New Here - My little guy seems a little off! Help?

[lucynda]

My little guy seems a little off and I'm getting worried.

I've had him for almost a year now and he's always been happy and hearty. We aquired him by accident. My kids caught him at a reunion and they brought him home - I thought he would escape in a day or two so I let them hang on to him for a couple of days in a glass jar. He was just a baby. After a couple of days of escaping the jar - but re-appearing on the kitchen counter - or wrapped around an mp3 player - it became obvious he was just going to be part of the family and so I settled him in a nice home. In truth - I had no clue what the guy ate. I tried feeding him bugs. Duh. Finally went to the pet store and asked and they told me fish. So - we fed him fish - and then internet research led me to understand that fish is good but not as nourishing as mice - so we now feed him both. Fish when we show guests how fun Garters are - and mice the rest of the time.

He has typically shed once a month. We can tell he is about to shed when he loses his appetite - and his desire to escape, that his his quest in life - to escape. He will try each and every hole or crack in his enclosure over and over again all day long - or will sit and stare at the hole or crack as though he is contemplating a new plan of attack.

Shortly after we notice the loss of appetite and his lack of desire to escape, his eyes turn blue. Within about three days, he sheds.

However, he has missed about three months of sheds I think.

The last time I fed him fish, he was very disinterested. Where usually he is at the wall of his enclosure when he SEES the bag of fish - like a dog jumping up and down at his dish - he was hiding. Hiding is NOT typical for my little guy. He rarely, if ever, hides. Even when the fish were in the bowl, he still did not come out and I had to fetch him. I placed him on the edge of the bowl and he was interested in watching, but not in eating. I coaxed him into eating two fish, but it was not with the gusto and vigor he usually gobbles them down.

I thought maybe he was getting close to a shed.

Sure enough - two days later his eyes were blue. YAY! Because I was actually worried he might be sick.

This was last Friday - and now it is Saturday and still no shed. His eyes are no longer blue - they are clear. Usually he sheds within a few days of the blue eyes. Now, he is laying around - not attempting escape - will not eat - is not drinking that I have seen (and not when I have held him and tried to coax him to drink) and his skin looks withered and wrinkled.

I can tell he NEEDS to shed.

What could be wrong? Is anything wrong? Why is it taking longer to shed? Why did he miss several sheds? Will he shed? What can I do? Is he sick? How do I help?

I bathed him today because I have not seen him go near his water dish and usually he bathes several times a day. I worry he is dehydrated.

Right now he is curled up on my chest. He loves to be held. My children worry he is depressed because they don't hold him as much as they used to.

Help? I will cry if something is wrong with him. I don't know what to do and I've heard that it is actually against the law to have a garter snake as a pet in my area so I'm afraid to take him to the vet. What if they tell me to turn him loose? I don't think he'll survive. He's too tame. If I put him down outside - he doesn't try to get away - he just site beside me - slithers around a little bit - doesn't go far - slithers back onto my hand when I put it down beside him. He was so little when my kids caught him.

When I hold him now - he doesn't seem weak - he still seems strong. He's just acting funny.

Thanks for reading my novel!

[Stefan-A]

Welcome aboard.

It takes them a bit longer as they get bigger. Probably nothing to worry about.

[gregmonsta]

What stefan said ... the shedding cycle slows as they get older

[Snake lover 3-25]

i'd just mist the tank to increase the humidity so when he's ready to shed he can

[adamanteus]

It does sound as though the humidity level could be too low. If his skin appears wrinkled, I would suggest you put him in a wet cloth bag (pillowcase or similar) and place this back in his enclosure overnight. Should do the trick.

[drache]

when they get bigger their skin is thicker and the shedding takes a little longer
also - the eyes do tend to clear up again before the actual shed
putting him in a wet bag, like James suggested, helps the process
please keep us posted
and welcome to the forum

[lucynda]

Hi! Thanks for the replies! Before I got any replies I thought up the following:

I gave him a nice long soak in a luke warm bath and then gave him a snake massage (lol) and then he curled up on my chest and we had a nice long cuddle.

A couple of hours later, I was walking down the hall past his enclosure and I noticed he was wriggling around funny. I turned on the light - and lo and behold - he was in the middle of shedding!!!

Yay!!!!

I have no clue if it was co-incidence or if I have a magical repitilian massage technique - but - he is much more comfortable now and happy and alert and once again, trying to find a way OUT!

I will definintely keep visiting this forum - it is very interesting!!!

[guidofatherof5]

Great news. Nice he has someone to worry about him. We would all love to see a picture!
Nice to have you with us.