something wrong with my snake ?

[ikke]

Something is wrong with my snake, I just feel it... he's been of food for 14 days now done that before.. but .. I dunno.. he's strange he drinks every day... but look at the skin it looks so... dry.. Dont know if one can see on the picture..
I've already been to the vet... and he said nothing was wrong with him... I still dont believe it..

all the girls here know what I mean... I can just fele it in my water hahaha...
He has shed... 2 weeks ago... but I dont think he came out right.. anyway tell my what you guys think... btw he is 4 months old... and if you ask me a bit.. thin..and small.. compared 2 my other regius but then not every snake is the same
http://www.reptielenforum.nl/iB_html/uploads/post-2-19661-Resize_of_SIMG1182.jpg

[daver676]

I dont' know what to say. If the vet said your snake is healthy, then why not believe the vet. Thats what they do.

My bp had been acting a little wierd the last week or so, then she had a big poop, and now she is back to her normal, active, curious self.

What is your snake actually DOING to makes you think something isn't right?

Dave

[ikke]

well it lost waith ( alot )... its moving weird... head shaking... not desorientated but just shaking...

well I have my reasons not to believe the vet.. I had 2 other balls... and both died.. although the vet said they were alright..:S
..
its just ever since his last shed he's been weird...

[stkkts]

why did your last 2 die? maybe its something in the water.

[daver676]

Perhaps a second opinion from a different vet would help?

Dave

[ikke]

we dont have many vets here...:S well there are enough vets but not enough vets treat reptiles

and I have no clue why the others died... the first one... died a few days after I got her.. and the other.. I dunno that animal was just sick...

I doubt that its the water... all my other animals get the same ( well out of the same tap :P ) and never been ill

[stkkts]

perhaps it is where you are getting them from. thats terrible. Its hard to have an animal die, even harder to lose 2 in a row. Maybe you are just being overly worried because of your past experiences. Have all your snakes come from the same place?

[ikke]

no... one ball and my gtp are from a breeder.. but simon.. and the 2 who died were from a pet store... I am never going there again.. had a fight with them... all the snakes have mites .. its just horrible

anyhow.. the first snake that died... my dad got it from there for only 5 euro... they wanted to get rid of it..so we just tried to get it alright.. but that little guy was so weak... when he died my dad went back there.. 2 say it.. and without asking they gave him an other snake :S who was also sick... and again when that one died ( there is a looooong story between that but... well its alot of type work ) and again my dad got an other one... sick again... ( simon )

Though this time we got him back on track... he started feeding on its own.. and shedded really well and all..

maybe your right, maybe I am just a bit overly worried, we'll see

[annoying_alien]

Whats wierd is, my snakes not eating either. Coincidence? Probably not. There are two things that could be affecting your snake: 1. Its pre-mating season. 2. Baby
Ball Pythons are notorious for starving themselves.

1. Many snakes do not eat in the "pre-rut" just give it some time.

2. See a vet about force-feeding. After
one or two of those, s/he should get back to normal eating habits.

~Micah~

[HetForHuman]

Originally posted by annoying_alien


2. See a vet about force-feeding. After
one or two of those, s/he should get back to normal eating habits.

~Micah~


You do not need to worry about force feeding a snake after only 14 days. sometimes ball pythons go 6-7-8 months without feeding.

the thing you need to watch for is if it is losing weight. and if it is you need to get it to a vet then.

And there is no way a snake is going to start losing weight after 14 days.

[tHeGiNo]

Force feeding should be your last resort.

[MontyPython]

Maybe keeping it away from the cell phone would make it feel better. :D If you get 2 sick snakes from the same place, maybe it's time to get them from a different place?

[Linds]

Have you had a fecal done? Rapid weight loss, head shaking, etc is NOT normal. Sounds like either a parasitic or bacterial infection to me.

Originally posted by annoying_alien

2. See a vet about force-feeding. After
one or two of those, s/he should get back to normal eating habits.


Way too soon for that. This should be only a last resort. Forcefeeding is highly stressful on animals, and balls are already easily stressed, and often stress is the reason behind their refusal to feed. Forcefeeding can make the situation much worse, instead of getting it back in to "normal habits".

Originally posted by HetForHuman
only 14 days. sometimes ball pythons go 6-7-8 months without feeding.


LOL... could be stuck with one of mine :p My male has been off feed since October :rolleyes: (I'm writing this in Sept.)

[HetForHuman]

damn Linds that is crazy

[sapphire_moon]

Ya find another vet and have a fecal done, if you think she's under weight it could be because of worms....parasites....anything......my little female is 25 inches and she is about 5-6 months old......and about 1/2 of a pound....

[ikke]

thx for all the reply's.

I've already had test done on her.. and nothing..

as fo that pet shop.. I am not buying anything there anymore..

and I am not troubled about the eating... I know its normal..

just the head shaking and weight loss.. thats what bothering me.. but I have no clue where it comes.. the tests showed nothing, the vet said she is alright... and if you look at simon... there is nothing wrong with him .. till he starts moving.. its just strange, he has lost weight..rapidy in a few days.. he's 4 months now... just about 55 cm and only 150 g and that isnt alot.( atleast I think it isnt ).

I always compare my 2 balls.. I know I shouldnt because every snake is different.... but the difference between them is huge, they are the same age... well a few days between ( no family from eachother.. it was just coincidence )
and well gina.. gina is just a monster.. the way she is going on she'll reach 1 meter before december... well... that is if she goes on growing like she does now... right now... she is 90 cm and 577 gram... ( 4 months old )

again thx for all your reply's...

