Not sure what's wrong..

[Qwerty3159]

Yesterday my snake shed, complete. He also shed around the 29th of December and then the 3rd of the last month as well.
I noticed today he was moving very slow and seemed to be having trouble getting around. I picked him up and his whole underside felt very soft- softer than normal. Are snakes softer after they shed? I don't handle this guy a whole lot because he's so little and I don't want to smoosh him so I wouldn't really know lol. Anyways the lines between his ventral scales have darkened a bit looking like stripes but I don't think that is the problem. The problem is he's just acting bizarre, moving strangely, and holding his back end off the floor.

Overall he's been lethargic and slow-moving, has been holding his tail off the floor with random parts of his body elevated, and hasn't been doing much. He also crawled right through his food without glancing at it, which is very unusual with him. He's doing some tongue flickering now and then so he's not totally listless He's been pretty much problem free and I'm stumped.

Any advice?

[d_virginiana]

This sounds exactly how one of mine acted when she had some parasites that are uncommon to snakes (bizarre sheds and everything). They are common in mammals though; has he been eating mice?
I'd recommend getting a fecal test done at your vet. They're pretty cheap, and even dog/cat vets will usually do fecals even if they don't usually treat reptiles.

[Qwerty3159]

He/she is eating fish and occasional nightcrawlers as of now, and has been since August when I got it. I would assume parasites would have showed up before now? Regardless I'll try to get a fecal test done.

[d_virginiana]

I don't know a lot about parasites; there could easily be others that cause similar problems living in fish. It may not be that, but it sounds similar enough that you may want to check on it.
The thing that really sounds like what I dealt with is the soft skin and extremely slow movement. I've never seen anything else quite like it.

[Qwerty3159]

Thanks- it's worth a try.
His behavior has gotten a bit better. Could the softness be from the shed?

[d_virginiana]

I've never had a normal shed that ended up that way. The only time was when dealing with the parasite; apparently it destroyed connective tissue and cause the skin to be ridiculously soft.

[Qwerty3159]

Huh.

I wouldn't have guessed parasites. Do you remember the name of the parasite, by any chance? If not it won't make much difference just curious.

[d_virginiana]

Nah, don't remember. All I remember is that it's one that's more typically found in mammals, so they didn't catch it at first.

[Qwerty3159]

Alright, well thanks

I guess some good news is that he's at least hydrated- as I've caught him drinking at least four times today.

[guidofatherof5]

You will very rarely see parasites in stool. It takes a fecal float and a microscope to see the eggs.