Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a young kingsnake, about two years old, and lately he's been doing this strange thing where he opens his mouth and sort of stretches his jaw. I've never seen him do it this often and it makes me a little worried. He's still as active and he's very fiesty and tries to bite me any chance he gets (I wear gloves now).

Here's a video of the snake doing what I'm talking about:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy2y4bXoWR0

this was taken before a feeding. He feeds eagerly, and this time was no exception, but he's still doing it. I keep his cage and water dish very clean. Should I seek out medical help for my snake?

Going by the video, at 14 seconds in, it opens its mouth and exhales. It's also flicking its tongue while its mouth is open. I would have to guess respiritory infection? Your not keeping it in that enclosure are you?

Yeah at first I thought it's probably just yawning, but after seeing the video I have to say, that is definately not normal. It could be respitory problem, just not sure. what temperature is it in the room you keep him in? Or in that cage? You said it is eating so that is a good sign. I would raise his temps up to around 82 to 85 but please make sure you do it safely if you heat him up too much you will kill him. If he continues to do this you will have to take him to a Vet if you don't want him to die. You should also look into getting him a better cage. Even a Large Rubbermaid sweater box that closes tight or better yet has latches with holes drilled or melted on the sides will be better than that critter carrier. They aren't expensive and will give him more room. You can always get a better looking cage later on. Give him a warm side and a cooler side if at all posiible. If you have Air Conditioning in that room you may want to move him to a laundry room or even Garage as long as mid day temps don't go above 87 there bouts. If it climbs into even the low 90's he'll fry. Sometimes if you catch it early on just raising the temps can cure it but like I said if it continues more than a few days, you are risking it's life. Good luck!
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King Snakes! Who can make a better mouse trap?
J Sierra

To answer both replies, goodness no, that's not his living tank. It's just the critter keeper I use to feed him in. He's currently in a ten gallon terrarium(soon to be graduated to a nice 20 gallon) which has aspen for substrate and a couple hides and his water dish. he has an undertank heater that keeps the warm side in the mid 80's and sometimes a bit higher. The cool side is room temp, generally 70F like the rest of the house. I've always been careful about watching the temps too You both said respiratory problem, so I'm gonna look into finding a reptile vet tomorrow. He's hiding after his meal right now, but I'm gonna do my best to keep an eye on him.

How do they generally treat respiratory problems/infections in snakes, and what might have caused this?

I treated a respiratory infection once on a transpecos ratsnake juvie I had. I used tetracycline given to me by a vet student (who is now a vet) and followed her dosing directions. Hopefully your vet will try to get a culture to identify what pathogens are causing the infection is (if it is actually an infection)and select and appropriate antibiotic to treat it. I think most vets just "assume" its respiratory and give a broad band antibiotic like baytril or something.

Your temps and set up sound fine, so I would be stumped too as to what may be causing this all of a sudden. Could be mouthrot, which is also an infection, but is not respiratory. It is an infection of the mouth tissues that may have been caused by an injury or something. Hopefully your vet will check it out. You can also look for signs of cheesy material around the teeth and gums, or mouth sores. It could be something as simple as a piece of aspen stuck in its mouth!!

Something else to think about is a possible shed. Sometimes a few of my corns will gape a bit right before they shed. I assume it helps them loosen the skin around their lips to assist with beginning the shed. So, if your snake was blue a few days ago and just cleared up, that could be whats going on as well. HOWEVER, a vet visit never hurts.

Its a nice looking cal king and I wish you luck with its recovery.

He has bitten me a lot in the past, so i was afraid that he may have hurt his mouth or something or that it could be mouthrot, but since I've been using gloves lately he hasn't really had the opportunity to get me (last bite was maybe two weeks ago...i remember getting chomped when i was trying to change his water without gloves).

I tried checking his mouth myself but it's so hard to sit him still while avoid being bit, and I don't want to stress him or do further harm so I'll let the vet do it.

Oooh...i never thought of a shed. he did it a few weeks ago but since i've been away I haven't noticed. I'll still take him in, but that is something to think about.

