Reptile & Amphibian Forums

OK. Yesterday, my adult male GBK shed. He even shed it all in one piece.. but his new scales were wet and Extremely sticky. Sticky like tape - I touched him and he kinda of stuck to my hand. I soaked him in warm water to see if it would help. He swam around just fine, but when I dried him off and put him back, he was still sticky. He was a little lethargic, but it seemed to be because he had trouble getting unstuck from everything, since he moved around in the tub with no problem.
I didn't have the foggiest idea what was going on (and still don't) but I didn't know what else to do - and it was 10 pm at that point - so I went to bed. When I woke up this morning, he was dead, curled up in the corner.
Now, this snake was Perfectly fine up to when he shed. He always ate well, and was active when I took him out yesterday morning.
So right now, I'm completely baffled. There was no reason at all for him to feel like that, not to mention die!
Does anyone have ANY idea at all what happened? I've Never had a snake that has come out of a shed feeling like that.

Thanks in advance for any ideas.
-Ellen

Ellen,

I'm sorry for your loss. I wish I could help diagnose the problem, but I'm also stumped on this one, and also have never had a snake show the symptoms you describe. Mites can trigger changes in the snake's shedding cycle, but I can find no references that indicate the symptoms you describe arising from a mite infestation. I hope someone more knowledgable will jump in here with more insight.

The only thing I can think of is a possible accidental exposure to some sort of toxic substance. Immersion or inhalation. Did the snake show any other abnormal symptoms at all prior to shedding? Was he eating normally? Did he go through his "blue" phase normally prior to shedding? Might he have been exposed indirectly to some sort of, say, lawn-care chemical such as weed pre/post-emergent, plant pest treatment (e.g., malathion, kelthane, etc.), or bug spray? Was anything else unusual about his scales (deformed, discolored, etc.) noted before or just after the shed?

I'm curious about this one. Anyone else with any ideas?
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MichaelB

Well, I'm positive he didn't have mites.

As for exposure to a toxic substance.. I can't be sure. I don't believe he has been in contact with anything remotely harmful, but I guess one can never be sure. Yes, he went through the usual blue phase, and he had been eating fine.
Now that you mention it, once he shed, his scales looked a little.. shriveled I guess. Almost like they hadn't formed completely. I wonder if it's possible for a snake to shed earlier than it's supposed to...

Or maybe I had one really dumb snake. I don't know what to tell you.

I would check with the herp health forum people. Sounds like it may have been a skin infection of some sort. I have heard symptoms like that before but usually involved some sort of chemical exposure. Maybe residue of something in the place where you soaked him.

In the future, I would take it to a herp vet for a necropsy to possibly determine the cause of death. Meanwhile, I would qaurantine any other herps you have and throw out any cleaning supplies or tools that you use for your snakes.
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