Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My brooksi has been acting strange. He twirls his body like hes having a spasm. Today he did the twisting motion and also opened his mouth slightly and kind of shook his head slightly with his tongue out. I've only seen him do this one other time. The first thing that came to mind was IBD but I was unsure whether or not kingsnakes could get it. Is there anything else that it could be?
Also, he still eating ferociously and deficates normally.Thanks in advance.

It's not IBD. That affects boids (boas and pythons). How old is the snake? If it's a juvenile it could be a defensive response. Does the snake display this response only when it see's you or is it just doing it randomly. By you saying its mouth is partially opened it could be a respiratory infection. The movement may be caused by excess mucus in its throat it is trying to clear. What temps is the snake at?

The snake is an adult and although Ive only seen him do it while his drawer is pulled out, its hard to believe that's its any kind of defensive reaction. Now that I think about it, it could be a respiratory infection.I have never heard any wheezing or seen any nostril discharge but he has a habit of spilling his water bowl and soaking his mulch which leads to high abnormally high humidity until its changed. Maybe the humidity caused a respiratory infection.

Usually you don't hear any wheezing or see any discharge from nostrils or mouth until the infection is advanced. I would get rid of the mulch altogether and use newspaper. Put a small spill proof container in (like a dogs waterbowl with tapered sides) for water and raise the temps to around 84 degrees. If your using the drawer method of caging, I would also make sure you have plenty of holes in it for proper ventilation. If you caught the infection in time, which it sounds like you have, then the snake should not need antibiotics. Steve

Im going to switch to newspaper, raise the temps, and make more holes. Im actually already using spill proof dog bowls. He doesnt actually knock his bowl over he just fills the bowl with mulch which causes it to over flow. It shouldn't be a problem with newspaper.
Thanks for the help Steve.

Could be an allergic reaction to the substrate or mulch or possible mold on the mulch.

Yes, go to newspaper. Wash the cage out first, wash the water dish.
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Mark

Yeah I was thinking along these lines too. If he fills his water dish with bark and drinks the water it could have an adverse effect. I also thought of possibly internal parasites, maybe.
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King Snakes! Who can make a better mouse trap?
J Sierra

No problem. I agree with Mark about cleaning the cage. Mold and mildew could create problems. Hope everything works out. Steve