Need URGENT help/advice...

Some disease ransacked my colection over my two day vacation. I had left, the snakes had water and all looked good...some had shown very minimalweight loss as it is that time of year for them to staop eating. I get back and 1 snake is DEAD. and looked like it had had substantial weight loss....two others are horrificaly skinny and almost to the point of no return. One thing that i had noticed is that the younger snakes are the only ones that seemed to have gotten ill. so, my question is what parisite/disease did this so fast and what should i do now.......i dont want to have even one more snake get ill as the thought wrenches my gut...please help me!:tears:

id like to add that the skinny ones that are not looking good are great eaters and refused food today...

There is nothing we can do on here to help you I don't think, I suggest getting a necropsy done on the dead snake as soon as possible, and a vet trip should be set up for the sick ones. Quarantine any healthy looking ones in a different area of the house to avoid them getting sick.

yes i plan on quarantining/disenfecting all other snakes......i was wondering if anybody has an idea of what can do this to a snake???? especially in the short amount of time it happened in.....

I'm sure there are a number of things that can, that's why you should get the necropsy done...

I'm not sure if it affects snakes, but Crypto does something similar to leopard geckos. Definately get a necropsy.

how should i save the corpse considering the only vet office in our town in closed till Jan. 2?

how big is the snake?

I've heard freezing it is the last thing you should do as it can kill whatever the cause was. My inexperienced guess would be to refrigerate, but I'd hold off on that until someone with more experience with this chimes in...

what state are you in? some state animal diagnostic labs accept animals from private owners. thats really a long time for refrigeration, and freezing will destroy cells, limiting tests. if there are no other options freeze it and hope for the best.
spooky

California....WAYYYY out in the boonies

I've always heard to refrigerate, DO NOT freeze it (this is only echoing what I've seen suggested before though, not personal experience). Are there any emergency pet hospitals in your area? Even if your closest vet is closed, you could call up the nearest open one and ask for more specific instructions on how they want you to keep the dead snake until you can get a necropsy done

Hey, if it is crypto, you need to disinfect with ammonia, not bleach. Or as well as bleach, but NEVER mix the two. They make hydrochloric gas together, and can really hurt you.

EDIT: Internet says you can also try hydrogen peroxide instead of ammonia, since it's less noxious.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Valentine Pirate

I've always heard to refrigerate, DO NOT freeze it (this is only echoing what I've seen suggested before though, not personal experience). Are there any emergency pet hospitals in your area? Even if your closest vet is closed, you could call up the nearest open one and ask for more specific instructions on how they want you to keep the dead snake until you can get a necropsy done

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the snake has been dead for atleast two days now, refrigerating might slow down necrosis, but it has 5 days to go. snakes decompose fast. iv already made my sugestion, but on a further note,,, if the OP has many snakes that might be compromised, it might be a good idea take one of the sick snakes in when the vet office opens to have it euthanised, and have a necropsy done on that snake.
it sounds like its hapening to more than one snake, and if its as fast as the OP has sugested, it sounds pretty serious.
spooky

i might take your sugestion spooky....im going nuts and my brain is filled with thoughts....i love my snakes and what is happening is ripping me apart!!!:heartbrea

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LGray23

I've heard freezing it is the last thing you should do as it can kill whatever the cause was. My inexperienced guess would be to refrigerate, but I'd hold off on that until someone with more experience with this chimes in...

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Definitely refrigerate, never freeze.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Valentine Pirate

I've always heard to refrigerate, DO NOT freeze it (this is only echoing what I've seen suggested before though, not personal experience). Are there any emergency pet hospitals in your area? Even if your closest vet is closed, you could call up the nearest open one and ask for more specific instructions on how they want you to keep the dead snake until you can get a necropsy done

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Freezing "explodes" all cellular walls due to formation/expansion of ice crystals, rendering them useless for necropsy.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Salamander

Freezing "explodes" all cellular walls due to formation/expansion of ice crystals, rendering them useless for necropsy.

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we all know that, a refrigerator is best,,, but for 8 days?????? will it last???
is a frozen body useless for necropsy,, some times yes,, sometimes not..
is a rotten body useless for necropsy???? all the time yes....
BTW, when did the snake actually die? 30 seconds after he left for vacation,, or 30 seconds before he found it? 2 days is a long time frame when your talking about being adequate for a necropsy. especialy in a 80 +* environment.
given the information that has been stated by the OP, freezing the specimen is the best possible option if waiting that long for a necropsy.
my 2 last thoughts on this is :
1. have a necropsy done ASAP on the dead one
2. take a sick one to the vet ASAP
spooky

here are 4 animal state diagnostic labs in Cali. you might ask if they acept submisions from private owners.
CAHFS - Davis Laboratory
University of California
West Health Sciences Drive
Davis, CA 95616
Phone: 530-752-8700
Fax: 530-752-6253
cahfsdavis@cahfs.ucdavis.edu

CAHFS - San Bernardino Laboratory
Branch Chief: Dr. Hailu Kinde
105 W. Central Avenue
San Bernardino, CA
92408-2113
Phone: (909) 383-4287
Fax: (909) 884-5980
cahfssanbernardino@cahfs.ucdavis.edu

CAHFS - Tulare Laboratory
Branch Chief: Dr. Patricia Blanchard
18830 Road 112
Tulare, CA
93274-9042
Phone: (559) 688-7543
Fax: (559) 686-4231
cahfstulare@cahfs.ucdavis.edu

CAHFS - Turlock Laboratory
Branch Chief: Dr. Bruce Charlton
1550 Soderquist Rd.
Turlock, CA
95381-2204
Phone: (209) 634-5837
Fax: (209) 667-4261
cahfsturlock@cahfs.ucdavis.edu
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spooky

Please let us know what you find out. (The more informed we all are on the hazards to our animals, the better we can all care for them--I would also want to know what to check for if I ever had a snake come down with symptoms like those).

I really think the current recommendations for quarantine are inadequate. As painful as it might be for some folks to lose a breeding season, new animals should be quarantined for 12 months....not 3.

I'm sorry for your loss, and I hope that you get a swift diagnosis and an effective treatment.

I'm sorry for your loss. I hope you can figure this problem out. I'm very glad I saw this post. I often leave my snakes home alone some weekends for 2 or more days. This worries me now.

If you're in Norcal, I suggest going to Davis. They're the number one vet school in the country and have a great exotics team. (I attend UCD and take all my animals there)


Good luck!
Keep us posted


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