Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Another problem! A male this time out of brumation about two weeks. He's been lethargic and will not eat. When I attempted assisted feeding with a tiny f/t gecko I noticed a clump of solid mucus in his mouth and pulled out a chunk about 3/4 inches long that extended into his throat. I ended up ff the gecko which was little more intrusive than a mouse tail. He's holding it down so far. But I noticed earlier today he seems kind of spaced out. He holds his head up but just seems to stare into space and it seems like his response to being picked up and handled are muted.
Carl

Sounds pretty serious. I would take it to a vet, culture the mucus and get it some appropriate meds before it loses too much weight.

That "stargazing" symptom is not a good sign, that suggests it could be the feared "zonata-disease". I would take the snake to a experienced vet, he/she will then perform a liver biopsy on the snake to determine if it is zonata disease.

I have a large female agalma that got ill last august. She never showed the stargazing symptom, but she have trouble moving her hind part and she also moves very slowly, in fact extremely slowly. I have been in contact with the best veterinarians in this country, but none are sure about how to perform a liver biopsy, so she is still in isolation in another location.

Since she refuses to eat, I have had her in brumation since september and she seems okay bodywise. Other symptoms are not changed at all except for the upside down thing. She initially kept half of her body upside down, but that stopped a few months back.

About the zonata-disease, the reasons for this disease is not yet determined. There is not yet any evidence to what agent is behind the disease, if it's bacteria, virus or any other agent is still unknown.