Reptile & Amphibian Forums

my female brb has not ate in about 2-3 weeks. her skin look a lot more pale than usual. everytime i tried to feed her before she hasnt had any problems but now she just wont eat.

can it be b/c she's getting ready to shed?

also i notice her rubbing her head against a lot of things. does this mean anything?

any info would be nice thanks

03svtCobra,
. No expert advice here. I have only been keeping snakes for 40 years. Perhaps in another 40 years I will be ready to dispense expert advice. Little BRBs will often eat when going through a shed cycle. But, sometimes they will refuse to eat in a shed cycle. Does the skin look like it has a gray tint? If so it is likely that the snake IS getting ready to shed. A healthy snake can go a long time without feeding as long as it is not losing too much weight. If the snake is going through a shed cycle and is not rapidlt losing weight there is probably nothing to worry about. However, when a young BRB refuses to eat it is usually because it is being kept too hot or too cold or too dry or it is being stressed by too much noise and activity. If you are feeding dead prey, snakes will sometimes not eat thawed rodents which are cold or stale smelling. Try a warm fresh killed half grown mouse to see if that is the problem. Take a look at ALL husbandry issues trying to discover what you are doing that may be causing the snake to not eat.
Jeff

>>my female brb has not ate in about 2-3 weeks. her skin look a lot more pale than usual. everytime i tried to feed her before she hasnt had any problems but now she just wont eat.
>>
>>can it be b/c she's getting ready to shed?
>>
>>also i notice her rubbing her head against a lot of things. does this mean anything?
>>
>>any info would be nice thanks

jeff, thanks for getting back so quickly. i can always count on you on giving me the best advice...

the skin does seem to be getting a grayish tint to it. i also think she is going through a shed cycle b/c her eyes are getting that color also. i think i am keeping my tank a lil to hot, i took care of that problem tonight. i only feed her live prey so i dont think it is the food.

i also noticed her opening her mouth a lot. it looks like a yawn ( if a human did it, thats what it would be ). does this mean anything?

she is about 2 ft long and in a 20 gallon long tank. i plan on moving her into a 75 gallon tank. i was wondering if i put her and a male in the 75 gallon tank together, will it be big enough for the both of them when they are full grown.

any help i would appreciate.

thanks
steve

Steve,
. A 75 gallon tank will be large enough. You just have to cover up most of the screen to keep the humidity high enough.
Jeff

>>jeff, thanks for getting back so quickly. i can always count on you on giving me the best advice...
>>
>>the skin does seem to be getting a grayish tint to it. i also think she is going through a shed cycle b/c her eyes are getting that color also. i think i am keeping my tank a lil to hot, i took care of that problem tonight. i only feed her live prey so i dont think it is the food.
>>
>>i also noticed her opening her mouth a lot. it looks like a yawn ( if a human did it, thats what it would be ). does this mean anything?
>>
>>she is about 2 ft long and in a 20 gallon long tank. i plan on moving her into a 75 gallon tank. i was wondering if i put her and a male in the 75 gallon tank together, will it be big enough for the both of them when they are full grown.
>>
>>any help i would appreciate.
>>
>>thanks
>>steve

do you know what it mean when she keeps opening her mouth. it looks like she is yawnig but i dont know.

Steve,
. They do yawn. They sometimes yawn several times after eating like they are trying to realign their jaws. Other than right after eating they do not usually yawn real often. When they yawn they look like they are trying to see how wide they can open their mouths. Excessive opening of the mouth might indicate a respiratory problem. A respiratory problem would also likely cause the snake to go off feed.
Jeff

>>do you know what it mean when she keeps opening her mouth. it looks like she is yawnig but i dont know.

should i take her to a vet just in case? also, what can cause this resperatory disease? and can it be treated. now you have me very concerned, but thanks for filling me in.

please get back to me

Steve,
. It is impossible for me to tell what if anything is wrong with your snake. I am just trying to give you information for you to decide if there is a problem or not and for you to decide what to do about it. Snakes can get respiratory infections from being stressed. Stress causes the immune system to not function at it's full capacity. Look for stressors such as too much noise, vibration or activity or temperatures or humidity too high or too low or a dirty waterbowl or cage or environmental pollutants which might be stressing your snake. Respiratory infections oftentimes clear up if the husbandry problems are corrected. Many people recommend keeping a snake with a respiratory infection a little warmer than usual. This is good advice so long as the respiratory problem has not been caused by already keeping the snake too warm and/or dry. Sometimes respiratory infections require antibiotic treatment. If you are not sure what is wrong and IFF you have a vet who is very experienced in treating snakes I would say that you should take the snake to the vet. I never take a snake to a vet. I hold the opinion that 99% of health problems in reptiles are due to husbandry issues and that the other 1% of problems cannot be effectively and reasonably (economically) corrected. If you have the husbandry right and you can recognize and treat simple problems you will never need to take a snake to a vet.
YMMV,
Jeff

>>should i take her to a vet just in case? also, what can cause this resperatory disease? and can it be treated. now you have me very concerned, but thanks for filling me in.
>>
>>please get back to me

ok jeff, i'm taking her to the vet sunday just to make sure there isnt anything wrong with her. i have a question to. my tank sits on the floor of my room. can that be stressing her b/c her temp and humidity are normally rite. the only time they wpuld go a lil high or lil low is when i'm at work. but i'm going to the vet just to make sure.

i'll let you know how it turns out and thank you for all your help