A friend of mine purchased a yearling albino ratsnake about 6mos ago for her 11yr old son. The snake is a poor eater and not growing. There has only been a slight difference in it's size in 6 months. This morning she called me and said that the snake is wrinkled and dimpled on it's body. Sounds like dehydration to me so we decided to let it soak in some warm water for a while. It hasn't eaten in maybe 3-4 weeks and seems agitated in it's cage by moving quickly and tearing everything up. Seems to me that there is a serious problem with this little guy. Vet is in order but money is scarce. Have I described this animal enough that someone might give some suggestions as to it's problem? Could he just be off of food because of the time of year? Does this sound normal to anyone? Is he looking for a cool spot for brumation? He is avoiding the underneath heat mat and staying mostly on the cool side.
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Albino Ratsnake not growing
Replies (1)
Is there a heat gauge in the cage? If not there needs to be one on both the cold and hot side. They should be down as close to the floor as possible to give you correct temps. Dont use the cheap stick on strips that are used for fish, use the actual dial type gauge. The temps on the hot side should not exceed 85 and the cool side should be around 72-75.
That way the snake can regulate his temps where he needs them.
Sounds like the temps are way too warm for the little guy, especially if he doesnt go on the end where the heat pad is.
If the UTH is getting too warm, you may have to put spacers under the 4 corners of the tank to allow more air circulation.
Might help with the temps.
Good luck
