sick kingsnake???

hightower · 09-01-04, 09:30 AM

is Ernie sick? please can you offer your opinions.

he's still moving about ok and still loves coming out and being handled, however, he seems more scared of his food than trying to eat it, and this morning i found a larger than normal amount of poo in the tank, and it was quite runny. could it be that he had just crapped before i woke up hence the freshness or is there something not quite right???

Tim_Cranwill · 09-01-04, 10:25 AM

You'll need to give a lot more info before anyone can help you. Info like; caging, feeding, age, temps, how long you've had him, how often you handle hime and etc.

gonesnakee · 09-01-04, 01:21 PM

As Tim states more info on husbandry required. Sounds like a young KS to me though, as long as its being kept proper, eating on its own & passing food its probably just fine. It is quite common for baby KS to be "nervous" etc. Remember that the poop & pee all come out together so it was probably a "fresh one" LOL Mark

hightower · 09-02-04, 06:51 AM

well the breeder had received him from a person who did not want him anymore, but did not receive much info other than he had him for a few months to make sure he was okay before putting him up for sale, and its a guy who i know and trust with the snakes so i don't think he would have sold off a snake that wasn't 100% that he knew about.

however, he is 3 foot long, and loves being handled daily, including the day i got him, which was about a month ago, and hates having to go back into the cage, hence the regular handling. i have a heat mat which keeps day temps up around 75 and at night it only drop about 5 degrees.
the viv is 3 long X 2 wide X 3 high and it seems he has plenty of room in it.

the breeder gave me a record of feeding for the period he had him and it was a steady 2 mice per week, and this is what i fed him, i buy the mice from the breeder. he does regularily poo after eating, and its usually the same amount every week.

however the last two weeks he seemed more scared of the dead mice than wanting to eat them. however, last night i put a couple in and he had eaten one by this morning :-)

maybe i'm just worrying cause i'd be a bit over protective, and was amazed at the amount he had crapped a few days ago.
anyways i decided better safe than sorry and i found a herp vet nearby that i never knew existed and she asked me to bring him in just in case.

(apologies for long thread :-)

Tim_Cranwill · 09-02-04, 08:48 AM

I would suggest you get a better heat pad. They "need" access to about 85F for a warm spot in order to properly digest meals and thermoregulate. That may be why he is eating less and having odd stools.

Jeff_Favelle · 09-02-04, 11:29 AM

How come your cage is 3 feet high??? And that cage is not warm enough for that snake.