Reptile & Amphibian Forums

All,

I have an adult wild caught Florida kingsnake that has been wormed with Flagyl and Panacur and has been in captivity for about two years. I have noticed some snot trails on the inside of the cage lid but never any weezing or mouth gaping. She eats like a champ. Now she is acting very strange. She moves around the cage in spasms whipping her tail against the side of the cage. If you have ever seen a freshly hit snake on the road it is very similar to the death throws of a snake just hit. She does this every 15 minutes or so. Any clue what this could be? I have Baytril but I am not sure if this will help. Please let me know your thoughts.

Mike Welker
OHI2007@elp.rr.com

Well, it's the next day now, is your snake dead or alive? If recently dewormed, it could be an overdose of the Flagyl, or it could be any number of other neurological signs. No, I don't think Baytril would do much good; your pretty much stuck to bringing it into the vet. Good luck

Ian

Hey Ian,

She is pretty much gone. She is upside down but still moving. It is probably freezer time. I wormed her a long time ago. I weigh all my herps and dose according to vet recommendations. I was thinking it was something neurological maybe from systemic URD. I was hoping someone would recognize the symptoms so I would know for sure what it is. I want to rule out any viral infections that could go airborn and effect the rest of my collection. I don't have a vet school locally for necropsies.

Thanks,

Mike

Mike, do your snake a favor and take it to the vet to be euthanized. See threads below on opinions for freezing as a euthanasia method. I would be worried about paramyxovirus; a respiratory disease which can also have neurological symptoms and can also spread throughout your collection (usually via aerosols and fomites if I'm correct). You don't need a vet college or lab nearby; your vet can ship the snake or tissue samples to one. It's done all the time. Most laboratories only work via vet's and not the general public. Just request that they use a lab that see's reptiles often. Zoopath in CO, Uof Georgia, U of FLA, are some that are good in this field, though there are others.

Ian

Hey Ian,

Thanks, I will check into that. She passed and is already in the freezer. I was thinking paramyxovirus could be a possibility but wasn't sure about it affecting kingsnakes. I know Dr. Jacobson and Dr. Heard at UF so I will drop them a line. Thanks for the help.

Mike Welker
El Paso, TX