Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have a female Okeetee cross. i think she may have ingested some unclean water. she is starting to get very skinny and i'm worried. with the financial situation i'm in now, i don't have the money for a trip to the vet. am i probably going to lose her? i appreciate any help/advice.

I would bring her to the vet I am sure he/she will let you pay in bits and pieces or overtime if it means that the snake will live.

>>i have a female Okeetee cross. i think she may have ingested some unclean water. she is starting to get very skinny and i'm worried. with the financial situation i'm in now, i don't have the money for a trip to the vet. am i probably going to lose her? i appreciate any help/advice.

But what makes you think it's the water?
How long did you leave dirty water in it's enclosure?
To be fatal it would have to be a long long time.
I know this may be harsh but....
are you so financially destitute that you can't afford water?
It's not money that's the problem, its complete laziness to leave dirty water in a snake's enclosure long enough to even suspect it to be the problem.
I'm sorry but this just bugs me. Lack of money for a vet is one thing but neglect is another.
I hope there is something I'm missing here and just jumping to conclusions.

You say your snake is losing weight..Is it eating?
How long since it's last meal?
Any other symptoms?
What did it's last few stools look like.
what are the rest of the conditions in its enclosure like?
temps, substrate, hides and most importantly cleanliness.
Have you cleaned out it's waste or just left it in the tank along with the dirty water?
more detailed descriptions or explinations might help.

PLEASE tell me I'm wrong and things aren't as bad as I suspect.
-----
Corn snakes and rat snakes..No one can have just one.
"resistance is futile"
Jimmy (draybar)

Draybars Snakes

Water would evaporate before it ever got that bad.Im really curious how it got ahold of bad water.Sounds like its really sick and starving to death.WC full of parasites?Bad husbandry?Starved?The post leaves alot of things to the imagination.
It's why we need details.What do you consider bad water?Did your corn get into something it shouldnt have?Let us know.
Paul

i got the snake at a show a couple years ago. i live alone and i was out of town for a couple days and the snake's water had been soiled.

Sooner or later that will happen to every snake.Your snake didnt get skinny overnight.You need to feed more often.If the snake is refusing food it could be male and looking for love.In that case my males refuse food for around 2-3 months.I fatten them up a little before breeding season so they dont look like skin and bones...Paul

I don't think its the water either...your snake may just be skinny because it hasn't been eating for whatever reason.

try to feed your snake, and if any more symptoms come up, let us know!

and don't feel too bad about the water being dirty. whether its 2 days or 1/2 a day the water is dirty when you are out/at work, it can happen, but just keep it extra clean at home. I know many people on this forum will be happy to know its just a one time thing & not negligence! : )

I hope your snake fattens up!

also, did u leave lights on when you were out of town? was your cage extra hot? is your cage too hot? remember that a snakes metabolism is directly related to heat!
-----
Zsa-Zsu and Corny the Corn Snake
and Monaco the Argentine B&W Tegu
and Meanie the Black Throat Monitor

no, i didn't leave the lights on. i have 2 windows in the room with blinds so she would've gotten natural light. and i have central air, so it shouldn't have gotten too hot. i'll try what you said and feed her more. hopefully she'll be okay. thanks!

the snake is about 4 feet long. i feed it every 2 weeks. i live alone and had been out of town for a couple days and the snake's water was soiled while i was gone. by the way, all i asked for was some help. not to be insulted.

One thing about reptile metabolism, you generally have time to act before it's too late...

We really could use more information about exactly what size food item and frequency your snake has been eating, if it's gone off feed, whether it's behavior has changed suddenly or if it's just the skinniness you're worried about.

Please tell us also about the size and furnishings of enclosure, and if you have any supplemental heat or track the humidity levels. Also if you ever use calcium dust or water additives, that can be important or not depending on the food items...

Snakes often defecate in thier water and ingest some amount of it, their guts function a little differently than mammals, so if it helps to answer your question directly- no, it probably wouldn't have hurt your snake to drink a little dirty water for a couple days...you got an unsolicited earful because we all so often see a snake in a petshop or home that is neglected with a foul water bowl and dirty cage that obviously hasn't been cleaned in weeks, and that's kind of a lightning rod topic.

More to the point of helping your snake since you care enough to go to the trouble to ask:

Your snake might have refused to drink the bad water and might be little dehydrated, that would clear up quickly with fresh water. Could something else have happened while you were gone, did the tank get exposed to direct sunshine, or cold draft, or another pet harass the snake? Did you have a "snake-sitter" look after it?

Barring those sorts of issues having to do with your time away, has your snake gotten gradually thinner, or just suddenly changed?

If gradually then either diet or temps/environment is suspect, either frequency of feeding(many folks feed corns every week, as opposed to boids which go longer...) or else nutrition... If you are feeding full grown mice for example, there should be enough calcium for the snake's health, but baby mice might not have enough, dusting the prey with calcium "herp-dust" might help, some folks put drops in the water dish that have calcium in them...all these products claim to have additional vitamin benefits, too.

If the snake has gone off feed, it might be a spring thing, but if it is eating well, has no other sudden stresses, but declines suddenly, disease or old age should be considered.

Hopefully I've given you some ideas to think about and I hope you will follow up with us, we'd like to help!

One great all around source of info (blatant plug warning!) is Kathy and Bill Love's definitive book, ?"Corn Care Manual"? I think the cover is worn off mine so I forget exactly what the title is! Check for that in your local pet shop or on their website Cornutopia, which has a lot of care sheets there too...

