Reptile & Amphibian Forums

A month ago my butler garter snake gave birth to a litter of 12 babies( as you know, they are VERY small). All seemed fine except one baby, who was deformed and lumpy in appearance. I knew this baby would probably die, but I still fed it( it was WILLING to eat. )

Then one day, when I came to feed it...it seemed VERY weak. Unlike before, despite its deformities, it would barely move. It wouldn't even drink, it seemed dehydrated. Now this baby ended up dying, I figured it was natural that it died,I mean it was born all deformed and sickly looking.

Then..it happened again. Another baby refusing to eat and seemed dehydrated, now I thought this baby was being picky so I left it be..I come back and it's dead! I feel like an idiot for leaving that baby in there because another is sick( SAME sypmtoms!)!

So quickly I took all the babies out, and I'm now cleaning the container I keep them in! I have the sick baby seperated and I'm not sure what else to do! I don't want anymore to get sick! Should I rinse them all off with water?

Another worry is that I kept the adults right next to the babies, in a different container, they seem fine. Maybe the babies are very susceptible to diseases since they are young? Any advice will help! I don't want to lose anymore of my babies!

Not again...it turns out that two of them died..I found another hidden..dead. This one seemed like they recently died...these baby snakes are dropping like flies! So three died so far, another sick, the rest seem very health. I just cleaned their container with soap rinsed it, and then used alcohol, rinsed it out again. I'm going to use regular towel paper this time instead of the snake bedding I was using.

You're going to have to separate the babies. It sounds like something is going around in that conatiner.
Put each in a deli cup or something small and feed individually, watching their behavior. it could be that all of them have whatever sickness it is.
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...and I think to myself, "What a wonderful world."

They all have it? Ah! That's no good! Okay, I've seperating them as instructed, the adults still seem fine. Healthy and perky like they should be. The babies are also perky and healthy.

I check on them every so often, to make sure nothing has happened to them. Usually I can tell if this sickness has taken hold by their sudden change in behaivor. Being Butler Garter Snakes they should be eager to dart away from me(unless they know it's feeding time, that's when they come at me, eager to eat!)

I'm absolutely no expert, but could you tell me what are you feeding them?

It is not uncommon that some babies in a litter or clutch simply fail to thrive. They may be genetically predisposed to fail or they may simply be weaker runts of the litter. Weaker babies may fail because they are unable to compete for adequate food when housed with stronger individuals. Stress may also be a factor. It is best to separate all the babies so you may feed them separately and keep records of feeding, shedding, behavior etc. If this is not practical you should at least try to separate any snakes that look or act weaker than the rest. If you are feeding worms you may want to incorporate a calcium supplement for reptiles as well for all of them.

Good luck and keep us posted.
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Randy Hallman
Firehouse Herps