Female off food.

[gregmonsta]

Our younger Florida blue female has been very irregular with her feeding recently. In the past month she has maybe fed 3 times and we know she's not gravid and free of parasites.
When we got her she had some indentations on one side which showed broken/crushed ribs and, as she's grown, it seems that her spine is slightly indented too. This hasn't been a problem up till now. I wonder if it could be ... or has anyone else had feeding difficulties with a female before?
She doesn't seem to be loosing any noticeable weight either ... I've kept an eye on that ... she lost only 2 grams in two weeks so that's not a worry at the moment.

Anyway ... here's a pic of the damaged area.
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/Clint3.JPG

[guidofatherof5]

I've got one dealing with a broken rib right now. Getting her in next week for a follow up x-ray.
Glad yours is getting some good care, now. How did she get injured?

[gregmonsta]

Myself and James were debating that a while back ... we both bought snakes from a breeder just over a year ago and his had similar injuries. Think the person involved was too skittish when it came to handling the babies and would close boxlids/viv doors on them in a panic resulting in broken ribs etc

[guidofatherof5]

Myself and James were debating that a while back ... we both bought snakes from a breeder just over a year ago and his had similar injuries. Think the person involved was too skittish when it came to handling the babies and would close boxlids/viv doors on them in a panic resulting in broken ribs etc

I'm still trying to figure out how mine got injured. I'm finding it hard to believe it was a birthing injury. It may just be the only explanation since I have nothing else to go on.

[drache]

Greg - could she be going into shed?

[gregmonsta]

We think she might be .... although it doesn't really help with the errattic feeding schedule ... she self-brumated this year, she was kept in her normal enclosure and opted to stay at the cool end for most of Jan/Feb which averaged 15-20 degrees C and ate once during this time (as a Florida native I checked the temps and decided not to go for the 5-10degree winter chill time, we did finde her in the warm hide a few times too), she shed and then returned to feeding ... she had a few periods where she would skip a couple of feeds ... then she had three feeds in a row - one before April and two in the first week of May and suddenly stopped just for the fun of it, or so it seems.
Like I said, there has been virtually no weightloss so I'm not worried at this point. :rolleyes: I bet she's just deliberately out to confuse us.

[KITKAT]

Could there be a low level parasite problem from the winter?

I know that in mammals, pyrantel pamoate (strongid) is totally safe during pregnancy, should you decide to do a treatment.

[gregmonsta]

I wouldn't think so ... I will get a fecal smear done if her mood persists ... she has had periods of just being odd when it comes to food before.

[Snake lover 3-25]

meadow was just like that all last year annoying isn't it? ha ha it bothered me:p just get her pregnant! meadow's eaten like a champ since she returned from breeding!!!!

[gregmonsta]

meadow was just like that all last year annoying isn't it? ha ha it bothered me:p just get her pregnant! meadow's eaten like a champ since she returned from breeding!!!!

I did think about this approach :rolleyes:

[gregmonsta]

Anyone else think I should let Spazz loose in her tank?

[Zephyr]

Hmm.
I'm debating my decision. lol

[gregmonsta]

Well ... she's back to eating :) two feeds in a row :D .... only thing is .... none of the boys ate today ROFL ...

[stripe&houdini]

I had that same problem with one of lmy snakes. I put a smaller water bowl in a cardboard box with a small hole cut into it so that the snake could get in. I put this in his cage and put his food in this small water bowl. After a few feeding attempts he ate some goldfish.

[guidofatherof5]

I had that same problem with one of lmy snakes. I put a smaller water bowl in a cardboard box with a small hole cut into it so that the snake could get in. I put this in his cage and put his food in this small water bowl. After a few feeding attempts he ate some goldfish.


Goldfish and most minnows are on the bad food list for garters. Here's an info. link
http://www.thamnophis.com/caresheets/index.php?title=Thiamin,

[stripe&houdini]

I feed my snakes goldfish and frozen mice and they do fine.

[gregmonsta]

I feed my snakes goldfish and frozen mice and they do fine.

:confused: But goldfish are well known for causing problems ... the 'I do this and it's fine' approach really isn't good enough. I would stop feeding goldfish immediately!

[guidofatherof5]

I second Greg's advice.
When the thiaminase symptoms start it's usually if not always too late to save the snake. We have a lot of safe fish alternatives out there. Better to be safe, than sorry:)

[stripe&houdini]

Then What should I feed them?

[guidofatherof5]

Guppies,f/t trout,salmon,tilapia are all on the safe fish list. I do suggest you stay away from any "product of China" fish. I also use Bluegill. I have a friend who nets bluegill fry. I freeze them for a couple of months before I use them.

[ConcinusMan]

Guppies,f/t trout,salmon,tilapia are all on the safe fish list. I do suggest you stay away from any "product of China" fish. I also use Bluegill. I have a friend who nets bluegill fry. I freeze them for a couple of months before I use them.

Hey! I didn't know you did that? So did I! Just east of my location, in a warm, green, man-made (by damming a creek) lake it's pretty easy to net some bluegill about 1-3 inches long. Lot's of them. I even kept them alive in an aquarium some years back. My concinnus didn't seem to like them much. And then there's those spiny fins. Even if I cut them off, even if I fillet them, frozen, thawed, fresh, whatever, my snakes didn't like bluegill. They only ate it reluctantly. The concinnus are abundant around the same place I got the bluegill. Still, they didn't seem to like them. They would rather eat frogs, worms, and salamanders. And this is coming from concinnus that go nuts over just about any fish. Bluegill were the exception. They didn't like it. Too bony. Sharp fins and lots of pointy bones. In the same lake, in deeper cooler water with the smallest trout hooks I could catch very small trout, some small enough for my snakes to eat whole. They loved tiny trout.

That's the one fish (bluegill) that they didn't seem to like. I'm talking, they didn't even care for the smell of them and sometimes they would regurgitate even if I fed them just the meat. Dunno why. Snakes tastes vary I suppose.