garter with a death wish???

[Snake lover 3-25]

so yesterday I found willow lifeless in the water bowl...... picked him up mid body and water comes spewing out his nose and mouth.... he was fine but he was really full of it...... I pushed as much of it as I could out..... think I got most of it...... so then today I go in and there he is again lifeless in a DIFFERENT bowl!!!!!!! has he got a death wish or what????? he's fine again...... just a little shaken and cold...... but this is rediculous!!!!! what do I do??? I took out the larger water dish...... but today I found him in the smaller??????sorry I haven't been on so much..... busy holiday times and internet at my house has been down for a while..... so i've only been able to get on on my phone and at school.....:(

[adamanteus]

That's weird, Shanley. Is his tank cold?

[gregmonsta]

I wish I knew ... odd little fellow!!! That's for sure!!!

[Snake lover 3-25]

no..... 72-74 cool side 80-90 warm side.....?????

[adamanteus]

Shanley, I have no answers. Best to keep a very close eye on him... there may be an underlying problem.

[Snake lover 3-25]

I hope not.....:( he slept while I was feeding the others in the cage a while after I rescued him the first time..... very odd for him as he is usually trying to steel their food........ idk..... I hope he's alright?????:(

[adamanteus]

Hopefully I'm wrong, Shanley... but it can't hurt to keep an eye on him. See if there are changes in his general behaviour, or other signs that might suggest something isn't right with him.

[Snake lover 3-25]

should I try to feed him???? idk if I should just let him rest or what.... but he was out this morning getting warm....... he does love the water..... always has...... but idk why he just didn't get out of the water......??????

[adamanteus]

It's a difficult one, Shanley. I might be tempted to make sure he has a drink, then remove the water bowl. I don't know, but we wouldn't want a drowning accident.

[infernalis]

I am stumped too Shanley, I'd give him a drink like James said, and take out the water bowl.

Or use a very shallow water bowl with barely a puddle on the bottom.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

this is weird. An adult garter snake should, for no reason...ever... drown in a water bowl... or even almost. If he truly is almost drowning in the water bowl shanley, something else has got to be wrong with him. When you picked him up, was he as limp and lifeless as a wet noodle? Did he dangle like a piece of string? Or by lifeless, do you just mean lethargic and unwilling to move around a lot but he could still move and all that?

If he was literally limp and floppy like he was dead... then I would be concerned... but if by lifeless, you just mean he's not being very active and he's not moving around a lot... he may be attempting to self brumate. I have seen some of my snakes do this and sometimes they will choose the water bowl and just lay there and not want to move.... and when you pick them up they just kind of retain their shape. Maybe he had taken a drink, but you mistook him laying motionless in the bowl as he's drowing, and unknowlingly squeezed the water he drank out of him???

I dunno.... I just CAN"T see a healthy adult garter snake drowning in a puddle.... unless it was seriously ill... Self brumating, yes... but drowning?!

[infernalis]

I dunno.... I just CAN"T see a healthy adult garter snake drowning in a puddle.... unless it was seriously ill... Self brumating, yes... but drowning?!

I agree............

[Snake lover 3-25]

well he did kind of retain his shape when I picked him up....... but I didn.t squeese him.... just kind of put my finger under him and picked him up????? and he just sort of lurched I guess you could call it and the water came spewing out......????? idk........ now i'm really confused.... he just looked soooo dead....????? he was really bloated looking right before the water came out if that helps...... but I think i'll try just giving them all a drink and taking out the water bowl.....:confused:

[guidofatherof5]

I've heard of such a thing. Keep a close eye on that one. Good luck.

[EdgyExoticReptiles]

I gave my milk snake a bath once as a baby i went away and came back 2 mins later to find it floating upside-down i pick it up and it spews air and water out. and now has been fine for the 1 year since

[Snake lover 3-25]

nothing today... hope he's alright...... he is out again....... inder the light...... what if he has pnemonia???!!!! :(

[guidofatherof5]

Give a Herp. Vet a call for some advice. Many will want to see the snake but they should be able to give you some ideas or things to look for.

[jitami]

Weird. Hopefully he's ok. Instead of removing the water bowl I would just use a very shallow dish with some pebbles in it. Basically they can get their little heads in between the pebbles to get a drink, but it would be near impossible to drown in. Does that make sense?

[Snake lover 3-25]

yes i'll try that for a while thanks:D

i don't know/have a herp vet to call.... looked for one in my area and couldn't find one....:confused:

[infernalis]

Shanley, Would you like me to call mine?

She's a great lady.