Help! Please, I need advice!!

I just got my ball a week ago and he's been acting strange the last three days (what looks like star gazing to me, rubbing head into cage and glass, staring upwards and then falling back, weeving from side to side) And the just a minute ago he started to bite himself. I tried to pick him up to stop, but he wouldn't and then balled up. I don't know what to do!

That doesn't sound good at all. How are you reading temps and what are they? Also where did you get the snake from? Any pics and description of the enclosure would be helpful...

Started biting himself? Where did you get the snake from?

Take a very close look at him and his sides and look for small bugs. let me know what you see.

How old is the snake?
Describe your setup, husbandry.

The temps are 92 on hot, 75 cold, 83ish ambient. Humidity is 40%. I posted a picture before of his cage. I will again. There are no bug that I can see. I tried feeding him on sunday (f/t) but he didn't eat.
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/18/dsc01412lp.jpg/

My husband just got him unstuck, he was literally stuck to himself, his teeth were in his body, now he is just striking at the air and the moss in his cage. He is supposed to be just over two months old. I got him from a pet store here in Nova Scotia (pj pets) I know now that not all pet stores are good. I'm just really concerned about my little guy. I'm very upset. He's trying to eat moss.

did you check him over for mites? look under the scales.

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Originally Posted by tcutting

did you check him over for mites? look under the scales.

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Yes both my husband and I looked really well with a flashlight. There's nothing there.

Could this possibly be a hunger response. He tried striking at me earlier today.

maybe but if he is biting himself sounds and just randomly striking air there is something thats very wrong. last time i saw a snake that stressed and agitated it was cover from head to tail in mites. try presenting him food and see what he does, but i am willing to bet something is off. Do you keep any rodents for pets?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tcutting

maybe but if he is biting himself sounds and just randomly striking air there is something thats very wrong. last time i saw a snake that stressed and agitated it was cover from head to tail in mites. try presenting him food and see what he does, but i am willing to bet something is off. Do you keep any rodents for pets?

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I don't have any rodents as pets. I don't have any mice at the moment and unfortunately the pet store is closed. I plan on getting one in the morning.

Your cool side temps are low, bring them up a bit

Is that Sand as bedding?

change it out for either Aspen or Cypress. I personally prefer cypress

http://www.zoomed.com/db/products/En...JzdHJhdGVzIjt9

I bet thats whats bugging him.

I agree. It looks like sand with a clump of moss in the middle. Sand is bad. Try changing the substrate to something like aspen or just plain old newspaper.

Maybe it's just the picture on my phone but it looks like butcher paper.
If it is sand change it. But that snake sounds like It's being irritated more than just external substrate. It sounds like possibly an accidental poisoning. Or an overheat. You got him from a Petstore was he acting like this the first day? Or did this just set in?


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wow maybe there's something internal bugging at him often pet stores gets imported snakes wild from Africa but i'm not 100% on that. as from him biting the bedding i would get all of that bedding out of there asap an put him on paper towels until those problems or solved i know when i used to have reptile bark there was bugs in it barely visible so i would give all the wood stuff a check as well an call a few breeders an vets an ask if they ever heard of this that's what i would do good luck please keep us updated

Woops I managed to post in the wrong thread. FAIL!

It's not sand, it's plain brown packing paper with forest moss.

hmm.... try pulling the moss out and all the other junk and just have the 2 hides and a water dish. Sounds like something is irritating his skin and/or something internal. other than that i'm at a loss.

sorry and good luck.

Was this a wild caught, or from captive breeding? I would contact the pet store, and let make them aware of what is going on with the animal

Thanks everyone for all the help and advice. I will be taking him back to the pet store tomorrow to show/ tell them what's going on. I hope he's okay. I don't want to lose my ball.

My Dennis died this morning around 5ish. I'm so upset. I wish I knew what happened. :(

Next time you get a snake and he exhibits such extreme symtoms, take him to a vet. No one on this forum is qualified to diagnose or fix medical issues with reptiles. All we can do is offer advice. In this case the best advice would be to immediately see a vet.

The symptoms you described could have been caused any one of a dozen or more issues running the gamut from bacteria and viral infections, exposure to temperature extremes, exposure to the damaging chemicals, etc.

I'm so sorry for your loss! It sounds like he had issues before you brought him home. I'm not a fan of the chain stores in NS.

If you're still looking for a new BP, I live in Halifax and can help you find a reputable breeder! The Halifax and Atlantic Canada reptile expos are coming up in a few short months, so you could buy something for a good price from a well-known local breeder.

Sounds like you got a captive hatched. Dont blame yourself as long as you know you provided what was needed. Some of them just die(captive hatched), Ive saw it alot when I was working for a reptile shop who brought in hundreds at a time.

Dont let this stop you from buying a nice Captive Bred from a decent breeder in your area.

Best of luck

RIP Dennis

Am I the only one who noticed the thermometers?

Get rid of those things. They aren't accurate. You need to get either a heat-pad with a thermostat, or be cheap and get an acu-rite thermometer and a table lamp dimmer attached to a heat pad. That way you can more accurately monitor your temps.