dehydrated snake

[lauraschram]

Hi guys... I've got a coastal thats roughly 6 months old and a really bad feeder. I got it to take a mouse only a week ago but that is only its second since hatching...

Although she has plenty of clean water i've just noticed its eyes are really cloudy and really sunken. it's skin is also tenting around the back of its neck. Seems to me to be dehydration.

I currently have it soaking on some very wet warm paper towel in a small tank but i was wondering what else people would do.

do you think its worth forcing some water into her? She i a very skittish snake so im worried that it would not be worth the stress to her... If she was a joey or a cat etc i would sub cut in some fluids but again stress...

if she fed well id just inject a mouse full of water and feed her but thats not an option - so far she will only take live (I've tried every trick in the book)

Any ideas most welcome.... cheers
laura

 

[scout]

dehydration

i would seriously be taking her to the vet. I wouldnt be wasting time trying to help her when she sounds so ill

 

[Bourbs]

I would have taken her to the vet as soon as I noticed her eyes were looking weird.. No sense risking trying to treat her at home if she is that far gone

 

[mr_muesli]

I agree, you should take it to a reptiles specialist vet as soon as you can, before it gets any worse...

Good luck,
Kai

 

[lauraschram]

im a vet student - ive get a pretty good idea whats wrong and have discussed her with various vets. it as a very nervous snake and has been hiding under her carpet so much she is not coming out to drink. i suspect this snake wont make it in the end. has been sickly all along. at the moment i'm just managing each problem as it comes and trying to get her to eat steady so hopefully she can pull through...

 

[lauraschram]

my problem is weather the stress of getting fluids in is more likely to kill her than the dehydration is...

 

[Bourbs]

As a vet student you must understand that it's important to get her the right treatment, and it sounds like you aren't having any luck with your current treatments, so wouldn't it be better for her to be in the care of a fully qualified vet to treat such a severe problem so that she has the best possible chance? I'm not saying that as a vet student you don't know what you are doing, but a qualified vet will know exactly how to treat her.. Other than that though, if you suspect that she isn't going to make it, is it fair on her that you are drawing it out by trying to treat such a severe health problem at home?

 

[da_donkey]

I think it may be more than just dehydration, could very well be starvation aswell.

Sorry to say it but, i think its gone.

 

[sean2]

could you post a pic i thought my snake was a bit dehydrated but sounds fine compared and mine eats

 

[DazHerps]

The condition of the animal that you have described could more than likely just be from lack of feeding/hydration and not so much a medical issue. If environmental issues such as heating, hide availability and others have been addressed and that there are no outwardly obvious conditions such as mouth canker, mites etc evident, I would be inclined to tube feed the animal. I have used bird "crop needles" or "latex feeding tubes" for this proceedure and prefer the latter for skittish animals. Get out the kitchen blender and add as many "fresh killed" pinkie mice as needed to make the blades work, a little sterile water can also be added. Blend the mice until they are about the consistency of yoghurt and will flow through the tube with ease. You can then tube feed the animal (lubricate the tube with water so it slides down easily) and freeze the remainder of the mix in single serves so that it can be given every few days as it doesn't take much for the animal to digest this food (I use tiny zip lock bags for this). I have had good results using this method to keep stuborn animals going until they start feeding voluntarily. If you are uncomfortable doing this or not confident about administering a feeding tube, seek veterinary advice.

 

[smacdonald]

my problem is weather the stress of getting fluids in is more likely to kill her than the dehydration is...

If she's not drinking and you don't treat the dehydration, she's definitely going to die. I've given fluids subcutaneously to lots of reptiles, and I don't think it caused that much stress. It just takes a few seconds to catch and restrain the animal, then a bit longer to get the needle in and inject. Obviously the amount of fluid you're planning on injecting will govern how many injection sites you'll need to use, and the more injection sites the longer the whole process will take.
In saying all that, if she's also not eating, dehydration won't be her only problem. I agree with DazHerps above in that getting food and fluid into her is the best way to go. If you can't force/tube feed her soon, inject some fluids to (hopefully) keep her going until you can.

Stewart

 

[lauraschram]

Hi guys - sorry i got stuck with fathers day stuff and treating her. (couldint get back on the net) i gave her 1.5ml fluid sub cut over a number of sites (10-15%body weight as normally recommended) and she is bouncing back slowly. she is even showing a bit of a feeding response which is nice. this often occurs when they start feeling a bit more normal fluid wise in a range of species so hopefully i will get a mouse into her today
if not it will be tube feeding time but, having herd of so many dieing from the stress of it i'm reluctant to not give every other option a try first.

thanks all for your help. i know i sound a bit silly not rushing her to a vet but she has seen a few in the past and they tell me im on the right track, my big worry is balancing out proper treatment with minamising stress. Im sure starvation is part o the issue - and now she is showing severe signs i think it will probably be worth risking tube feeding in the next few days but hopefully that wont be an issue. she just tried to eat my finger (she would not even strike in the past!)


thanks again everyone!!!
i have to rush off to classes now but i will post a pic tonight of what she looked like yesterday if i can get it to work.

 

[Bourbs]

Any update on how ur snake is going?

 

[serpenttongue]

This snake must have some strength if it is constricting live prey, and if it has strength to kill a rodent then it has the strength to go over to the water bowl to drink. A thirsty snake will not ignore fresh water, so if it's not drinking then it's not really thirsty. Even very starved snakes will drag their butts to the water bowl and drink.

I think you've got a snake that needs to shed it's skin before it does anything else. After this you can see how the eyes are (which i'd imagine will be fine), stop it from going under the carpet by using a different substrate, give it a good supply of water and offer it a decent sized meal.

After this you'll know where you stand with this animal.