Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am having a problem with my Honduran Milk Snake and need some advice. I bought him on October 17th, within a few days he ate one F/T pinky mouse. Since then he won’t eat.

I have noticed that he seems to be having trouble with his tongue. It goes in and out very slow and sometimes just hangs there or lays on the ground for extended periods of time. Also, sometimes it is just partially out of his mouth up to the fork in his tongue. Could this have something to do with him not eating? I have had snakes my whole life and have never seen this behavior.

I also have another HMS that I purchased on the same day that is thriving.

Sounds like your snake could have a URI. What are the conditions like he is kept in? (Cage size, heat, humidity, ect.)

I have him in a 20 gallon long aquarium in my Herp room. The room is about 80 degrees and he has a basking site of around 93 degrees. He has hide boxes, a water bowl, grapevines and is on newspaper.

What is the humidity like? 80 is not much of a "cool" spot for the snake to thermoregulate. The hot spot is fine in my opinion. Can you gently pry the snakes mouth open and see if there is excess siliva? Is this snake housed with the other hondo that is fine? Not saying it is a URI but having problems with tongue flicking can be a sign of a URI. (Because of all the excess siliva (sometimes thick) in the mouth). Maybe some others can jump in and give an opinion on this.

He is only 16 inches long so his mouth is very small and no, the other HMS is in a seperate inclosure.

Is the snake gaping it's mouth any?. Also, listen to the snake as it breaths in a quiet environment, and listen for any "clicking", or "ticking", or wheezing sounds. These are all signs of an upper respiratory infection.

After you do this, I would also gently pry the snakes mouth open, and see if there is anything that looks suspicious, for example...something foreign stuckin to mouth, necrotic cheesy-looking gum tissue, etc...

Without knowing the origin of the snake, even tongue worms, etc... are another possibility here, who knows.

If it is any of the above other than a piece of something you can simply remove, I would immediately take it to a knowledgeable reptile vet so they can perform a "culture" on any bacteria so it can be better targeted with the proper anibiotic.

best regards, ~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

>>>The room is about 80 degrees and he has a basking site of around 93 degrees. He has hide boxes, a water bowl, grapevines and is on newspaper.

>your snake is probably just stressed. drop room temps to 70 or so, they like it cool. also hondos like a medium to burrow in for security, but you can keep them on newspaper just allow plenty of tight secure hides, they also benefit from a humid hide.
best of luck
,,,,,,,,thomas davis
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Morphs... just like baseball cards BUT ALIVE, how cool is that???

my website www.barmollysplace.com

He passed away last night.

Man, that is extremely disappointing to here.

best regards, ~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

Man, I am sorry to hear the bad news. Sucks. Moving on----make sure you sterilize EVERYTHING that snake was in contact with and quarantine any snakes that have been in contact with him also. (maybe placed into the same box or bag with the other one when you got them).

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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"