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wild-caught rat snake with foggy eyes, not eating

J

JackG

New member
Hello all!

I have had a wild-caught, 5-6 long black rat snake (Elaphe obsoleta) since 30 July. It was caught from the wild in the middle of July. I am babysitting it until December for a friend who can't care for it at the moment. My hunch is that something is wrong with it, but I am categorically not a snake keeper so I don't know what that could be. I thought I'd write to you to see if you could help me or point me in the right direction.

It (or "she," since it has a feminine name) is in a 50 gallon reptile tank (the kind with plastic grates built into the side for airflow) on sand, with two hidies, a large container of water, apple branches, and a heat lamp on one side of the tank which keeps that side at around 84°F/29°C, and the cool end is around 72°F/22°C.

I have taken it out to feed it about once a week, but she has only eaten once, and not very enthusiastically, it seems (I'm also keeping this friends's corn snake and that snake lunges at its prey and very happily takes food). Most of the times I have attempted to feed this snake, though, it curls up and sits in the feeding bin and doesn't really move. In desperation, I've even tried leaving the snake in the feeding bin over night with the food, but to no avail. I have also tried feeding her in her own cage, but again to no avail. Meanwhile, the other snake (in a separate but similar cage) eats happily.

I heard that dipping the food into chicken noodle soup or rubbing it in dirty (mouse) bedding helps, but that hasn't helped either. I also tried using a fresh hen's egg (harvested that same day), but the snake wouldn't eat that, either.

For the past week or so, it has had foggy eyes, which I understand is a clue that it will be shedding soon, but she hasn't done anything except lay in one of the houses, curled up. I know it's alive because if I prod around in the cage it flicks her tongue, but doesn't really move much. I don't know if it's possible that not eating properly is related to the foggy eyes, or if either is related to being recently wild-caught.

In general, I'd describe this snake as "lethargic." Whereas the corn snake comes out, sniffs around, climbs the branches, and just seems "lively" in general, this snake lays still and doesn't move, and doesn't seem to be in as good condition.

My friend didn't have the snake long enough to really get a sense of what was "normal" before she suddenly had to part with it, and so I'm left with trying to figure out what is wrong on my own. I have very little snake experience and 0 wild-caught snake experience before this.

Do any of you have ideas?
 
I'm think putting the snake back in the wild.
I hope you are separating the snake in a different rooms and all, since the rat snake is lethargic.

If you really want to take care of this snake and it hasn't eaten properly since it's capture. I would take it to a vet. It could be loaded with parasites.
 
Thanks you guys. It's actually not my snake so I can't put it back into the wild, although I agree that that makes sense. It belongs to a friend of mine, and I am keeping it because she can't now where she's living. I will wait a few more days and see if it is in fact going to shed and if not I'll ask her what she wants me to do.

Just out of curiosity, can over-heating affect a snake and make it lethargic? I know that this snake was accidentally left outside in a tank and overheated to the point of writhing and gasping once (not while in my care!).
 
JackG said:
Thanks you guys. It's actually not my snake so I can't put it back into the wild, although I agree that that makes sense. It belongs to a friend of mine, and I am keeping it because she can't now where she's living. I will wait a few more days and see if it is in fact going to shed and if not I'll ask her what she wants me to do.

Just out of curiosity, can over-heating affect a snake and make it lethargic? I know that this snake was accidentally left outside in a tank and overheated to the point of writhing and gasping once (not while in my care!).
Click to expand...

Overheating is detrimental to the snakes health. Many complications arise from overheating, including brain damage. If it was writing and gasping, permanent damage was likely done.
 
Thanks yall. It's been a few days and the snake hasn't improved. I took it out and it just sort of lays there, doesn't really move although it flicks its tongue every once in a while so I know it's alive.

Early next week I'm going to see about taking it to a vet if I need to. I don't even know the legality of keeping a wild-caught snake in Kentucky so I don't know if the vet would treat it or if my friend would have the money to treat it.

