Reptile & Amphibian Forums

my python went missing for 2 days, was supposed to eat on friday and today i found her in my drawer staying warm in a bundle of clothes. she drank water then i placed her in her terrarium where she moved around for 2 min and then placed her head inside the hut where she sleeps. her body was elongated in the tank with her head inside the hut when she *** went into a convulsion/spasm and made her body FLAT like if she had just been squashed. she stayed like this for 7 min and then her body went back to normal then after 5 min she coiled her entire body into the hut. she is breathing and still inside her hut...

any advice would be greatly appreciated

zsazsa

ps. she is 2 1/2 feet long and 7 months old.

pss. i will take her to the vet for the this week.

If you're already planning on taking her to the vet asap you don't need any advice you're doing the best thing you can. if you're really concerned. Aside from you taking a fecal sample with you to the vet if at all possible. The more recent the sample the better. And if you can get one immediately put it in a ziplock bag get as much air out of it as you can and place it in the refrigerator untill you go to the vet. Good luck let us know what the vet says.

thank you.

She just ate her thawed mouse. Had no problems, took it down tail first so that was a first because usually head first.

zsazsa

*will update when we visit the vet

Sand boas will occasionally do the exact same thing if you startle them. If you move to quickly or touch them when/where they're not expecting it, sometimes they'll do a mock strike (looks kind of like a spasm) and then "go flat" to make themselves appear larger and stay that way for several minutes.

It's possible your snake was just on edge from being somewhere she wasn't familiar with (out and about in your house), so when you put her back in her cage the slightest thing scared her and made her react that way. I don't know much about pythons, though, if this behavior normally occurs in them.

The fact that she ate no problem indicates she's probably fine, but if you already made an appointment for the vet, that certainly can't hurt if you're genuinely worried about her.
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- Natalie
(San Francisco Bay Area)

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- Natalie
(San Francisco Bay Area)