Diana, simon,gina

and well as for force feeding... that realy is a last resort.. right now I just need to try and find out whats wrong...

[ikke]

ok well... he just died :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :(

[liltattyprinces]

I am so sorry to hear about your loss, that's awful :(

[lilyskip]

holy geez! I'm so sorry!

I'm wondering, though, why your snakes keep dying? Were they all sick when you got them, or what? I don't mean to be cruel, it's just so weird...

[ikke]

they were indeed all sick when I got them.

its a bit of a strange story.. the first one, my dad brought home, was only 5 euro, and died a few days after... not knowing what to do with it, we brought it back tot that shop.. and without asking we got a new snake... a bit stunned.. we went home.. with joris.. that little snake was sooooo ill.. took op alot of money to get em back... but when I finally got him better... he started acting funny again.. so back to the vet who said nothing was going on.. I didnt believe the vet and yep one day later the little guy died..

again we went back to the shop... but we were prepaired.. we didnt want another snake.. but as soon as we showed the snake .. they already had an other one waithing :confused:

thats when we got the fight with the shop owner... they just pushed us out the store.. and asked us never to return... ( wich we will be doing gladly ) but they didnt ask the snake back...

simon.... proofed to be.. a bit ill.. he had ticks all over.. and I can tell ya its not that easy to remove ticks out of there heatpads or sensors... all of them were full with ticks
:eek: never seen anything like itwell.. after 2 days hard work.. they were all gone... he all of a sudden was a bit happier..and alife :P
but then again it went wrong.. a tick came out of his mouth.. so again we started to get rid of the ticks.. ( btw I used the spray and all sorts for it.. but they still came back )... well.. that was the last time we saw ticks.. and yes he did eat... but about 2 weeks ago... he shedded.. and I dont know what went wrong.. but he was acting strange from that time on... the head shaking..etc.. so back to the vet who did some test and we had to wait for the result... result came back.. nope nothing going on with him... and send me home... and at that time I started this tread.. a day later he died.

he lies under the ground now... in a littly box with his fav blanket...

[Bristen]

just one thing you may want to keep in mind is "what do you keep your snakes in"? I have learned from experience that some glues will attack nervous systems (which would produce head shaking, and strange behavior). I have lost 1 baby corn snake due to the use of GOOP inside the enclosure. I wasn't sure what had happened at that point, but when my mother also lost a baby corn snake that was kept in another enclosure with lots of GOOP, then I started researching what was going on.

It may not at all be related to your problems, but it would be another thing to check, should you decide to try again with another Ball Python. The animals you were getting you almost certainly wild caught animals, which makes it more difficult to get them going healthy.

Very sorry about your loss.

Best Wishes,
Bristen.

[ikke]

thx for the tip, although I doubt that this is the case.. my other ball is in the same encloser ( dividing wall ) and that one is doing fine..

[lilyskip]

Try extra-hard to find healthy animals...don't take sick bps anymore, especially since you don't have the facilities or the competent vets to heal them. If you get another bp, take the time to make sure that it is healthy and tick-free before bringing it home. Getting attached to a dying snake is emotionally really difficult.

I agree with Bristen, too. Check out your enclosure...maybe the GOOP thing would explain this chain of dying snakes.

Oh, and PS--Maybe get a whole new enclosure in which to put a HEALTHY bp. If one of these snakes was infected with something contagious, all of your snakes afterwards could feasibly catch it from the tank.

[ikke]

well I didnt CHOOSE the bp.... they just gave it 2 me, what else should I have done... put it in the trash???

sorry I dont mean to be angry.. and you prob. dont understand me because of my english ( it sucks )


the first snake was indead bought by my father.. but the other 2 .. the shop just gave them 2 us.. and I am not suck a person that just leaves the poor animal to die... I'de rather help..

I dont normally buy my animals in shops but with breeders...

[Linds]

So sorry to hear of your loss :( Did all the tests include bloodwork, cultures, and xray in addition to a fecal? Not everything can be picked up with fecals. Your little guy may have just had such a severe mite infestation that caused his system irreparable damage :(

[ikke]

only fecal

[Bristen]

Originally posted by ikke
well I didnt CHOOSE the bp.... they just gave it 2 me, what else should I have done... put it in the trash???

sorry I dont mean to be angry.. and you prob. dont understand me because of my english ( it sucks )

the first snake was indead bought by my father.. but the other 2 .. the shop just gave them 2 us.. and I am not suck a person that just leaves the poor animal to die... I'de rather help..

I dont normally buy my animals in shops but with breeders...


With regards to taking those animals that were given to you, I find that at the very least you gave the animals a fair chance, which in my opinion is better than leaving them to croak in a bad shop. To me, this would be honorable. Just watch out for your current animals.

You may want to consider, if you do plan to get another sick animal, is to try to make sure you don't get your current snake(s) infected with something. I don't think a single enclosure with a divider is enough protection for your animals. I think some problems could be transfered over to your current animals, such as mites/ticks, bacterial/fungal infections, internal parasites, etc.
New, potentially sick, animals should be quanrantined off from your current animals.

Best Wishes,
Bristen.

[ikke]

thx for the tip bristen

[eyespy]

I'm deeply sorry for your loss. I'd recommend a very thorough disinfection or just plain trashing everything that the sick snakes ever touched. There is a possibility that they were carrying a bacterial or viral infection. The fact that you found mites or ticks increases that chance as they could have introduced pathogens they picked up from other animals directly into those snakes' bloodstreams.

[annoying_alien]

What I meant was if the snake starting losing weight drastically then you need to
see about force-feeding.

Oh, and I am sorry about the loss.

My snake finally ate after about 1 1/2
months.