How quickly can the heat cause brain damage? This snake wasn't actually in the heat for more than a couple hours.
 
It sounds like the snake still needs to shed. Many snakes don't eat while they are blue. You need to get it off sand. Snakes should be on aspen, not sand.

Also, I would advise your friend that an adult WC snake WILL have parasites, guaranteed. It costs roughly $200 to deworm a snake. And who knows what it may be carrying that could spread to the cornsnake.

The best, kindest thing for this snake would to be release it after it sheds. There is no black rat so important that a WC adult makes a better pet than a CB baby of the same kind.
 
If it is getting ready to shed it will not move much until it actually sheds. Also sand is bad! It can get under their scales and irritate the skin. If you don't want to buy anything use newspaper or paper towels.

I usually takes a week or sometimes a bit longer for a snake to shed. Leave it alone a little. Mist it with some water to help the shedding process. If it hasn't shed within at least two weeks then there is something else making the eyes cloudy.

Wild snakes usually have parasites as everyone on here has already said. They can spread to other snakes and make them sick too. You need to have them in separate rooms and wash your hands really well before holding the other snake after holding the wild caught snake.

Also as others have said taking an adult snake out of the wild can be stressful to the snake and a lot of them do not thrive in captivity.

As for over heating. Two hours is plenty of time to cause damage to the poor snake.
 
Please leave it alone while it's in blue. No prodding, no handling, no feeding. Following the shed, as others have already advised, please release it back to where it came from. Nature will take its course and decide if this guy/gal is going to make it.
 
Thanks guys. I'm actually not allowed to release it--it's not my snake. Sorry.

I forgot I had posted this thread or I would have updated sooner: I had read on one of the many websites to use potting soil or sand as substrate, but on the same day in August when I posted this, I had talked to a herper friend of mine who lives in PA and she told me to switch to newspaper, so I did.

The snake has now shed, but the skin is not in one piece like you normally think of snake skin being shed. It's in small clumps. Is this indicative of anything I should know about?

I've tried feeding frozen and thawed again, and that didn't work so I even tried feeding a mouse whose neck had just been broken (I don't know if that is technically live feeding or not because it was dead), but the snake didn't seem interested. It didn't even uncurl to come see what was up.

It's also still curled up in its house but not moving much, day or night. I'm going to see if I can get a hold of my friend soon and she what she says I should do. When I agreed to watch the snake, I really didn't realize how complicated it could be!
 
Nanci said:
It sounds like the snake still needs to shed. Many snakes don't eat while they are blue. You need to get it off sand. Snakes should be on aspen, not sand.

Also, I would advise your friend that an adult WC snake WILL have parasites, guaranteed. It costs roughly $200 to deworm a snake. And who knows what it may be carrying that could spread to the cornsnake.

The best, kindest thing for this snake would to be release it after it sheds. There is no black rat so important that a WC adult makes a better pet than a CB baby of the same kind.
Click to expand...

Thank you for this reply. I really appreciate it. I will direct her to read this post.

I have a question, though: how do you even go about de-worming a snake? Are wild snake diseases transmittable to other reptiles (like bearded dragons) or mammals?
 
You take a fecal to the vet to find the specific kinds of parasites to target, and then the vet gives an oral dewormer, based on weight, for two or three doses a week or two weeks apart, then waits a couple weeks, then rechecks. Some parasites require an injectable dewormer. I can't think of any snake diseases that are transmittable to other reptiles, but that doesn't mean there aren't any.
 
Tracee said:
And here's the thread which will help you with that shed:

http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56170

Next time you might want to increase humidity in the vivarium by creating a moist hide or misting a few days before he sheds.
Click to expand...

Your snake had a bad shed. That is not normal to have clumps of skin. Bad sheds are usually caused by low humidity. When snakes are going to shed it is a good idea to give them a moist hide or mist them with water every couple of days (room temp water).

The above post is good advice and after you do this you should check to make sure nothing is left on the snake. Make sure to check the eyes and tail tip.
 
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