I have read a few posts lately with similar problems and they all had Aspen bedding. I believe sometimes it could be the bedding. If it is extra dusty and dry. You can and should give him a small container with moist spagnum to hid in besides his regular hide spot. I would definately switch him to Newspaper and see if it helps. I use Pine shavings from Walmart and it varies in dust but I never have a problem. Is it possible that a mouse could have bitten him in the mouth? Hopefully you are not feeding live rodents. Keep in mind we are just going thru all the possiblities to rule out all causes.
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King Snakes! Who can make a better mouse trap?
J Sierra

No, i feed him frozen thawed mice and the only lives he's ever eaten were too young to defend themselves (I only fed live when i was desperate/if they were out of frozen, but now I found a shop where you just call to reserve mice and they freeze what you want for pickup). The aspen bedding isn't very dusty that I can tell, mostly just fairly large pieces, but now I'm thinking I'll switch to newspaper soon. Can you use just any old newspaper? do you shred it yourself, and can I use a paper shredder to do it?

I think it's best to leave the paper flat. You may have to fold it to fit just right. Use as many sheets as you may need to cover the entire floor. Only problem with Newspaper is you have to change it often. Some people buy unprinted paper from the Newspaper office but I have used the sunday paper with no problem. He looked healthy and he is still eating so that's all good signs.
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King Snakes! Who can make a better mouse trap?
J Sierra

Oh, I see. He really likes hiding under his substrate but I guess that's just something he'll have to live without now. It really does just sound more hygienic anyway.

You may be able to go back to the Aspen later, but for now you want to eliminate any possible causes. Once the cause has been determined or he is cured you can try the substrate again. If he begins to show similar signs again then remove the Aspen permenantly, or switch to a different one.
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King Snakes! Who can make a better mouse trap?
J Sierra

Sometimes it can be cured with raising the temps to 84 constantly until cured with low humidity. If it's advanced the vet my try batril or a similar antibiotic. I would try the heat first. Use newspaper for substrate and raise the temps. Put the water dish away from the heat so if it gets to hot it can soak to cool down. Hope that helps.Steve.

what way do you generally raise the temps? I can't really control how hot his mat gets. It usually stays at a constant temperature, and it doesn't have an adjustment knob or anything..it's just one of those zoomed heat pads. Would moving him to a warmer room work? Our garage usually stays fairly warm but I'm going to have to check the temps there first so i don't bake him.

I do however have his bowl on the cool side.

If its in a 20 gal. tank with a screen cover, just put about 2 layers of towels over the top. It will hold the heat in but still allow some ventilation.

It's a ten gal, but it's still a screen cover, so I'll cover it up. Thank you all for the suggestions and well wishes, I really appreciate it.

holy [bleep] i've done something stupid. i just replaced the batteries in my thermometers right now(since the displays were sort of getting fuzzy) and the hot side was reading around 100F after the battery change. I removed it and replaced it (to test) and it's still at that temp. I am freaking out so bad. I took the snake out and put him, a hide, and bedding in his critter keeper right now with one end on a heat blanket i use for something else. I have never had a reading that high in his cage before. I have the spot over the heating pad padded by a layer of repticarpet. I don't know what's wrong but it feels like everything is just falling apart. I know he isn't burned but could he have been hurt by the high temp?

I feel so dumb right now. Can anyone advise me on how to get the right temperature for the warm side? I don't know if the mat is malfunctioning or what. I'd have thought it would get cooler if it was...

You may be able to install a simple variable switch you can get from Home Depot or Lowes. If your not sure ask them for help or just buy a better pad that has and adjustable switch on it. They also sell a Repti Thermostat that you can plug the heat pad into and it will control the temps. If you are using any kind of heat lamp or over head light turn it off. You can also slide the pad off so only a smaller amount of surface space is touching the bottom of the Aquarium. A pad with an adjustable switch is the best solution.
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King Snakes! Who can make a better mouse trap?
J Sierra

okay, thanks. I'm going to look into that tomorrow.