Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm worried about my Wally. He's a Glossy snake that I've had for seven years. He quit eating mice a long time ago (I tried everything to entice him, even a beer, lol, but no go). Anyway, so he ate lizards weekly, sometimes more, with vigor. He'd practically fly out of the cage to grab the meal. He'd do this all year around. Seemed to prefer the cold side of the cage too. Well, last year he got out and roamed around my house for about 5 months. After I found him, he just hasn't been the same. He puked for the first time since I had him, and now he is reluctant to eat at all. He quit eating all winter too which he's never done before his escape. I've tried different temperatures and everything and yet I've barely gotten him to eat and I'm really wondering what to do. I don't want to watch him slowly starve to death. Any suggestions?

Could it have come in contact with poison of some sort? Could be dehydration too. Need water to digest. Make sure to soak it in very very shallow water (like 1/4 to 1/2 inch) for 5-10 minutes to get the snake hydrated very quickly.

In any case, have you tried thawed pinkies scented with lizard? I know you said you tried everything, but I ask just in case. Glossies are often very fond of thawed scented pinks. Then you can move up to thawed fuzzies.

I say thawed because for some reason, any longnose snake or glossy I have tried to get onto mice (those that did eat) was much more enthusiastic with thawed vs live pinks, even if the snake was nearly an adult.
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Mark

I would dose him with Flagyl(Metronidazole) at a dose of 50mg./per kg. body weight. Then a second dose of the same 10 days later or so. DO NOT attempt to feed him at ALL during this time, and wait approx. a week or so AFTER the second dose to feed him. Make sure the meal is very small too for a couple feedings to see that all goes well and greatly lessen the chance of another regurgitation. After he has kept down a couple small meals, you can gradually step-up the meal size back to normal-sized prey.

This is a very reptile safe antibiotic, but it kills both bad AND good bacteria which is needed for proper digestion along with fairly warm temps(low 80's). You can also administer a bit of "pro-biotic" such as "Nutri-Bac" to help things out as well. This is good bacteria that helps replenish what was initially lost in the snake's gut. Kathy Love also sells this at shows on her table quite often.

http://www.reptileuv.com/nutribac-df-probiotic-for-reptiles.php

Flagyl can be found in several oral forms, pill, paste, and liquid. You can get this from any vet, or order some online at a number of places too. Some farm stock stores might also carry it too. Approx. 1/16th of a well-crushed 250 mg. pill doses a 300 gram snake. Add about .05(1/2 cc)of water in a small shot glass, and mix as thoroughly as possible. It doesn't ever totally dissolve, but just mix well before drawing it up in a small syringe with a thin tube attached, hold the snake upright, and ease it down the throat several inches, then slowly press the plunger as to let gravity help it flow into the stomach and not shot back out of the mouth. It is very simple to do actually. But if you don't feel comfortable doing this for whatever reason, go get it done by a vet for a few bucks. you don't want your snake paying the price for not getting it done one way or the other.

I have seen a great number of snakes die from people not doing this in time, so I would STRONGLY suggest you do this ASAP so this doesn't happen to yours too. I have used Flagyl after regurges in the past with absolutely FANTASTIC results, but follow the above steps to the letter, and things will work out fine.

Hope the snake gets back on track soon!

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com

Thank you for your great suggestions. Wally has plenty of water since I found him last spring, so I don't think that that's the problem. After getting him warmed up and I finally got a meal down him it was small. Gradually they got bigger, and I think the one he puked was really too large for him and not because he was sick. After that was when he really backed off eating as often, and I thought it was because they were the same type of lizard he had puked. Ok, so that might be more a human thing than a snake thing, but hey, I'm grasping at straws. As far as scenting F/T pinks ... been there, done that. Actually when he was a baby he'd eat unscented pinks but as soon as he was big enough to eat a fuzzy, and I got him to try one, that was the last time he would touch a mouse of any kind ... even brained.

