I think my BCI is sick (longish post)

[Atlas]

OK, so here's the details:

Male BCI approx. 2 months old purchased at the Sept. 12 Expo in Mississauga. He was kind of slender and approx. 18 inches long. Not the strongest young snake I have ever held but still looked healthy and was quite active.

After allowing 1 day to get settled I fed him two pinkie f/t rats and he accepted without hesitation. He has been fed 2 pinkies every 7 days since then (4 feedings in total).

Cage temps are as per "spec" with a gradient from 81 to 93. RH is about 42%

Large water bowl and fresh water on a daily basis.

Newspaper as a substrate.

1 bowel movement in 4 weeks. (sort of soft/runny, but definitely not diarreah like). Several "urinations".

I have have seen him drink on many occasions.

When he strikes at the rats he does just that, he doesn't wrap around them in a constrictor fashion, and then proceeds to eat.

His strength doesn't seem to have increased in the past 4 weeks and neither has his size (or weight, but I haven't weighed him to be 100% sure).

Also, his skin seems a little loose in the folds, almost like he is dehydrated. (As I said earlier he drinks often)

Last few days he has been resting his head up against the screen vent in his tank near the heat source and when I put my hand near the glass to see if he reacts to my presence he has struck towards my hand, however, he hits the glass (thankfully not my hand although it wouldn't be a huge trauma if he did).

I took him out last night from this position and he was fine while handling; no aggression or strikes, just nice and mellow like always. Shortly after I put him back he resumed the position near the screen and remained there until this morning when I saw him last.

I only have my female BCI (his sister) to compare to but she has put on weight a little length as well as increased her strength, but doesn't exhibit any odd behaviour.

I may be paranoid but could the males behaviour be considered "Star Gazing"? Or the beginnings of something like IBD?

Am I just being overly paranoid (I just read a bunch of stuff on IBD)or is there something I can do or try to narrow things down some more. I would hate to lose this little guy due to lack of trying or concern.

Any help and comments are greatly appreciated.

Atlas.

[Linds]

Is it possible your snake is just going in to a shed? Their skin does get a sort of 'baggy' look to it, as well as they may become more defensive.

Have his temps possibly changed in the past few days from what they were before, causing him to hang out closer to the heat source?

Snakes grow at different rates, and have growth spurts at different times. I woudln't be too worried if he hasn't changed too much in the past month.

IBD is VERY rare. I don't really know where all the hype comes from. There are many other problems that can have similar symptoms, such as bacterial or parasitic infections and toxicemia. External parasitic infestation can also cause snakes to 'stargaze'.

I would also recommend keeping him a little more humid while he is that young. Babies dehydrate much easier than more established snakes do.

[Atlas]

Thanks Linds,

His temps have changed a little a couple days ago I changed his setup a little such that his temps went up about 2-3 degrees.

THere are no external parasites present. Are there any other types of symptoms I should look out for to perhaps narrow down or rule out what the problem may be? (if anything at all).

I thought the recommended humidity is between 40%-50%? Should I exceed that while they are young or should I just be at the high end of that range?

As far as his "baggy skin" goes, his eyes and skin are still clear (not at all milky) and I can't imagine he is going into shed since he hasn't grown in the last month.

Is his lack of constricting prey a sign of anything? It's not that he can't do it, he just seems to choose not to, as though he knows the prey is dead therefore doesn't require constriction.

Thanks,

Atlas.

[Linds]

I would definitely try to up the humidity even 10% while he is this young. I keep my adults at 45-50% but I like to keep neonates a bit higher.

While some snakes seem to realize their prey is dead and not constrict, Bci are typically aggressive feeders. I wouldn't be overly worried that he isn't constricting his prey normally, but given the circumstances I wouldn't disregard it either. Snakes go through 2 clear stages and one opaque stage during a shed phase, so it is still possible. As well as just because your snake doesn't seem to be growing like a weed, doesn't mean he isn't, and doesn't mean he won't shed still. Is his belly pinker than usual?

The fact that your little guy is continuing to feed is a good thing. You might want to up the feeding a little bit if he seems like he isn't growing in size or strength, and has a skin hangin' off him sort of look. Sometimes a bit extra humidity and food can help make a world of difference to babies ;) It also never hurts to have a fecal done to catch any potential problems.

[Pontus]

i have baggyness to before i just started feeding bigger food items and he filled out nicely