My Puget Sound Garter won't eat & is acting strangely

[blinkmunki]

Hi! I have a 5 month old Puget Sound Garter, and as of 4.5 weeks ago, she will not eat. At the time this began, I contacted her breeder and he suggested a short hibernation (3.5 weeks) to see if this would fix things. I did everything he said, and took her out of hibernation on Friday, November 27th. He said to give her a week before I tried to feed her. I tried last night (12/4/09) and she still refuses food.

This is not the only issue. Now, she is also acting very strange. She will not let me handle her, she tries to move throughout the cage upside down on her back, opening her mouth as though maybe she's in pain. I'm not sure of what this could be... my boyfriend typed "strange snake behavior" into Google and the first thing that popped up was this:

Strange Snake Behavior; Reptiles (http://board.pets-buynow.com/Reptiles/Strange_Snake_Behavior)

This girl had the same issues, but no one had actually answered her. I did write a message on there hoping that maybe she would get an email about it and respond.

I made an appointment with a vet for next week, however it seems that no one around here deals with snakes! (New York City/surrounding) I'm worried I'll go to the vet, pay a large fee, and get no real answer because of lack of experience.

I'm worried about her! Has anyone else had the same issue before? I'd really appreciate the help!!

[Stefan-A]

Sounds like some form of neurological disorder. If I had to guess, it's either due to the diet (wrong type of fish -> B1 deficiency -> neuropathy) or perhaps even due to being subjected to temperatures below what it can tolerate.

Either way, it's best to get it to a vet as soon as possible.

That she's not feeding yet, isn't a problem in itself. Sometimes they start eating after a week, sometimes not until they've shed. It varies a lot.

[ConcinusMan]

Oooh, I've only seen that one time, and it is very serious. It resulted in death. I think it's possibly linked to neurological dysfunction. Cause unknown. However, don't take my word for it. Hang around! There's some real pros here.

Welcome!

[edit:] ooops. Stefan beat me to the "post" button!

[blinkmunki]

I have noticed through reading the posts on here that it does seem to be neurological, and does always result in death... this makes me extremely sad since I just got her in August =(

[guidofatherof5]

Welcome to the forum. Glad you joined. We have some NY members. If you could post the area you live in they might be able to suggest a Vet.
A Vet. visit is in order. Best of luck.

[Odie]

Hi, fom Oregon, blinkmunki :)

[blinkmunki]

Hi, everyone! I live on the border of Bronx, NY/Yonkers, NY. I work in Manhattan... made an appt for next Weds to see a Dr. Putter at Lenox Hill Veterinary. We'll see :\ I may end up going tomorrow, if the Dr. has an opening.

[ConcinusMan]

After considering what Stefan said about cold, I remember neonate concinnus doing that if I brumate them very young and warm them up too fast. Sometimes they recovered if I quickly respond and moderate their warm-up, making it more gradual. If that's not the case, I'm sure it's fairly serious.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

yikes, it does not sound good. I hope that things manage to turn around for you.

[drache]

yeah - that does look bad
hope you can find a good vet

[ConcinusMan]

Or a new snake

[sonya]

That same exact thing is happening to my snake right now!
How much do vet visits cost, though? I don't know if I can afford it.