Mad Garter Disease?!?

[The Nothing]

I have a Thamnophis sirtalis similis (Fl Blue) that has apparently gone crazy. It is acting out completely defensively - ribs flatten, striking at nothing, the works. I've NEVER seen this type of behavoir from this snake, and have had it for about 5 years. Nothing is different about the cage than when I first set it up years ago.

Has anyone ever seen anything like this before? He's gone from a normal snake to completely crazy in the last 2 hours...

[GartersRock]

Wow that's weird... So the only change is aggression at nothing after 5 years of calm behavior? Does anyone have any idea 'cause I don't...

[jitami]

Pain? Irritation from something like mites or parasites? Thiamin deficiancy? How old was it when you got it?

[infernalis]

It sounds as if something is irritating the crap out of it.

What are the temps?? Is it too hot??

I'd try putting it in a tote and placing it somewhere dark and cool to settle it down.


I wish I could more helpful:(

[adamanteus]

I've had a few 'Florida Blues' that have had a real attitude, I think they're known for it........
I can't explain the sudden change in temperament though.:confused:

[The Nothing]

Yeah, it's a bizarre situation. I work with 200 species of reptiles, and haven't seen anything like this. I'm pretty sure that this is some sort of health issue be it neurological (age, unknown disease, etc) or otherwise.

I know the issue is not with husbandry. While he never took to rodents, I've always been able to hand fed him various fish (salmon, trout, tilapia, tuna - scraps from everything the fish market has) with Sticky Tongue Farms Miner-All suppliment, so I don't think that Thiaminese should be the cause of this. I've not heard of any symptoms of Thiaminese to know for sure though.

edit: yes, I've covered the cage and killed the lighting to try to calm him. I can still hear him wrestling around though.

[adamanteus]

I work with 200 species of reptiles.

Wow. That's a lot. I'd like to see photos of your set-up.:)

[The Nothing]

House of Reptiles (http://www.house-of-reptiles.com/) :)
not many pics there though...

[Zephyr]

What are the temps?

[The Nothing]

I understand the importance of temperatures...

Water temp (there is an 8 gallon "pond") - 72F
Basking temp - 86.2F
everywhere else temp - 70.6F

[Zephyr]

Huh.
How very strange.
Perhaps something neurological? A pinched nerve or something?
Is it raining where you are?

[The Nothing]

No rain. I live in Portland, Oregon, and, while it should be raining, it's been dry this year. While a bit chilly outside its quite nice...

He's calmed down now, but cage is still covered. This has been one of the most bizarre reptile experiences ever - and, believe me, I've seen some STRANGE things..

[Zephyr]

You may have caught him off guard. I've seen a few garters flip because they were startled.
Or, you may have rain on the way, and he's reacting to the pressure drop.

[The Nothing]

Not likely. There wasn't anything near him to freak him out. I heard him thrashing about and walked over to see what was going on. Striking at things that weren't there and otherwise freaking out for a couple hours...

[Zephyr]

Not likely. There wasn't anything near him to freak him out. I heard him thrashing about and walked over to see what was going on. Striking at things that weren't there and otherwise freaking out for a couple hours...How big is the cage, is there anything else in there, what lives in the tanks around it, and what was it last fed?

[The Nothing]

Its a 75G tank (48"x18x18), planted, with a planted pond at one end. Unless the pothos or fern started moving and attacking him, I dunno what was going on. There aren't any other cages visible to him (bearded dragon, not visible below)...

This might just end up being a huge unknown...

I just uncovered the cage and noticed that he regurged. Wasn't over fed by any means, so it was either caused by the stress (most likely) or some sort of bacteria/parasite load. I'd imagine that a parasite load would have not manifested itself a long time ago, and not with this type of reaction.

At the moment, he's acting much like normal. Little nervous, but closer to normal

[Zephyr]

Its a 75G tank (48"x18x18), planted, with a planted pond at one end. Unless the pothos or fern started moving and attacking him, I dunno what was going on. There aren't any other cages visible to him (bearded dragon, not visible below)...

This might just end up being a huge unknown...

I just uncovered the cage and noticed that he regurged. Wasn't over fed by any means, so it was either caused by the stress (most likely) or some sort of bacteria/parasite load. I'd imagine that a parasite load would have not manifested itself a long time ago, and not with this type of reaction.

At the moment, he's acting much like normal. Little nervous, but closer to normalHmm.
Any hanging decorations? Do you ever see him up on the rim of the tank? Is it a viv with sliding doors?

[crzy_kevo]

maybe the food just wasn't sitting well what was his last meal and are there any pointy parts in the regurg that could have caused discomfort

[The Nothing]

Nothing over head. Its a standard aquarium with a screen top. He's never up at, or even near the top.

[The Nothing]

maybe the food just wasn't sitting well what was his last meal and are there any pointy parts in the regurg that could have caused discomfort


Nothing pointy that I noticed. I hand feed, so have a good idea of exact what he's eating.

Was hoping for some passed feces, but not noticing any in the cage. Will keep an eye out so I can do a fecal to rule out any bugs in the GI...

[adamanteus]

Could be that the regurgitation was another symptom of whatever the problem is, rather than the cause of the problem.

[Zephyr]

My only other idea is that he got "stuck" somewhere, possibly near the head (a lot of wild garters HATE having their necks touched) and struggling to get free made him flip out.

[Zephyr]

It is a boy, right?

[Stefan-A]

So, if it's attacking "nothing", then it's either startled, in pain or off its nut.

[adamanteus]

I'm betting that Kyle is pretty close to the truth with his 'it got stuck' theory...... That would stress it out enough to throw up... especially a Florida Blue, which are a bit highly strung anyway.

[Sid]

The only thing near this that I have experienced was while feeding my garters while visitors were in the room. Some teens started pointing at one of my female Easterns and she went nuts. For the next two years I couldn'd handle her without getting bitten. Prior to that she was great to handle.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

Not likely. There wasn't anything near him to freak him out. I heard him thrashing about and walked over to see what was going on. Striking at things that weren't there and otherwise freaking out for a couple hours...

that is how my similis died. I heard the snake thrashing about madly...

[drache]

this is scary and I hope your garter won't be one of those worst case scenarios
and welcome to the forum, even if the circumstances that brought you aren't great

[Jack Neary]

How's your Similis behaving now? Is he any better?
Jack

[Garter_Gertie]

Constipation from impaction from eating substrate with meal? Thrashing and reguring both point to that...