Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am new to the gopher snake field but not to snakes in general. I've been interested in gophers for some time now and decided christmas time was as good as any to start a new project. I got 1.0 06 albino sonoran gopher and 0.1 07 applegate san diego albino gopher.

They both came in fine and seemingly healthy. I attempted to feed about 4 days after I got them to put them on schedual w/ my other reptiles. The male at with no problem but not the female, but she still seemed fine and healthy. I then gave her a week to settle in and tried again. Still no dice. I let her settle in another few days and decided to try live rather than f/t. Still no dice. Well the other night I was in her cage changing water and noticed her doing an odd head bobbing. she was also moving more like a worm around the cage with her head tilted to one side. Really odd behavior compaired to what I saw when I first got her and and the male. I've been told its possibly neuorological by the breeder and a friend who is also a breeder. I am trying to find a vet around here and hope to have an apointment schedualed soon. Have any of you gopher specialists ever heard of this?

Cage setup:
Sterilite w/ holes for ventilation (around the top)
paper towel substrate
water dish w/ bottled water
cardboard tube hide
thermometer (temps 75f cool side, 85 warm side give or take a few degrees)
For heat I use a heat lamp with a purple night bulb.
Humidity stays between 30-45% depending on how much water I drop when refilling the dish.

i'd have to agree w/ the 2 opinons offered above. seen it before. sounds like she's the product of too much line breeding. sorry, but myself, i wouldn't sink alot of money into vet vists, they cannot reverse or even remotely assauge that condition. simply way cheaper to replace her. again, sorry, good luck!

Thanks for the info. I got home yesterday and found her dead.

sorry to hear that. there was obviously more going on there than a neurological problem. you should be entitled to a replacement.....

That would be nice, but I'm not going to push the issue since I did have it for about 3 weeks before it died. Most guarntees dont last that long. They offered me a discount on this years offspring when they hatch. That is better than noting.

Aww, that's a shame. Sorry to hear about your loss.
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Ball Python
Great Basin Gopher snake
California Kingsnake
Corn Snake
Western Hognose

I don't know if this is relavent, but my wife noticed that paper towel tubes and toilet paper tubes do not have the same glue on the end to hold the last sheet in place. the paper towel tubes have a different type of and more glue. She was worried about it for the mice colonies, I never used the paper towel tubes for the snakes, only t.p. tubes for extra hides with neonates. I never really noticed before she showed me. I wonder if the glue could have any effect on the snakes?
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Todd Hughes

Sorry to hear about your loss.

Todd, I noticed that glue stuff too. Never used them for my snakes.

reako45

Any chance she came in contact with some type of insect spray - or any other volatile chemical (like cedar)? I've seen those symptoms after such an exposer, and I've seen it is some new hatchlings from parents that were subjected to high levels of insecticides for long periods.

Heat (in snakes) and parasites (at least in other animals) have been known to cause a similar group of symptoms, too.

Is the tilt obvious enough to get an image?
KJ
kj@kingsnake.kingsnake.com
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KJUN Snakehaven

As for the glue, its not regular cardboard tube, its really thick stuff that I get from work with plotter paper. I've used it on an off before with not problems. As for the spray, I do spray everything down with nix mixed into a gallon of water but I always rinse well after doing so. So I'd say no contact with chemicals.

>>As for the glue, its not regular cardboard tube, its really thick stuff that I get from work with plotter paper. I've used it on an off before with not problems. As for the spray, I do spray everything down with nix mixed into a gallon of water but I always rinse well after doing so. So I'd say no contact with chemicals.

I'd avoid rinsing with nix for a whilk and watch her. SOME animals are more sensitive to chemicals than others. I've known people who die from a bee sting that would barely make me itch. She may be supersensitive OR somehow got a high dosage by some accident that you are't even aware happened.

Anything else you can think about? If it IT chemical related, she make recover (or not) and MAY keep the tilt forever if she does recover. Make sure there is fresh water and LOTS of ventilation with clean air. IF it is chemical, that's about the best you can do right now while "shooting from the hip."
KJ
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KJUN Snakehaven