit lately (See my post Do these snakes react to hot weather? so I think I would have noticed by now but I'll take a close look just to be sure.
 
I always double check tail tips and eye caps on freshly shed snakes. I've had a few tail tips that didn't come off, even though the shed looked complete, so just a note to double check that on your snake. A stuck shed on the tip of the tail can result in losing the tip of the tail if it is left on. Eye caps are very easy to check on the shed itself, if you have the head section of the shed.
 
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