saggy skin :(

hey all, i wonder if you could help me with this issue.

my BP is around 10 months old, never really had any problems with him, but recently his skin is saggy, you can pinch it, and i know that shouldnt be so.

his eyes are fine, no crinking or anything, and his last 3 sheds have been perfect. the humidity in his box is actually quite high at the moment (around 75%), because of the weather, but that shouldnt be terrible thing because hes actually just going into shed.

i have been feeding him small mice (around 15g each) for a while now.usually around 3 a week, i guess this is the problem but would like some clarification.

what i *presume* has occured, is that the amount of food is ok, but small mice are too fatty for him?

its amazing how quickly they grow (snakes), i stocked up on 100 small mice but after about 20 he was probably ready to go up in size to large mice.

what i intend to do, is buy him 30-60g weanling rats - feed hom those and throw the rest of the mice away, please let me know if thats the best route of action, thanks.


ps, from what i can gather, hes quite heavy for his age (probably around 600g), but there arent any gaps in his scales or other such things..

We need pictures.

Jim Smith

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Originally Posted by j_h_smith

We need pictures.

Jim Smith

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ok i need to recharge some batteries for that, which will take 12 hours..

any thoughts in the mean time? thanks

This is a sign of a shed or dehydration.

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Originally Posted by flameethrower

This is a sign of a shed or dehydration.

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ok, well he is about to shed right now, (blue eyes), but this has been going for a a good few weeks . as for dehydration, maybe your right, although i keep a close watch on his eyes and there arent any dents. do eyes always dent when theyre dehydrated? he just feels a little chubby to me. only the skin on his belly can be pinched, not the sides or back..

Sheds can take up to 21 days to complete in some snakes.

Dehydration has nothing to do with the eye dent. Dehydration is the lack of water in his system. But if he is in shed leave him alone to feeding or handling to do his thing. Keep humidity up the 70% to help out.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by flameethrower

Sheds can take up to 21 days to complete in some snakes.

Dehydration has nothing to do with the eye dent. Dehydration is the lack of water in his system. But if he is in shed leave him alone to feeding or handling to do his thing. Keep humidity up the 70% to help out.

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ah ok, thanks, under what circumstances do their eyes dent then? thats interesting as ive always thought it was dehydration.

Their eyes dent when theres low humidity in the cage and at times when shedding. Just increase the humidity and your golden.

Hi,

It does sound as though it is caused by his upcoming shed - they definately get a little loose in the skin during the process.

Here's one of mine is the loosest stage;

http://sites.google.com/site/satansw...wrinklesal.JPG

Simply turning her head to the side at that stage can create about 3 wrinkles. :rolleyes:

On the mouse problem you might try feeding multiples rather than having to throw them out.


dr del

hi dr del, thanks thats good news, yes it looks very similar to that.
i was worried because i thought that any signs of wrinkles are bad. you cant notice if he's out straight but curled up you can.

The dehydration thing is less likely the issue but just in case it has something to do with it goig on for weeks now.. Some snakes are very very picky about their water. In fact most bloods and borneos refuse to drink water that is more than a day old.

Some of my balls are that picky. They will not drink unless I rinse the bowl every day and refill it.

Try this. If your temps are right in the tank try fillling it with water that is a little cooler than room temperature but not cold.

Some snakes are picky like that.

Goodness, don't toss the mice. Feed 2 or 3 per feeding.

yeah i have been doing but im worried theyre too fatty for him! lol.

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Originally Posted by seercirra

yeah i have been doing but im worried theyre too fatty for him! lol.

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There is no proven nutritional difference between mice and rats. Just go ahead and feed multiple mice or one appropriately sized rat.

I love when people buy 100 small mice for 1 BP. It reminds me of this time I called up a small branch office and told them they needed to change their time sheets to the newest version. The person said "Oh come on, we just printed 1000 copies of the current time sheet." I lost my temper a bit at this point "Are you freaking kidding me, what would possess you to do that? There are 3 people who work out of that office and these are bi weekly time sheets. There are 28 pay periods in a year. thats 84 time sheets for the year for the whole office. So you printed just under 12 years worth of time sheets. You have a laser printer and a digital copy of the time sheet. Were you worried you might run out and not have time to print one? Throw out the 2 reams of paper you just wasted, print 50 copies of the new one I just sent you and if you run out print 50 more."