Something may be wrong with my snake :(

larry.cloyes · 07-04-13, 07:42 PM

Ok so here is the story. I was interested in getting a snake because I have always been very interested and I know a lot about them. So I went to local ads of people selling them and after a lot of options finally decided to meet someone. When she met she had an option of 2 bull snakes for me, one being about 5 years old and seemed very healthy, the other was about a year and a half old and just kinda "hung" there in her hand. it wasn't active or anything and seemed to barely move. That is when she informed me she hadn't fed this poor snake in a month. Like I said I did my research and have common knowledge about snakes, so I knew that you had to feed an adolescent snake once or twice a week. SOOO me being probably the dummy I am I felt very sorry for this snake and chose it. I fed it the next day and it ate fine but I have had her for about 5 days now and she just doesn't seem to be acting like a normal bull snake should. She doesn't wrap herself around your hand or arm when held like I seen them do. she pretty much just lays in one spot on her cage and doesn't seem to move for hours. I mean she is more active than she was when I got her but still not like a normal snake. You can still see and feel her backbone like I know you are not suppose to be able to. but I think the biggest concern I have is it seems she can't move her lower body as well as I think she should be able to. the tip of her tail doesn't move at all and like the last half of her body just seems weak or something. it is hard to explain and maybe I am just over reacting but I just want to be sure.

formica · 07-05-13, 05:57 AM

first off take it to a Vet.

sounds like it hasnt eaten for far longer than a month if you can feel its backbone. I'm sure you realize already that picking a lifeless snake isnt a good option - that said, you probably care more about the snake than its previous owner, from the sounds of it the poor thing has been cruelly neglected - I would goto the Vet, and see what they say - a visit from your local animal cruelty group to the seller may be in order aswell depending on the Vets diagnosis

what setup is the snake in at the moment?

**Pareeeee** · 07-05-13, 07:10 AM

It's a very nice thing you did trying to help this snake, and you seem like you really care about helping it out. Please make sure you take it to a vet asap. This sounds like it's a more serious problem than anything you could fix at home. Call around and find a vet that will look at reptiles.

larry.cloyes · 07-05-13, 01:31 PM

I am very sad to announce that I woke up this morning to find her even more lifeless than nor.al so I headed straight to the vet. The closest reptile vet around was over 2 hours away and she didn't make the ride. Not sure what was wrong with her but the vet said she was probably having a hard time digesting the food that I gave her since she hasn't eaten in a while before that

formica · 07-05-13, 03:42 PM

sorry to hear that

larry.cloyes · 07-05-13, 04:17 PM

yeah, it was sad but luckily I got a healthy Common King Snake today. It is actually healthy and hopefully will make a great addition to our family for many years to come.

Starbuck · 07-06-13, 07:50 AM

i hope your new snake is in a completely different room, with completely different cage furnishings etc than your old snake.
Since you dont know the cause of death for sure, you can't rule out an infectious agent.

I'm sorry about your loss, but congratulations on your new king!