Is my snake dehydrated or starving?

[ReptileLover434]

I have a texas brown snake as a pet.
It was doing fine for about the first month and a half, but
Now it's skin it starting to gather up around the spine area.
Also getting flakey. I use moisturizer and give it water.
It's worrying me and I think it's dehydration but I can't tell.
Please help.:eek:

[infernalis]

Your snake is losing all of it's mass.

What you are describing is the later stages of starvation.

These little snakes need to eat very often, when I kept Dekayi snakes I fed them every other day, a mix of garden slugs and small earthworms.

[Terranaut]

Oh man poor thing. Feed that snake please!!

[StudentoReptile]

Am I the only one put off with them using moisturizer?

[lady_bug87]

Am I the only one put off with them using moisturizer?

no.

I have heard that pedialyte baths can be beneficial for dehydration but I doubt moisturizer is a good idea...

[StudentoReptile]

Yeah, the more I think about it, the more it worries me.

Moisturizer is effective on humans because our skin is absorbent. Reptile skin (including that of snakes) is not. So in the least, its doing nothing. I'm not entirely sure what harmful effects it could have, though.

[KORBIN5895]

Epic..... just epic.

[Aaron_S]

Epic..... just epic.

Yeah...all that needs to be said here.

[infernalis]

Am I the only one put off with them using moisturizer?

No, actually I was so quick to answer about the starvation, I skimmed right over the moisturizer part.

[StudentoReptile]

No, actually I was so quick to answer about the starvation, I skimmed right over the moisturizer part.

I'll be honest, I was halfway thinking this was a troll post after seeing the moisturizer comment. I was gonna let someone else chime in before I posted.

I'm still a little skeptical.

[lady_bug87]

maybe we're reading too much into this though... maybe by *moisturizer* the OP means some kind of mineral oil, which some people use as a moisturizer too..

[ReptileLover434]

Today its looking a little better. It seems to be more lively.
And it's a reptile moisturizer. It's healthy for them, made to help them I wouldn't do anything to hurt my lil baby :(
And I was just worried about it Becuz I have been feeding it. And everything it needs. I don't know if it desided that it wasn't ganna eat what I gave it or what. But please don't think I did it to my snake on purpose.
I love reptiles and amphibians and I own lots of frogs and a few corn snakes. Just this snake seems to be harder to satisfy.

[Wildside]

Your snake is losing all of it's mass.

What you are describing is the later stages of starvation.

These little snakes need to eat very often, when I kept Dekayi snakes I fed them every other day, a mix of garden slugs and small earthworms.

Where is the most handy place to get garden slugs and small earthworms? Also, do they eat fish? ***Oooh I just thought of a good question for another thread.*** I know nothing about this species so this is for my own curiosity as well as helping the OP.

To the OP: Is this snake wild caught? If so the best chance it has is for you to release it and then purchase yourself a cbb (captive born & bred) starter. There are many many many people here with great suggestions on what to start with and a wide range of instruction on how to care for them.

[bcoop1234]

I have heard that pedialyte baths can be beneficial for dehydration but I doubt moisturizer is a good idea...

That's awesome.. I need to remember that since I work for Abbott and get that stuff on discount.. I know it helps with the normal dehydration stemming from a night of heavy drinking...

[infernalis]

Where is the most handy place to get garden slugs and small earthworms? Also, do they eat fish? ***Oooh I just thought of a good question for another thread.*** I know nothing about this species so this is for my own curiosity as well as helping the OP.

To the OP: Is this snake wild caught? If so the best chance it has is for you to release it and then purchase yourself a cbb (captive born & bred) starter. There are many many many people here with great suggestions on what to start with and a wide range of instruction on how to care for them.

My first ever captive snake was a brown snake my daughter found out in the meadow, I would not even be here right now if not for that.

I always went out into my yard in the wee hours of the morning when the dew was still wet on the grass, little slugs would always be nibbling on the grass so gathering bunches of them was easy.

For baby worms, just flip rocks or roll over logs.

During the winter I kept a broken chest freezer with about a foot of compost in the bottom, I caught a few hundred slugs in the autumn and put them in there with the compost, I fed them lettuce from the grocery store.

It's a ton of work, but it was worth it.

[Wildside]

My first ever captive snake was a brown snake my daughter found out in the meadow, I would not even be here right now if not for that.

I always went out into my yard in the wee hours of the morning when the dew was still wet on the grass, little slugs would always be nibbling on the grass so gathering bunches of them was easy.

For baby worms, just flip rocks or roll over logs.

During the winter I kept a broken chest freezer with about a foot of compost in the bottom, I caught a few hundred slugs in the autumn and put them in there with the compost, I fed them lettuce from the grocery store.

It's a ton of work, but it was worth it.


I'm glad you mentioned that. I was wondering if you'd need slugs through the winter. I wonder if I caught and released one of those in my garden if it would keep the slugs off my flowers :suspicious:

[infernalis]

I'm glad you mentioned that. I was wondering if you'd need slugs through the winter. I wonder if I caught and released one of those in my garden if it would keep the slugs off my flowers :suspicious:

Yes, if there is a lot of food, some water and a secure hide, the snake would very likely stay put.

[Wildside]

Yes, if there is a lot of food, some water and a secure hide, the snake would very likely stay put.

I don't know if we have those in this area though

[infernalis]

I don't know if we have those in this area though

Yes they do live around you.

[lady_bug87]

That's awesome.. I need to remember that since I work for Abbott and get that stuff on discount.. I know it helps with the normal dehydration stemming from a night of heavy drinking...

No problem, it needs to be diluted with water maybe someone can chime in with the exact ratio

[ReptileLover434]

My snake seems to have snapped out of what ever it was going through pretty good.
I don't know why this happened. But thanks for all the tips.

[Wildside]

Yes they do live around you.

Great! That'll be so much easier than my current method of grinding up eggshells and putting them at the flower bases.