Please help, babies sick!!!!!!!!

[Preacha1130]

I need some serious help. Like a week ago my garter babies just started dropping off like flies. I dont know what to do. I've cleaned their aquarium thoroughly, and I change their water every other day. Its starting to worry me because I've lost 4 and now another is weak and probably will pass soon. The thing is he was healthy and flying around the cage yesterday. I've noticed on the ones who have passed that a day or two before their bellies are real soft and their intestine is extremely black. So much so you can see it through the skin. The ones who get sick become very lathargic and have a hard time rolling over if placed on their back. Two who have passed had what almost seemed like a green puss under the skin and almost all others who have passed looked like they had been cut with a blade down the middle. Please help; my sons Max died and now his favorite, Max's baby we called "Bernie", has passed and I don't have the heart to tell him.

[Lori P]

I'm probably not the best one to help you, having not experienced this, but my first thought is to contact your reptile vet; they could necropsy a freshly dead one and give you an idea. I know others here will have more advice...

[Josh]

what are youfeeding them?

[zooplan]

When baby garters are ill crisis often comes rapidly.
Some times its so fast that you could think it was a dead without reason.
To clean up everything in the cage is only the first step.
You should visit a vet to control thier feces most parasites can be rocognized this way.

[Preacha1130]

They have been eating feeder fish and guppies right now. I have played with the notion that they may be malnourished and vitamin deficient. I have been looking today for snake vitamin's and stumbled across Reptomin. Does anyone know of any other good vitamin suppliments?

[zooplan]

To much vitamins can make it worse too, be carefull.
Your description sounds not like vitamine deficieny to me, but symptoms vary a lot.

[Preacha1130]

Adamanteus had suggested that their heat pad may be too hot. Altough I had checked it and it doesn't seemed to be very warm Adamanteus had said the only time he had seen symptoms like that where after the snake had passed and the floor was warm. I have disconnect the pad and have been running off of a heat lamp today so hopefully that helps.

[adamanteus]

To expand on that, this is what I said;

http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/private.php?do=showpm&pmid=11802

[Lulu Bennett]

it wont let us see the link

[KITKAT]

I need some serious help. Like a week ago my garter babies just started dropping off like flies. I dont know what to do. I've cleaned their aquarium thoroughly, and I change their water every other day. Its starting to worry me because I've lost 4 and now another is weak and probably will pass soon. The thing is he was healthy and flying around the cage yesterday. I've noticed on the ones who have passed that a day or two before their bellies are real soft and their intestine is extremely black. So much so you can see it through the skin. The ones who get sick become very lathargic and have a hard time rolling over if placed on their back. Two who have passed had what almost seemed like a green puss under the skin and almost all others who have passed looked like they had been cut with a blade down the middle. Please help; my sons Max died and now his favorite, Max's baby we called "Bernie", has passed and I don't have the heart to tell him.

This sounds like some bad babies I purchased, and lost. Turned out they had a parasite. I really think a vet is in order.

[rancor_]

it wont let us see the link
It apears that he tried to link to a PM?/????
what are the temps in the cage?

[Preacha1130]

The temp is a constant 74 degrees F. My brother had suggested I go to this new pet shop and they gave me a different type of UVB light and they seem to be doing better. He suggested I mix some repti-aid with egg and feed them that way too. Both suggestions combined seem to have helped for the time being. I guess the true test will be to see if anymore pass after these methods have been implimented. Thanks for all your support/concerns guys.

Jamie

[ssssnakeluvr]

I don't think they will eat the egg.....uvb bulbs aren't necessary...snakes don't need it. sometimes they just die....mother nature isn't a nice lady...they have large litters in nature and only a few make it to adult size. Be real careful giving vitamin supplements....small one can be real easy to overdose....too much can be as harmful as not enough.