Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've got a 26 in male CB Eastern Milk that stopped eating a couple of months ago. He now stays exposed on top of his hides all the time and crawls around a lot. He also holds his head up at an angle a lot. I've heard that might be a sign of respiratory distress/infection. In my area I don't know of any vets that work on small snakes. Any suggestions will be appreciated.
Also, I've never brumated this 3 yr old snake as he always ate throughout the winter months and I don't plan on breeding him.
I'm really not thinking parasites as I only have a couple of snakes and haven't brought any new ones in in 2 yrs.

Thanks

Well, before we go into it any further, does the snake exhibit any "clicking", or "wheezing" sounds when you put it up to your ear for a bit?,.....then we can move on from there. I don't like to speculate on things if it can be avoided,.......after you check for any noises, and possible bubbles from the mouth/nose,....then we can continue to speculate..LOL!

~Doug
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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

Thanks Doug. No popping, wheezing sounds or discharge of any kind. The snake is actually in pretty good shape for having not eaten since early Feb. It's a little thinner but not skinny with the spine showing etc. I kinda thought at one time that it might be lovesick or something. It's constantly crawling around like it's looking for something, kinda like I did many years ago. LOL

>>> "It's constantly crawling around like it's looking for something, kinda like I did many years ago. LOL"

LOL!!,..yes, I can also relate to that part!

I agree, this seems a little long for it to be only searching out a female, and not eaten this entire time.

However, you did mention it holds it's head back,....does it do this sort of like it's looking straight up, or even almost backwards?, if so, there's a chance it has something that's known as "star-gazing". This is something not commonly seen in colubrids, but can be fairly common in Boa Constrictors. It is alleged that it's caused by an amoeba. High doses of Flagyl(Metronidazole) have been reported to help with this somewhat.
And I think at this point, since you said there are no reptile vets in your area, I would try Flagyl anyway for some other possible stomach pathogens. If you can get your hands on some, it's administered at a dose of 25 to 50 mg/kg. of body weight, repeat in 14 days. I use the higher dose whenever I administer, as it is very well tollerated by snakes, and takes care of a large number of pathogens, including Amoeba invadens. 1/16th of a 250 mg pill will suffice for a 300 gram snake.

This can only help, and it won' hurt the snake at all. But don't attempt to feed for at least a week after final dose, so it can regain it's stomach flora that is crucial to digestion.

~Doug
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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

Doug, I happen to have some flagyl. How is it administered to a snake?

thanks
scott

left you an email and ph#, give me a call!

~Doug
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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

flagyl can&will KILL a milksnake if dosage is to high. tricolors milks esp. in my experience are very easily overdosed w/flagyl be sure you get exact weights w/exact dosage before administering. i use the liquid flagyl from mexico ALOT easier to get correct dosage than from a pill, also alot easier to administer(catheder). with that said flagyl is a very good drug but like all meds. needs to be EXACT in dosage under or over medicating is a bad thing flagyl is hard on the system it removes(kills) ALL gut flora both good&bad which usally brings on an appetite. back when i had easterns a handful of live pinkies usally brought on a great feeding response i would try that and upping temps before i would go w/meds eitherway best of luck,,,,,,,thomas davis

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Sounds to me like he is feeling mother nature kicking in. I would either seperate him from any other snakes(pheremones)and/or increase the heat.