Darwin Q

[bubbaloush]

Hi I have a new Darwin carpet python it has only been here with us for two weeks, not sure on its age but i would say about 18months to 2yrs. When we bought him we got told to feed him saturday which we did, and he ate fine had passed the rat, then we went to feed him again saturday just gone and he didnt want it the rat was heated properly and he was "teased" with it the whole works but he showed absolutely no interest.

We arent that worried about that but he is snappy (every other time we have gotten him out hes been fine) when we went to handle him before as we needed to do a paper change because he loves his water bowl. Which is what my concern was he has all of him in his water bowl and seems to be soaking and his head goes right under the water, this has been happening constantly for three days, could this maybe mean coming up for a shed or something?

The other concern is theres a little ledge/groove above the sliding glass door of his tank and he oftens goes along there and drops quite hard onto the bottom of the vivarium which is about 60cm fall, he falls on his back and ***** back to his belly/underside, or falls all twisted.

I was wondering if this is normal behaviour and could it possibly hurt him in anyway?

PS sorry it is so long but just wanted to ask as i dont know his normal habits

[JungleWog]

Could be shedding... my diamond gets grumpy and wont eat before he sheds ad is normally a guts... when was the last time he shed? do you know? im not an expert but i rekon he might be going to shed.

[bubbaloush]

Thought i should add we do have another Darwin who we have had years but he hasnt fallen like that or showed interest in lying in his water bowl

[JungleWog]

Hmmmm all snakes are different... Guys?

[S.D.]

Hi,

Hopefully one of the very helpful, experienced guys can help you more than I can, as I am no expert and/or vet sorry.

There are a few things that get recommended a lot in similar cases to your’s from the experienced guys so here’s a few that might help:

-People that can help will probably want to know these things as well as the stuff you’ve already mentioned: What are the temperatures like? How big is the snake? How big is the enclosure? Do you have his records? When was his last shed?

-You’ve only had the snake two weeks and although it fed the first time, no problems, maybe now it needs a little time to adjust before it eats again.

-Have you noticed his eyes go “milky” to suggest he’s coming up to a shed? That, like you said, might be why he’s hanging out in the water

-Maybe the temperatures are too hot and he’s soaking in his water to cool down some? What end is the water at? Cool? Warm? What end do you notice him spending most of his time at, if any?

Like I said though, I am no expert, but the above is what I usually read in similar cases to your’s. When a snake stops feeding (apart from shedding or cooling), it’s usually the result of or change in husbandry (for the worse). I’m not having a go at you or anything, as we’ve all made mistakes and it’s far better to find out you were doing something “off” and fix it rather than keeping it the same and putting the snake’s health at risk. I’m just saying in most cases, when a snake stops feeding it comes back to husbandry.

The thing to remember though is he’s only missed one feed so far and like I said, there’s a lot of info you can give that may just turn out to be something very simple. Missing one feed is very rarely any case for worry or concern. If you’re in a lot of worry though, just take him to a good vet and find out that way.

Hope it all works out though

[bubbaloush]

His eyes are not milky and his colour hasnt gotten dull like it does when my snake is coming up for a shed

His hide is at the warmer end and the water bowl is at the cooler end, the thermostat is set at 27

His time is spent during the day he tends to either be in the hide or behind the hide on the heat mat, normally in the evening and night time he roams just the last few days he's been in the water bowl in and out of it, he also loves wrapping around the light

The feed missed isnt a biggie but i thought i should add that in case it went part and parcel with the other things hes doing, it is more the soaking and falling that we were concerned about, he's been spoaking for 2hrs so far with out getting out my parttner is worried its cold in there for him.

We do think the reason he's falling is he cant fit his whole body in the groove but is too persitent and tries and tries, can he hurt himself by falling?

The vivarium is 4ft long by 2ft deep and 2 ft high

SD i hope i have answered the things i missed before Thanks for your reply btw

[Kyro]

Hi bubbaloush & congrats on your new DarwinOne of my pythons used to constantly try to get in a difficult spot & I found the best thing was to put some sticks up near where he wanted to lay so he had a bit more support.You mentioned that he likes to wrap around the light,do you have a cover over it so he can't get burned because they will fry themselves without even realizing it so you can't be too careful.As for the constant soaking in the water bowl it might be worth checking for mites because soaking can be a sign that your snake has them.If you check the water bowl he has been soaking in you should be able to see them, they are basically tiny little black dots about the size of a full stop......As you mentioned don't stress about the not eating yet, it is still cold.Goodluck & keep us posted with how things go & 'feel free to show us all some pics of your snakes

[bubbaloush]

Thanks for the replies i chatted with where i got him from today and got lots of useful info now he has a smaller hide to see if that helps and no mites we checked for that, and yes the light is covered.

We have move the water bowl to the end with the heat mat and will add few branches so he can get up higher.

But again thanks for the advice!