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Please help me out!
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by TheFifthDay on July 10, 2009
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Hey guys,
About a month and a half ago my mentor and I got 8 yellow rat snakes. 7 of them died from a condition/problem unknown to us.
They all got bloated, they felt like they were full of air in half their bodies. They all thrashed around violently, almost as if trying to rugurgitate. The only thing was, none of them had eaten in three weeks.
It happened so fast I didn't have time to get pictures or anything.
Today I noticed one of my black rat snakes looked like it ate, but it too hasn't eaten in three weeks.
I took it out and it was bloated big-time. I got some pictures this time.
http://imageevent.com/webdesigner/hooks?p=6&n=1&m=24&c=4&l=0&w=4&s=0&z=2
http://imageevent.com/webdesigner/hooks?p=7&n=1&m=24&c=4&l=0&w=4&s=0&z=2
http://imageevent.com/webdesigner/hooks?p=8&w=4&c=4&n=0&m=24&s=0&y=0&z=2&l=0
So if you can, please help me out!
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RE: Please help me out!
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by TheFifthDay on July 10, 2009
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Also, I know it's not room temperature. My snake room stays at 79-81 degrees.
I always make sure that my rodents are thawed out completely.
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by FLVenom911 on July 10, 2009
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Not a vet by any means, but that sounds and looks like Crpytosporidium. It's a very contagious bacterium that will spread rapidly.
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RE: Please help me out!
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by Crotalusssp on July 10, 2009
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Crytosproridium is has a very tough external shell of sorts. It can survive even in chlorine for a period of time. It causes severe gastrointestinal disturbances even in adult humans. They have the ability, like many bacteria/viruses to remain somewhat dormant until favorable conditions arise. I will let others speak as to treatment as I have never dealt directly with this in reptiles.
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by pictigaster1 on July 10, 2009
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I can not give any vet advice it is illegal to do so in texas .What I can do is say some flagylites are easy to cure, crypto is very hard if not impossible I have had limited success with flagyl on some protazoan infections.Sometimes animals carry these in there lower gi and a dirty water bowl will infect there upper gi I am not a vet and others will know alot more than me.
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by AquaHerp on July 10, 2009
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Yes indeed, crypto is a good candidate. There are others that can bring on similar symptoms but I would be looking hard at crypto. Occasionally an animal can get over the initial flare, but can get this again if the parasite remains in the environment.
I am currently working with a new drug that has not been tried in snakes before. Today is the last dose and thus far I am optimistic about the treatment. if it works I will work on getting that information published asap.
What I strongly recommend is removing the water and substituting with pedialyte (sp?). Keeping the animal from dehydrating and going in to renal collapse is the main issue.
Good luck.
DH
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RE: Please help me out!
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by Cro on July 11, 2009
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Jon, it does sound like crypto could be a possibility of what has killed your, and your mentor's snakes.
You are asking for folks here to help you out, but most likely it is too late for that. You need to isolate what snakes are left in the collection, and set up a quarantine for them. Hopefully, some will survive. What Doug said about keeping the critters hydrated is important.
I am guessing that a bunch of yellow rats snakes came from a Florida or South Carolina vendor who sells on Kingsnake ? Most of those folks do not care about the animals they sell, or the health of the animals, they just want to turn them over and make a buck. Sure there are some exceptions, but those are few and far between.
That is why most zoos quarantine new animals for 4 to 6 months before they are allowed near the main collection. Private herpers should do that also, but rarely do. They go off to a reptile show, and buy a bunch of animals, and put all those animals into the same box or cooler, and take them home. Then they set them up next to established animals.
But, it is too late for that. You need to try to save the life of the animals that you still have. You need to clean the crap out of every cage, and dump all your substrates and try to avoid cross contamination at all costs. Some animals have a resistance to diseases, and those might be OK. Clean everything. If any of the sick rat snakes are left, get them out of the collection to a well away place.
And, if you want to warn folks about who you got the animals from, you can do that here, but, you face the same situation that happened recently here, when others who had received sick animals from a dealer tried to accuse that dealer of sending out sick animals.
The dealers will always have the excuse that they did not know the animals were sick. And to some extent, that is probably true. Although some are known for knowingly sending out sick animals.
The point is, that any new animals should be kept away from the established collection until they are known to be free of disease, parasites, and other problems.
And that comes down to you doing that!
As far as the still living animals, as Doug suggested, dehydration plays a big role in their recovery.
Instead of purchasing the expensive Pedialyte product, you can create a much less expensive version of it by the following:
To make an isotonic solution (one similar to the salt content of your bodily fluids), mix 1/4-teaspoon salt in an 8-ounce glass of warm water and add a pinch (1/4-tsp.) of baking soda. You can also ad 1/4 teaspoon of sugar if you want. The finished product is great for fighting shock, and is the same as the expensive commercial products.
Best Regards
John Z
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by TheFifthDay on July 12, 2009
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Well, the snake is still swollen, but is acting normal other than the swelling.
I've got him far away from the others.
I've cleaned all cages, all water dishes, and all snake hooks and buckets.
I know one thing. I'm going to quarantine all new animals from now on...
I'll let you know how the snake does.
Thanks for your help,
Jon Short
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