Possible spinal problem

[chris-uk]

I've not found a lot about spinal problems (I read that Steve had one with a kink spine, Bethan isn't nearly as bad as Steve's photo), but I expect a few people will have some experience.

Our smallest checkered seems to have a problem with her spine. About 2/3's of the way down her length there's a lump on her spine and her back seems to bend slightly there. Then another 1.5cm down there is another lump. The lumps are small but clearly visible and feel hard.
As she moves she doesn't move as fluidly as our others, most of her movement is driven from her upper body. The lower part has movement, but she doesn't have strength there to support herself. When she slithers her tail twists over then as she moves forward it comes back the right way up. She definitely moves slower and more awkwardly than her sisters.
Kind of worried about her as she hasn't eaten for 3 weeks now, and wasn't a good eater in the first place. She's also the one that had bad problems shedding.

I'm thinking there's some sort of spinal abnormality that has become more visible as she's grown. If she's not eating because she's got a bad back it doesn't bode well. I'm willing to try a live fish with Bethan, she's lovely to handle and I don't want to give up on her.

[guidofatherof5]

She needs some special care and I'm glad she's with you and Char.
Not sure what the cause would be but a genetic issue would be my first guess.
The not eating could be part of the overall problem and needs to be watched.
Once in awhile these special needs snakes come into my care. I love caring for them.
Please keep us posted on your little bent-ones progress.
Any photos?

[zooplan]

I want to name two further possible causes for those spine damages:
First is an accident. When baby snakes are kept in spider enclosures falling front glas plate could hurt escaping snakes.
Second is bad feeding without supplements, especially calcium.
A guy who bought snakes of mine fed them with chicken hart only for month.
His snakes seemed like boneless and where not able to control the rear part of their bodies.
After supplementing their diet with lots of calcium most of the symptoms disaperaed again but lumps at their spines remained.

[guidofatherof5]

Good info. Udo. Thanks for posting it.

[chris-uk]

I'm confident that we can rule out accident, the viv this on is in doesn't have anything that could damage her.
Calcium could be a factor, she's only eaten salmon and has refused to eat anything since we started coating it with calcium power. We have calcium supplement in her water though, so as long as she is actually drinking (she doesn't appear dehydrated) she is getting some calcium from the water.

Steve - I have some video of her moving it's not great as the light wasn't good, I'll try to catch you on Skype later.

[ConcinusMan]

she is getting some calcium from the water.

I might add that calcium alone does nothing. It must be ingested along with phosphorus and D3 in proper proportions or it will not be absorbed. It's even possible to oversupplement certain nutrients, causing calcium absorption to be blocked. That's right. Supplementing can actually cause deficiencies, if not done properly. It's important when supplementing calcium, to use a supplement specifically formulated for reptiles. Even better to skip the supplement altogether and feed them foods rich in calcium, such as whole rodents. It's just not good to get reliant on supplements. Ideally, their diet should be complete enough so that they don't need supplements at all.

[chris-uk]

Update on Bethan. She's not improved at all, she actually has 4 visible bumps on her spine now. I wouldn't say she moves fine by any means, it's more difficult for her to move and her balance slithering through my fingers isn't good (I wouldn't hold her over a hard surface because she falls off my fingers frequently). She can move quickly when she wants to though, so when she's motivated she's fine.
She has probably the nicest face of all our checkereds, so although I'm not expecting her to have a long life we are enjoying having her with us.

[PINJOHN]

Update on Bethan. She's not improved at all, she actually has 4 visible bumps on her spine now. I wouldn't say she moves fine by any means, it's more difficult for her to move and her balance slithering through my fingers isn't good (I wouldn't hold her over a hard surface because she falls off my fingers frequently). She can move quickly when she wants to though, so when she's motivated she's fine.
She has probably the nicest face of all our checkereds, so although I'm not expecting her to have a long life we are enjoying having her with us.

Sorry to hear there has been no improvement, i really hope she continues to have sufficient quality of life to be the focus of your love and attention.
I have been wrecking my head to find a way to tell you that should you wish one of bethans siblings then you just let me know, but i didn't want to make it sound as if i thought bethan was a throw away commodity, after long deliberation i realized that you know me well enough by now to know that's not how i view her. ......so i have given up trying to find flowery phrases and i trust that you will know just what i mean

[kibakiba]

Could you take her to a vet so you could at least know what may be wrong with her? If I were in your place, I'd want to know what's up. But, that's just me. I would if vets even treated garters here, at least.

[EasternGirl]

This is very interesting and very difficult for me Chris as I do not want to sound as though I am implying that she will not make it...but the condition that you are describing sounds exactly like what was going on with the garter Sammy that I found that passed...so sorry. He also had bumps like you are describing and could not move just as you are describing. I kept wondering if he had been injured, perhaps falling out of my basement ceiling...as the snakes crawl under my house to get warm and then fall into my basement. I have been wondering and wondering what it was that happened to him. Now I see that your snake has something very similar going on and it is very curious to me...but I am very sad to hear it. I really hope that you can figure out what it is. Sammy seemed to be doing very well at first, but then I just did not know what to do for him. I guess just being there for him and giving him the best short little life he could have was all I could do...I know you will do the same for her if you can not figure out what it is and if it is not something that can be fixed. You will just love and comfort her...