Can't swallow - please help

[snickersnake]

I can't find any information on this problem.

Lucy, my little garter snake that I saved 1.5 years ago, has had a history of not eating, but this is different. Last summer, she just wouldn't eat for almost 4 months, but since September, she's been eating pretty well. I still feed her earthworms (because she's still too small for a pinky), and I put vitamins on them. I maintain a sizeable worm farm (two boxes now) and I've been doing that almost as long as I've had her.

She's been ravenous lately, eating all of the worms I give her. But last night, she couldn't grab them. Normally, she attacks one and immediately starts swallowing it down. But with each one, she would open her mouth and grab it, but nothing would happen and it would slide back out of her mouth. And even when she had them so that they were immobile (her body pressing them against the bowl or glass so that they can't move), she just couldn't swallow them and she had to give up.

It broke my heart because she was so hungry she just kept going for one after the other and couldn't get them. Normally there is NO problem with this - she swallows them down before they know what happened!

I know I have to get her to the vet but was wondering if anyone knows about this type of problem and what to do. If there's anything that can be done. I look forward to hearing from anyone who knows anything about this and please let me know if you have any questions.

Lori

[Stefan-A]

I wouldn't want to speculate. I'd contact a vet as soon as possible. Has the snake been given calcium supplements?

[ConcinusMan]

Is she a plains garter? How big is she? Seems to me a plains garter should be large enough to eat a pinky mouse by the time they are about 2 years old. My amy is less than a year old and at the rate she's growing, she'll be big enough when she's about a year old, perhaps 1.5 years. But I read your other posts about her long fasts. Are you sure you're keeping her in the correct environment because she sounds like she's having a lot of problems for a radix.

[cowsymbola]

I'm unsure of what's happening from the description, but you should think of adding some variety to her diet. If you don't want to/cant do live fish, you can use bits of fillet. You can also cut up the pinky.

[ConcinusMan]

Absolutely. Even if I had a snake that would only eat worms, I would trick her into eating pinky parts somehow. Just worms doesn't sound adequate. Also, you said you had a worm farm. What the worms eat, the snake eats. Keep that in mind.

[Mommy2many]

As said above, you can try salmon pieces, pinky parts or if you can find live guppies, that should work. Good luck!

[guidofatherof5]

Sounds to me like a Vet. visit is in order. The variety issue is an easy fix.
Keep us posted on her condition. Best of luck.

[gregmonsta]

Fingers crossed for her.

[snickersnake]

I was hoping that someone knew what this was.

I'm taking her to the vet tomorrow, but although he sees snakes, he doesn't get many and when I took her last year, I knew a lot more about garters than he did. That is why I was hoping that someone here had an idea of what we are dealing with. There is a wealth of information in this forum.

Variety in her diet has been a problem. I have tried feeding her bits of pinky, pieces of salmon, guppies, etc. I have read many, many posts here regarding what to feed and how to get her to eat. She has had no interest in anything but worms. I do put a calcium supplement on them. But this is all moot because she can't swallow right now.

The original worms were from my garden in Sept-Oct. 2008. When it started getting cold back then, someone here recommended the Magic Worm Farm. With those original worms, I have kept growing them until I now have 3 boxes. I understand that what the worms eat, she eats. The kits come with food and bedding for the worms, and when I run out, I order larger quantities of those two things because I don't always need more boxes. Again, someone here recommended it and I know others here who use the kits and I don't think they would if it was bad for garter snakes.

She is not growing fast but has had long periods of time where she doesn't eat, so I am not surprised.

I think that answers everything. I was almost afraid to post because I knew I'd get grief for feeding her worms, but they are better than nothing. I am just so thrilled that she has been eating. But I was really hoping that someone would have an answer. Thanks anyway.

[guidofatherof5]

She is not growing fast but has had long periods of time where she doesn't eat, so I am not surprised.

I think that answers everything. I was almost afraid to post because I knew I'd get grief for feeding her worms, but they are better than nothing. I am just so thrilled that she has been eating. But I was really hoping that someone would have an answer. Thanks anyway.

Grief, for feeding worms. I don't think so. You're not doing anything wrong that I've seen. Worms are mostly water but the rest must be magic. The radix population in my area eats mostly worms and they grow big and healthy. I know that one drawback to worms is the mess at the other end. Since I see firsthand the wonderful things worms do for my snakes, I don't mind the mess.

I would find it hard to believe a cutup night crawler goulash with pinky and fish mixed it would cause your snake to pick out only the night crawlers.
I hope everything goes well at the Vet. and you get an answer to this mystery. Please keep us posted.

[snickersnake]

I'm sorry, I should have given a better explanation. I seem to be doing a terrible job of explaining my situation.

She will not go for something that is not alive. I have tried some of the techniques in this forum of making her think the food is alive, but she is not fooled. But it doesn't matter right now because she can't swallow.

[ConcinusMan]

I'm sorry to hear that. I'm afraid there's nothing more I can say to help.

Don't be discouraged. I don't know a single experienced member among us that hasn't gone through something similar. I don't know a single experienced member who hasn't lost a snake or watched one deteriorate and die. We carry on. we get new garters, we learn, we love them. The good experiences far outweigh the bad.

[drache]

I sure hope it's something treatable

[infernalis]

Nothing wrong with worms, I have a couple fussy easterns that don't care for much else, and they do fine.

[snickersnake]

Thanks Rhea, I hope so too.

I know everyone thinks their garters are special but Lucy is different. I had a several garters in the 80's and 90's, but not one like this. Everyone, even my vet, is amazed at how affectionate and unafraid she is of people (she likes to be held). She hasn't pooped on me, not even in the beginning (and no, I don't have a problem with a snake pooping on me but it's something that I didn't experience with my other snakes...and yes, I'm sure if she ate and I held her in my lap constantly for a few days she would HAVE to poop on me).

Thanks to all of you who have given me words of support. I hope this is only temporary.

[jitami]

Wish I had more advice to offer you. It sounds like you're doing everything possible for Lucy. The only thing I can think of is to up the temps a bit (up to 88-90) between now and the vet visit. It's not a cure all, but may help her if she's fighting an infection. Then again, if she's dehydrated it's not so good, so use your best judgment. Good luck and please let us know how the vet visit goes...