My new Enchi PH pied hasn't flicked tongue once

He doesn't feed, like not interested
& doesn't strike or constrict well....
I have his separate mouse he couldnt
eat in it's own tub away from the other
mice just in case he does eventually.

It's being shipped to this professional
free of charge it's what the breeder is
willing to do for me. I REALLY HOPE
he just has a gimpy short tongue and that
he tests negative for any virus...aaaaaaaa

RustlewoodReptiles

I got your PM... and found this thread.

I don't know where to begin.

Squeezing the head - you should nut punch the idiot who told you that. Stupidest thing I've heard in awhile.

Shipping the snake out for testing. Second stupidest thing I've heard in awhile. If it is IBD (which I doubt) a simple blood test could be done by the vet. Shipping the snake out again (after just arriving to your house) would do nothing but stress the damn thing.

Any vet who suspects IBD based on a lack of tongue flicking and not eating immediately after being shipped and placed in a new environment should stick to peddling Science Diet and expressing the anal glands of inbred poodles.

Leave your snake alone for a week. Make sure it's husbandry parameters are dialed in and do not touch that animal. Make sure it's in a quiet place with minimal foot traffic. Do not attempt to feed it. Do not handle it. Do not look at it. Check it only the bare minimum times you need to in order to insure it's husbandry parameters are being met.

Just for shibs and giggles, what temp are you keeping it at? What is your set up like?

FWIW, a lack of tongue flicking can be associated with just about any disease - including no disease at all. It can be associated with stress. So can extensive tongue flicking. Rule out the easy things first. Dial his stress to zero. That means no vet (unless he actually shows signs of being sick), no holding, no loud vibrations and a secure environment with correct husbandry parameters.

He's in a tub with two hides, a water
dish, sphagnum moss, and an average
temp of 82-84 with the hotspot on 88-90.
The room he's in has little to no traffic.
And she didn't base the IBD on his tongue,
but his lethargic reaction of coiling his tail
and the ability to be able to hold his weight
while attempting his curl his tail around her
finger. And it just seems like an abnormally
small tongue to me. Either way I'm still not
pleased with my animal, being alarmed day 1.

Everything hasn't been swell for weeks okay?
This is just a festering cherry on top of it all

RustlewoodReptiles

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by RustlewoodReptiles

He's in a tub with two hides, a water
dish, sphagnum moss, and an average
temp of 82-84 with the hotspot on 88-90.
The room he's in has little to no traffic.
And she didn't base the IBD on his tongue,
but his lethargic reaction of coiling his tail
and the ability to be able to hold his weight
while attempting his curl his tail around her
finger. And it just seems like an abnormally
small tongue to me. Either way I'm still not
pleased with my animal, being alarmed day 1.

Everything hasn't been swell for weeks okay?
This is just a festering cherry on top of it all

RustlewoodReptiles

---

Again, those symptoms could be anything - here's a brief list:

Osteomyelitis caused by bacterial infection
Viruses caused by OPMV, herpes virus, ranaviruses reoviruses, adenoviruses, flaviviruses, picornaviruses, caliciviruses, etc, etc.
Crypto
Mycotic gastroenteritis
Bacterial infections involving pseudomonas, aeromonas, citrobacter, klebsiella, enterobacter, salmonella, etc.

Any vet that jumps to the IBD conclusion is showing nothing but a lack of experience. Your snake is showing general symptoms which could be associated with any disease or conversely - not at all. A communal brainwashing of the snakey community leads people to blurt out "IBD" the second a python or a boa shows signs of distress.

Considering you just got him last week, and he's been to a vet and handled and what not, I'd give him a chance to de-stress before he's shipped, prodded or poked.

Now if it was me, I would send the snake back to the breeder and get a refund. Hopefully, on the off chance it is sick, you have followed proper protocol procedures and have protected the rest of your collection. I would not send him anywhere unless you are sending him back and relinquishing ownership.

If however you do keep him, isolate him, practice proper QT practices and see if de-stressing him works. If he dies, refrigerate the corpse and ask the breeder to pay for the necropsy.

There is no need to stress your new BP by shipping it anywhere. Your local vet can draw a blood sample and ship it overnight to Univ of Florida for testing. He will need to follow the instructions in the second link.

http://labs.vetmed.ufl.edu/sample-re...ions/boid-ibd/

http://labs.vetmed.ufl.edu/sample-re...ed-infections/

I've had him separated since Day 1 because
he was very suspicious...it's the breeder who
is offering to have him tested since I'm already
financially ruined from this situation. I'm way
too stressed out I can't handle it at all really.
I don't know what else I can even add at this
point, I'm completely tapped out mentally and
financially along with emotionally. I'm loosing
it, in short. My regular female & Mojave Spinner
boy are safe, but if I loose my marbles someone
else might have to take care of them for a while
which I'm extremely afraid of at this point. It
doesn't seem like anything is leaning towards me
in a positive way at the moment and I'm done.