Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi i have a rough green snake that just wont eat ive tried to feed it crickets meal worms and smal feeder fish i dont know what to feed himand another thing he has some dicoloration on some of his cales they look blue like a light blue

The developing blue color is not a good sign. occasionaly I have turned up specimens in the wild that have this. (my guess is that it is some kind of fungal infection,or reaction to chemicals. I have never taken any to the vet to confirm it.

What are the conditions you are keeping this snake in? Details will help.

TanK?
Bedding?
Do you mist?
Temps?

Another consideration..Do you use any household cleaners (like Pinesol for example)or anything that might have fumes or odor?

Be picky and see what you come up with.

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

The tank is 20 galon width longer than hight

the substrate is tiny red pebbles the brand name is Esu reptile Desert Blend lizard litter

I mist twice a day one in the morning and one at night not too much just to wet the leaves a little

Not sure what the temp is but im using a 60 wat bulb at the end of one side

i have plenty of climbing vines and places for him to hide
and a reptile pool for him to swim in
and no i havent used any type of chemical

and another thing it just got over a mite problem about a week ago but i htink i got rid of them i dont see any sign of them

Personally I would lose the desert blend and get nice soft dirt to burrow in.
How long hasn't he eaten? Did he eat before the mites? Treating for mites seems to be tough on Green snakes. If he is wild caught I would be tempted to release him.
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Sonya

Haven't we warned you about tampering with the structure of a chaotic system?
Mrs. Neutron

I was thinking of getting rid of the blend..

and im not sure when i first got him (at local pet store) he seemed fine but im not sure if he was eating.I got him when i was on vacation so i cant release him because where the species lives the weather conditions and vegitation is very diferent forest=desert

These snakes do tend to turn a light turquoise blue when frightened or excited. i got this info from another site very intrseting..

Ok...That's news to me. I have never seen a Rough green turn bluish unless:

A) its in shed.

B) it's near death.

Spagnum moss is the best bottom substrate. Greens normally do not burrow (they are not built to do that. Moss gives them an easy cover to hide under.

What did you use to treat it for mites?

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

i showed the guy who sold it to me and told me to give it lots of lukewarm baths for about 10 minutes and they should go away in about a week and they did

Ok...luke warm baths are usually used to treat:

Shed problems: (not an issue here)

Dehydration: Since you were misting your snake and supplied a water bowl this is also unlikely...except in a situation where disease is contributing. Mite attack seriously affects the snakes ability to absorb water thru the skin.

Contact Poisoning: If your snake was exposed to something that it has low tollerence for (such as fumes or contact with a cleaning solution, air fresheners, perfume, laundry products, or even a mite medication). Soaking is a treatment that is used to draw out some of the poison.

As stated above the blue color is often an indication of extreme stress. A return to a more healthy condition would cause the color to return to normal.

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

Actualy when i was giving my snake thoes baths i saw the ticks or mites what ever they where swiming in the water and i think hes eating now because in one of his feces i saw somthing that looked like a half digested cricket torso