Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I rarely have any sort of reptile health problems, but one of my gaboon vipers has slowly become a problem feeder. He has been feeding well until a couple of months ago. He was exposed to elevated temperatures in a move, but otherwise has been perfectly healthy and cage conditions are optimal (78 to 81 ambient temp, soaking 1 or 2 times weekly, etc). He is housed with a female who is the same age, but now about 2 times his mass. She is a vigorous, healthy eater with no problems. I am wondering if the exposure to elevated temps caused him to stress and allowed a parasite load to develop causing him to stop feeding properly. I am aware that gaboons are susceptible to stress and resulting parasite load. If this is the case I have no venomous vet anywhere near me. I also cannot get fecal samples, because he is not defecating regularly since he has stopped feeding properly and I dont want to wait until he does to get treatment. What kind of anti-parasitic drugs can be administered in a situation like this (Panacur, Flagyl, etc??)? What other info and options should I know?

thanks,

TW

The female that he is with has a very domineering attitude. I am wondering if she may be the problem with his feeding. I am going to seperate them and see if this changes anything. Any thoughts from the experts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Has he actually lost weight? Stress could be a factor. One thing I notice is a lot of my snakes from Africa slow down feeding this time, so that could be a factor too. Actually, I'm in an almost identical quandary with my desert horned adder... except I have the drugs in my fridge.
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Peter: It's OK, I'll handle it. I read a book about something like this.
Brian: Are you sure it was a book? Are you sure it wasn't NOTHING?

He has definitely lost some mass. He is not "skinny", but gaboons should be good and stocky.

That's a tough one. I feel your situation, because I can get vet care, but only in dire situations. You can buy the medicines online, but you won't know which ones to use. A lot of people use panacur and flagyl without testing the animal first, but others don't like the idea. I'd seperate the two animals and try and keep him low stress to see if you can get him feeding again on his own. I don't know how 'touchy' gabbys are but that might be all it takes. (at certain times of the year my horned adder won't eat unless we're in another room).

It might be possible that you could tube him and do a swab of some sort and then take it to the vet for analysis, but I don't know exactly how you'd do that. That would be the best scenario.
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Peter: It's OK, I'll handle it. I read a book about something like this.
Brian: Are you sure it was a book? Are you sure it wasn't NOTHING?

I definitely would not use any drugs unless I knew what I was treating for. If you can't get a fecal sample, then you can do a cloacal wash if you really suspect parasites as the problem. If you haven't performed this procedure before on a large, heavy-bodied viperid then you should find a vet (maybe a zoo vet?) that has experience with them. It can be a dangerous procedure both for the handler and the animal if done improperly.

Is this animal wild-caught or captive bred? If it is wild-caught, then has it ever been screened for parasites? If it is captive bred, have you been feeding live or frozen/thawed?

If the animal is captive bred and you have been feeding frozen/thawed, then parasites are not likely the culprit unless it has been caged with an animal that is carrying parasites.

I would go first after areas of possible stress. In my experience, Bitis are prone to stress related problems. It may very well be that the larger, more dominate female is causing him some stress. Separate them and make sure his cage conditions are optimal, then give him a few weeks to come around. Minimal handling during his period of acclimation to the new cage is important. Just leave him alone for a couple of weeks. Since they generally have good body mass and are naturally lethargic animals with rather slow metabolic rates, he should not lose weight very rapidly. If it is stress related, then he should begin to act normally again within 3 or 4 weeks of being placed in his own cage.

I would first seperate the two. And try too get the snake to a vet(were do you live? I may be able to help find one). The vet could do a gastric lavage as well as check for other causes neoplasms, abscessation, foreign bodies etc. Flagyl and Panacur are both great antiparasiticides that between the two cover the majority of common parasites in reptiles however it is far better if you know what you are treating.
ryancentini@cc.usu.edu

He is a CB animal and feeds almost exclusively on f/t prey. The more I think about the circumstances and time frame that he started to quite eating the more it seems to me that this is a dominance problem. At first they got along great and would coil up together in the hide and now she seems to be more pushy. He is often ending up outside the box. I am going to try seperating them and see if this helps. Thanks to all for the advice.

TW

I think you may have figured out the problem. Now I'm worried what will happen if I ever get a chance to pair up my adder! They hide in the sand, though, so maybe it will be ok.
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Peter: It's OK, I'll handle it. I read a book about something like this.
Brian: Are you sure it was a book? Are you sure it wasn't NOTHING?