Respiratory Problems:
You know there’s a respiratory infection if your snake frequently has its mouth open or blowing bubbles from its nose. There are a number of reasons for this – the snake could be stressed, undernourished, the temperature/humidity in the vivarium could be too low causing a ‘cold’ or the snake could be weakened from laying eggs.
The temperature in the vivarium can be raised to between 28 – 32°C (88 – 89°F) to help resolve the problem. You need to keep a close eye on this situation because snakes only have one properly functioning lung and respiratory problems is a common cause of death in captive bred snakes.
Wounds:
There are various causes for wounds –
- Being bit by live prey, e.g. a rat
- Trying to escape
- Another snake sharing the vivarium
- Burns from incorrectly placed basking lamps/bulbs or hot rocks which should NOT be used
If the wound is not too serious/small you should just clean it with an antibiotic ointment and keep it clean. Their wounds normally heal quickly and shedding aids this process. If the wound becomes infected or requires stitches, take your snake to a vet.
Skin:
Having a wet or dirty vivarium/enclosure could cause scale rot and the symptoms are pus under the scales, skin that’s discoloured or brown, and sometimes blisters.
You get a condition known as ‘blister disease’ which is also caused by wet conditions and these blisters can also become infected.
The snake’s living conditions need to improve and the snake should be take to a vet.
Mouth rot:
This condition is very serious and can be fatal. It is caused by bacteria that enters the mouth after an injury to the mouth, teeth or gums and it spreads to the surrounding tissues. The snake may display a lack of appetite. The area in the mouth will become inflamed, dead skin in the mouth will be shed and then pus will be emitted.
The snake needs to be taken to a vet as soon as the condition becomes apparent.
Bad diet:
It’s quite uncommon that a snake will experience deficiencies in its diet as it swallows its prey whole.
When it does happen, there are tell-tale signs. The snake will throw itself on its back and twitching will occur. There can also be discolouration or ulcers in the mouth.
A poor diet can lead to death or other complications so if you are unsure of whether you are feeding the correct prey/size, etc you should speak to a vet who specialises in reptiles or speak to other herps/snake owners.
There are also a number of products on the market to help keep your snake healthy, e.g. vitamins especially for reptiles.
Intestinal problems:
You should always keep your vivarium CLEAN. Poor hygiene is a big factor in your snakes health.
While cleaning out the vivarium, check the faeces for any abnormalities – watery faeces indicate diarrhea, will usually have a very strong smell and could also be greenish in colour
Other indications of intestinal problems could be a loss of appetite or vomiting. Amoebas attack the intestinal lining and can cause death. Low temperatures and bad hygiene lower your snake’s immune system and make it hard for your snake to fend off illness. This condition is highly contagious.
You should see your vet without delay.
Another culprit for intestinal problems, is worms. Usually this condition is more common in wild caught snakes. Indications that your snake might have worms, is that your snake might eat but not pick up weight, may be losing weight and have blood in its faeces along with tiny worms. If you suspect your snake has worms, go see a vet and take a faecal sample with you.
Mites and ticks:
Mites are small, round dark brown/black parasites that live on your snake. A mite infestation can quickly develop so it is important to treat it quickly and thoroughly. You must make sure to eliminate all the eggs as well. Substrate must be thrown away/changed. There are a number of products on the market to help with killing mites. A few of them are BioKill, BioSil or Frontline. I will discuss each one in more detail in a separate care sheet under ‘Mites’.
Ticks are less common. They are larger and easier to see. They are also more difficult to remove as they attach their heads into their host’s skin. If they are removed manually e.g. using tweezers, you need to make sure that the head is removed, because if not, it can cause infection. You can try to loosen them before removing by using something like Vaseline. The above products can also help because the ticks will drop off on their own when they die which saves you from the painstaking task of trying to remove them one by one.
