Re: Kingsnake Attacking Himself: I Don't Know What Else To Do
After we did antibiotics, no one said anything about probiotics to me at the vet. I am most likely going to have to contact my vet this week about his problems and if it is necessary to bring him in.
About the tail painting, I won't be home on the weekdays and able to do that everyday. I am willing to try it, but it seems like a quick fix for an underlying problem and I'd hope to stop whatever is causing him to do it in the first place.
Also, he is starting his shed cycle, so he should be sleeping more and won't be attacking himself.
Re: Kingsnake Attacking Himself: I Don't Know What Else To Do
Quote:
Originally Posted by
mopuim
After we did antibiotics, no one said anything about probiotics to me at the vet. I am most likely going to have to contact my vet this week about his problems and if it is necessary to bring him in.
About the tail painting, I won't be home on the weekdays and able to do that everyday. I am willing to try it, but it seems like a quick fix for an underlying problem and I'd hope to stop whatever is causing him to do it in the first place.
Also, he is starting his shed cycle, so he should be sleeping more and won't be attacking himself.
Whether human or animal, always consider that probiotics may be helpful after a course of antibiotics (especially after multiple courses); snakes don't eat yogurt or other fermented foods that provide naturally-occurring probiotics, so adding probiotics* can be helpful to restore the snake's "good" gut bacteria they need to digest well. *Only use those formulated for snakes, such as Nutribac or Bene-Bac. As a few of us speculated, it might be that his digestion is now deficient & he's missing some key nutrients. It's something that personally I would try, anyway. No guarantee. You could try adding reptile vitamins too- the easiest way is to install the powder in the f/t rodent's oral cavity (mouth); if you just dust it on the damp rodent, most of it falls off as they swallow it.
I don't think you'd need to "tail-paint" on a daily basis, unless he routinely soaks in his water bowl (that would wash it off). I think once it's dry it should be good for 5 days, or thereabouts. Again, can't guarantee, but worth a try. Since this seems to occur when he's hungry & not in shed, have you considered washing him off with water & a drop of mild soap after he eats? Just to make sure no rodent scent remains on his body for him to over-react to later, when he's hungry again? You did say he's very hyper about food, as are many king snakes- at least the ones I've known.
I'd try all these things before euthanasia- that's a sad last resort, if he's truly in some kind of internal pain. I would try to rule other things out first, & I'm glad we could "brainstorm" this a bit here.
Re: Kingsnake Attacking Himself: I Don't Know What Else To Do
It might help now that he's getting back on his regular feeding schedule. I'm going to talk with my vet about all of this and figure out if it is necessary to bring him in. I'm really hoping it's something with an easy fix. I appreciate all the help and I'll try all I can to make sure he can feel better, if possible. :)
