Re-hydrating the Dehydrated

[Selkielass]

Follow the golden scent trail,
Follow the golden scent trail,
If a snake is sad, or feeling bad
Just follow the golden scent trail

If ever, if ever a rad- man there was
Then Steve is the one
Because Because
Because, because, because, because, because!!!!
Because of the wonderful things he does!

So they're off to see the ranch-man,
That wonderful radix-man of ours!!!!

[Selkielass]

Hmmmm...
Maybe that should have been
'Follow the radix scent trail.'
As it scans as well and has fewer icky associations. Well, it was anoffthr cuff filk.
Chime in everyone-add your own verses!

[Invisible Snake]

I've heard of using Pedialyte or Gatorade with severely dehydrated snakes, anyone ever tried it? Good or bad idea?

[guidofatherof5]

I've heard of using Pedialyte or Gatorade with severely dehydrated snakes, anyone ever tried it? Good or bad idea?

I've heard about it being used but never for a snake. I would trust Pedialyte more so then Gatorade. The artificial sweeteners in Gatorade worries me for humans as well as snakes.

[ProXimuS]

Dehydration in Reptiles - Guidelines for Offering Fluids FAQ ( Reptile, Amphibian, Herp, snake, lizard, turtle, frog )

I found this site that says pedialyte is better than gatorade. If gatorade is used it needs to be diluted 1:1.

[Greg'sGarters]

I've heard of using Pedialyte or Gatorade with severely dehydrated snakes, anyone ever tried it? Good or bad idea?

A friend of mine explained that Pedialyte can be used, however most breeders usually use gatorade for the following reasons: (This was for Bearded Dragons)

- It is cheaper than Pedialyte
- It is more commonly available than Pedialyte
- Because of the sweeteners and sugars in it, it gives the animals more energy, which makes them easier to sell.

I now just use the best solution of all for dehydrated snakes. Keep their water bowl full before they get dehydrated!

In Steve's case though, I would give the snake maybe 1.5cc of Pedialyte and overnight/5 hour soak. After that, I would keep them in a nebulization chamber for 15 minutes to kill any possible bacteria.

[ConcinusMan]

I have something to say about this. Both pedialyte AND gatorade contain sodium and sugars. Both are formulated to rehydrate mammals and provide an influx of simple carbohydrates to the muscles. The important thing here is to realize that water/salt balance in reptiles is not achieved in the same way as it is in mammals. There are key differences in how a reptilian kidney works vs. a mammalian kidney. Differences that allow us to consume solutions contain sodium/sugar at levels that would be potentially fatal to a reptile. There's really not much difference between pedialyte and gatorade.

Pedialyte:

INGREDIENTS: , WATER, DEXTROSE, (SUGAR!) LESS THAN 2% OF: , POTASSIUM CITRATE, SODIUM CHLORIDE, SODIUM CITRATE, CITRIC ACID, AND , ZINC GLUCONATE.

Gatorade:

Pretty much the same except that the sugar is a sucrose-dextrose combination,(still just sugar) and there are artificial colors, flavors, and brominated vegetable oil.

Gatorade G2 contains sucralose, an artificial sweetener more commonly known by the brand name "Splenda" which reduces the calories of regular gatorade.

Whenever I encounter a severely dehydrated snake, I let it drink a bit, then make it stop. Wait a while, let it drink again, and so on. That seems to be all that is needed. Allowing the snake to drink too much at once usually just causes it to die right away or vomit up most of what it drinks.

[snake man]

No gatorade for the snakes.

[ConcinusMan]

Yeah... I think I'll go with that.

[Greg'sGarters]

No gatorade for the snakes.

Yeah... I think I'll go with that.

I second that.