| Question: Dear Doctor, the question is: I've bought my 5th Spilotes. A big male, long-term captive, and eating and digesting very well. Perhaps a wild caught animal, but years ago.... Feaces samples are negative in laboratory (no worm eggs, no worms). A friend of mine says to treat anyway the snake, as”prevention", with Panacur, before admitting the new snake with the others. In fact it could carry lungworms such as Rhabdias.... But I had in the past neurological side effect with Panacur in a male Spilotes, which really had worm eggs in the feaces, and I'm not very happy in treating a healthy animal. What's your opinion? Should we treat with Panacur EVERY new animal, or only the animals which have proved worm or worm eggs in their feaces? The counterpart: Some friends of mine, in Germany, had put together Elaphe longissima with Elaphe schrencki. All the animals appeared healthy. But the Elaphe schrencki were silent carriers of Rhabdias lungworms. The Elaphe longissima died from worm pneumonia! Thanks Ruggero |
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| Question: I've two W.C. Spilotes pullatus: they come from different persons, and are ALWAYS kept separetly. One male and one female. I'm always careful to wash instruments and to give separetly the food items. The male had Ascarid eggs in the feaces; it was treated with Oxfendazol, and then the feaces are negative. The female had always negative feaces (no parasites at all). With the beginning of the hot season, I noticed small blood traces over the paper I use as substrate. At first only in the female's cage. The blood was always fresh, was always far from the feaces (10 cm to one feet far from the feaces) and almost always appeared during the SECOND defecation of the meal. Normally no blood marks during the first, big defecation. I was concerned, because I thought at first, it was only a problem of the female (blood from ovaric follicles, blood from a bone of the mouse, that had perforated the gut, blood from the urinay tract, parasites and so on...); but then I noticed the same blood traces (10 cm far from the actual feaces) in the male terrarium. I was happy. It is very unprobable that the two animals, that come from different sources, and was always kept separetly under very strict hygiene conditions, have EXACTLY the same problem or the same parasite ! The feaces are NORMAL in both animals, and the odour and the consistence is perfect ! The animals are otherwise healthy. And, very important: if I used any other substrate but paper, I wouldn't have noticed these small blood traces ! Perhaps it happens more often in Spilotes than one would suppose... ...only one uses very rarely paper substrate !!! What could it be ? Could be Vitamin C deficency, which, I read, can cause spontaneous gum bleeding ? It could also cause (I think, and I'm a physician), mild cloacal bleeding, when, during defecation, the soft cloacal tissue is extruded and rubs over the paper... Thanks for your help ! DR. MEd. Ruggero MOrimando Italy |
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| Question: Dr. Maas, I was reading one of your answers to a question asked here and you stated "Get to know a qualified reptile veterinarian in your area and work with him or her." In MY experience some vets will SAY they are qualified to deal with reptiles but aren't. Can you give any advice, aside from the obvious, on how to tell if someone knows what they are talking about and is not just "willing to deal" with reptiles ? Are there some simple questions that could be asked etc. ? Just curious for any advice or input you may have on this subject. Thanks ! Thane |
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| Question: I have a one year old California banded kingsnake. I am pet sitting him while his owner is out of the country. Since he came to my house, he has become withdrawn and coils up constantly with little to no movement. There seems to be no energy in him. He has eaten twice in the last 14 days, and his appetite seems to do fine. However, his mood has become more strange. His scales, that were once shiny, are now not very shiny at all. They also look like they are falling off, almost like he is shedding. He is less docile, and seems to be more defensive. He started shaking his tail like a rattle snake whenever I come near the cage, even though I have held him before. There is also a cat in the house that likes to watch the snake, but is obviously not allowed to be near the snake otherwise. Can you please give me some insight about what might be wrong with the snake? Do I need to take him to a vet? Thanks very much. |
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| Question: I have a male Indigo snake that visited with the vet in late July. The reason why I took him to the vet was lethargy, lack of appetite. The last feed before that visit was approximately 8 days and he had pooped so that wasn't really the issue. We did how ever diagnose him with an abbess in the cloacal area and sent the sample for lab work. Test came back and we were told that he had proteus. We gave him some antibiotic shots every 72 hours. He did improve he is eating now. But there is some thing going on with his tail. We we picked him up about an inch of his tail was dry and hard and dead tissue. that eventually fell off but it seams like the tail is continuing to rot. When I checked on him today an other inch is sort of mushy and smells like dead tissue. Could this be due to some nerve damage when she probed him or something else that is going on. Other than the issue with his tail he seams fine he doesn't have as much strength in his body yet and doesn't "anchor" his lower body around the arm when I take him out from his cage. What should I do? Elionora Bjuhr | Answer |
| Question: Hi, I would like to know how to accurately sex a snake by probing. I have a pair of E. indigos and would like to sex them when they are older (only 2 months old). Also can you explain the popping? Thank You, Joel Holloman Salinas, Ca. |
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| Question: Hello, My name is Shane and I had a question that I would like to ask you. I have a wild caught northern water snake and a wild caught fox snake, they will be released shortly from their 55-gallon enclosure. I was planning on putting a black-tailed cribo into the 55-gallon and I was wondering what the best way to clean the cage would be? I don't want anything from the two wild-caught infecting my cribo. I use repti-bark bedding for all of my snakes and I haven't had a problem although I have heard certain bark bedding can carry parasites. I have been keeping wild caught snakes most of my life and the cribo will be my first captive bred purchase other than my African House Snake. Also are their any signs of illness that I should look for encase my cribo does get infected that would be common to wild caught snakes in a northern range (Wisconsin). The last thing I should mention is the set-up I plan to use for the cribo, 55 gallon cage of course with 2 150 watt light bulbs, one day bulb for basking and one black bulb for keeping him warm at night, repti-bark bedding and a hide box and large water bowl. He will be about 2 feet long when I acquire him so I thought I would give him room to grow before I upgrade later down the road to a larger aquarium when he reaches adult size. Thank You, Shane French |
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| Question: Every now & then my Indigo has a sort of gurgling / rattling noise coming from his mouth & nostrils. What comes out occasionally is like human saliva, clear & odorless. This happens about once a month but seems to go away after a few days. The snake is an adult male about 6 feet long approximately 6.5 lbs. Whatever this is does not seem to make him lethargic or affect his appetite. He's kept in a 3' X 6 ' cage 75 degrees @ the cool end about 85 @ the warm end which is heated by a full spectrum floodlight for 12 hrs a day. He's kept on pine shavings for substrate & has a moist hide box full of damp sphagnum moss. Any idea what this could be??? Thanks in advance Dean Goudie St.John's, Newfoundland Canada |
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| Question: I've heard you can use sand as a substrate (not for Drymarchon). What's the best way to prepare the sand for use. Handsome Joe, Muckluck WA. |
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