I will try the flagyl and see how that does. Thanks again ya all.

The next time you feed a lizard, tie a thawed pinky on its back or tail with fine cotton thread. Or use a thawed lizard and shove a thawed pink in its mouth. I got a Lyre snake to eat mice this way.

In my limited experience with longnose snakes (act alot like glossies in their preferences), once you give in with a lizard, they snub mice from then on until they get really hungry.

I second the Flagyl thing. It seems to stimulate appetite, and a dose does not hurt the snake even if the snake does not have a parasite problem.
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Mark

Some Longnose sure can be a pain too. A friend down the road has caught several in her yard. She finally ended up giving up on them because lizards cost so much around here. Grrrr. I have caught several of my own lizards for Wally until they started 'looking at me'. Now, what I have left are my pets. They keep down the insects too. Anyway... Wally finally ate today. I guess he felt everyone's vibe for him to eat. LOL. I'll see how he does as time passes. Oh and ... when he stopped eating the mice I refused to feed him a lizard for just the reason that you mentioned. But when two (summer) months went by I visualize him turning into a skeleton like I've seen at the pet shops because they refused to give lizards, and I just couldn't do that to him. I told myself that if I was going to own a snake that (some) are total lizard eaters, then I must feed him lizards. It's just that when he stopped even eating them is the reason for my panic. These lizards just may be too big or too old. I'll let you know how things work out.

Thanks again to everyone. Good words.

A suggestion for the people that want to give up on them because of lizard expense,...they could easily get a lizard, cut it open and rub the pinky all in it to feed the snake, then keep re-freezing it. Each time using a bit less lizard scent until they eventually eat an unscented pinky. I do this with many problem feeder hatchlings of different types that I have produced in the past. Works fantastic!,.......smells like a lizard,...then it IS a lizard..LOL!

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com

If you can get a snake consistently feeding on SOMETHING, then you can usually get it to switch over to more convenient items with scenting. I used to get my hatchling greybanded kings going on small house geckos I would luckily find in the late summer and early fall. Once they ate consistently for a couple of meals on the baby geckos, they would then take tails from larger geckos. Once they took the tails happily a couple of times, they were hooked and usually took a scented pinky mouse pretty quickly. From there I just gradually reduced the scenting til they were on straight unscented pinks. Even the scenting of the pinks was only required for about three to four meals for them to catch on that "Mice are Nice"!! As far as costs of lizards, I have seen ads on this website in the feeder section of the classifieds with ads for feeder lizards. No, they are not as cheap as mice, but you can usually get a pretty big lot of 50-100 anoles or house geckos for about a buck each. If you can at least get the glossy on f/t lizards, then they may also be a route to take in your situation. Buy a bunch and freeze them, or see if you can buy a bulk lot already frozen.

Thanks for the added suggestions. Some I've tried, but they are still great for anyone reading this thread that may have a problem lizard feeder. Mine eats frozen lizards but I was trying to avoid shipping some in because of the cost of shipping them in. Then I'd want to kill Wally if he decided he didn't like what was shipped in ... only kidding. Then too, he ate pinks with no fuss then when he was big enough for a fuzzy he quit. I scented like crazy with no luck. I even went back to pinks, scented, with no luck, and even if he started eating pinks again it would take too many to fill him up now so I may as well buy lizards. Does anyone breed Glossy's on this thread?

If it is a definite male, he could be refusing during mating season too with only ONE thing on his mind. This is VERY common with snakes. It's nature's way of keeping them "on the prowl" instead of curled-up somewhere like a "couch potato"..LOL!

If it is not because of the male urge to mate, I would simply do the Flagyl deal. This often works like clock-work to rid it of any intestinal problem, AND seems to stimulate the appetite as well.

Truly a win-win situation if you ask me.

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com

That could be what he's doing. He seems to have 'the look' on his face. You all have been super with all of your suggestions. I'll let you know how it all turns out.