Good luck to you and your snake-

i feed my snake a couple adult mice every other week. she's been feeding well lately. she is currently in shed and has been hiding a lot. one thing i always heard that is a sure sign a snake is sick is if they don't flick their tongues. no problem there. she is still quite active, but has lost a noticeable amount of weight. should i just feed her more/more often?

oh! i forgot to say 'thank you!' for the caring post.

Hey, you're welcome- we all deal with snakes that refuse to eat or suddenly change habits, I think there is no better way to stop a snake from eating than to brag on the forum how it "pounds mice"- Murphy's Law.

It really doesn't have to be a huge complicated thing with bundles of wiring and test probes and vitamins and data sheets and all to keep a snake- but when you run into trouble there's kind of a checklist to go through- the same type of checklist a vet is going to run through to eliminate possibilities and zero in on problem areas...

If your snake is still eating well, that's good- then you can actually try some different things... I'm a believer in more frequent moderate meals, like one adult mouse a week, as less of a repeated big stress on the animal's system, but wouldn't say you're wrong...does the snake get hungry and cruise the cage hunting between meals? Then go more often...

One thing you can do is to check the temperatures in the cage at the snake's level on the substrate (what are you using for substrate? Could the snake have eaten some substrate, interfering with digestive system?), the optimum is to have one end warmer and one cooler- from low 70's to low 80's for corn snakes, even a human heating pad tucked under one end can help do this, the right heat is important for digestion and thriving as opposed to just hanging on...at pet stores there are little gauges for temp and humidity for like $13 the set or $8 each(to head off purists, I should say they are not super accurate, but can be adjusted to match a standard instrument reasonably well), but a simple thermometer can be laid on the bedding and checked after an hour or so, or just stuck into the water bowl.

You haven't said there are any problems with shed so I assume the humidity is about right. A periodic misting with a spray bottle at shed time can make sure that is a smooth process...

Sicknesses are hard to comment on without an exam, is why people so often advise taking a pet to the vet- but the most obvious symptoms might be stand-out runny or foul smelling droppings,
or wheezing or rasping when breathing.

Snake mites can sap an animals vigor without being noticed- and one symptom of them is if the snake sudenly starts soaking and soiling in it's dish to relieve irritation. Look for tiny dots on the snake or on your hands after letting it slide through your fingers like a squeegee. Also redness or dots under belly scutes...

And finally look for redness or swelling around the mouth...

Whew- that's a lot of stuff to think about- I'm not trying to be comprehensive or even very specific about your situation, just to suggest some general avenues to explore and check out whenever a snake is doing poorly...

Mainly try to test those temps and check for disease, if you pay close attention and keep digging into the problem you'll likely figure it out or she'll just go back to normal anyway, LOL, and please post back to the forum if she is getting better, or what things you have been able to eliminate...

Good luck-

no problem with sheds and i have heat pads that i use. she is in an adequately sized enclosure. i will say that her last stool was odd-looking. runny with kind of small, clear, yellowish globs. that's the best way i can describe it.

Hmmmm, might mean nothing...if it happens again, save the sample in a film canister or something- your local vet should be able to do a "fecal float"- basically prep it for the microscope and examine it for a small fee, ?$15-$20? and tell you if it's got parasites or a gut infection...the drugs to treat that stuff are available on the net, if you get that far and need more info I have some excellent URL's/books on dosage, etc just e-mail me through the forum...

Meanwhile maybe increase the frequency of the feeding and monitor the snake, droppings, etc-

One thing that will help you do that is if you can objectively weigh the snake- put it in a small pillowcase or container and weigh it on a kitchen scale, etc, then weigh the empty container and back out that "tare" weight...

Good luck, hope we've helped at least give you some ideas on how to investigate further!

thanks! you've been a tremendous help!

Hey there,

well, what makes you think she drank dirty water?

when could she have ingested the water?

How long has she been not eating/losing weight?
-----
Zsa-Zsu and Corny the Corn Snake
and Monaco the Argentine B&W Tegu
and Meanie the Black Throat Monitor

i was away for a couple days and her water had become soiled. i've had her for a couple years and she's never had health problems before. she hasn't been refusing food, just getting thin.

After reading the other posts I have just a couple more things to add:

How long has she been losing weight, do you think? Did she go off feed, for example, for a long time this winter? That happens sometimes.

With your current "financial situation" ... Do you think that causes you to skimp on feeding? You said you feed your snake every "couple of weeks"... Do you sometimes "forget" and go 3 or even 4?

I would say feed your snake every week for awhile if it will accept food. And, no disrespect meant at all, but...If you feel that you can't afford to properly care for the animal at this time, you might want to find a good home for it. Best of luck.
Duffy

the weight loss has only been fairly recently. she has always fed well in the past. i feed all my larger snakes every 2 weeks. i don't skimp.

Now were getting somewhere.Female,fed well,proper husbandry,rapid weight loss,runny stools.
Keep fresh water at all times.Without a vet all you can do is raise the heat slighty and try to get her to eat more.If that doesnt work ask someone who has a vet to explain your cash flow problem and that they can vouch for you.Ive had to make payments before and it's nothing to be ashamed about.Sometime I will explain how I had a free doberman that cost me $6000 bucks...Paul

thanks so much for your help! $6000?!?! sheesh!!

He was a 111 pound male doberman.And still the car that hit him was an old cadilac.Both rear hips and spine.He was my best buddy for 12 years.He was my friend.The sheethead survived about 3 more trips to the 24 hour emergency vets.(big Bucks).400 stiches once.LOL.Until he died of cancer he would hop over a 5 foot fence just to meet me.In 40 years Ive only had three dogs.Some people would think I negleted Damien.I just let him,be him....Paul