Growing, but looks thin?

My little girl who I got on April 25th was 58g when I first got her. She has eaten everything I have thrown at her and is growing very nicely, she is now at 138g and is getting pretty long, but she constantly looks thin. when she is climbing around her cage she appears to have loose skin and has a roundish triangle look to her. I feed her two hopper mice a few weeks back, then stepped it up to small mice but she wont get the roundish look that my male has. She is constantly active and climbs around her tub alot, see post of her and her tree :8. I treated her cage not too long ago for mites and will be doing the 2nd treatment at the end of this week when I clean her tub out. I thought about going to bigger mice but small mice are a good size for her, if I go bigger its gonna be too big I'm afraid. Should I try feeding two mice instead of one? She climbing around the cage and you can see her bone structure...is this anything to be concerned about?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7.../101_57921.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7.../101_57941.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7.../101_57931.jpg

have you taken her to the vet recently? She may have an internal parasite keeping her from putting on weight. At least I know that in other animals it can be the same effect.

If she were mine, I'd be taking her to the vet and getting her tested for internal parasites to rule that out. Her back bone should not be protruding like that.


You can try two small mice a week, but I'd definitely want to rule out internal parasites first. They can be easily treated for if she has them.

How often are you feeding her? If it's every 7 days, I'd bump her up to every 5 days.. But reguardless, she's still pretty skinny even for feeding her once a week. Have you taken both of your BP's to the vet to get fecals done? I remember you describing in your other thread about your male how there seemed to be tunnels in his feces. I'm not 100% positive, but this sounds like internal parasites to me. It's possible for parasites to transfer from one animal to another if you don't wash hands in between handling and if they were housed in the same cage/their cages are close together or in the same room ( which is why it's always a good thing to quarantine in a completely seperate room). I would definately get them BOTH checked out by a vet though.

Also, if you were to feed her two mice, I would go with feeding her two of a size smaller than what you are feeding her now (which would be two hoppers from what I have read, correct?).

I'd say from what you've said that it sounds like she may have internal parasites. She can eat and eat and eat but hardly gain any weight because they are just eating it all up if that is the case. I'd take her to a vet just to get checked out. Keep feeding her a mouse, she won't get that solid roundish shape over night... it will take some time.

You can also contact your vet ahead of time and the next time she defecates just pop it in a ziploc baggie and into the fridge then take it to the vet clinic as soon as possible. Quite a few vet's are set up so their techs can do a fecal float while you wait and it isn't horribly expensive (usually about $30.00). If she does have internal parasites on this test, then you'd bring her in to the vet for examination and a course of meds. Her backbone is up a lot more than I'd be comfy with. Either get that fecal done soon or just get her into the vet.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Purrrfect9

I remember you describing in your other thread about your male how there seemed to be tunnels in his feces

---

I must have worded that wrong, he made tunnels in his bedding.

as for jade, there is a herp vet not even half a mile from me, I'll swing by there tomorrow and see what they say to do and how much it would be for them to take a look at her.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by sw204me

I must have worded that wrong, he made tunnels in his bedding.

as for jade, there is a herp vet not even half a mile from me, I'll swing by there tomorrow and see what they say to do and how much it would be for them to take a look at her.

---

Or it could be because my brain is temporarily fried... and will be for the next 6 weeks... stupid summer chem course...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by frankykeno

You can also contact your vet ahead of time and the next time she defecates just pop it in a ziploc baggie and into the fridge then take it to the vet clinic as soon as possible. Quite a few vet's are set up so their techs can do a fecal float while you wait and it isn't horribly expensive (usually about $30.00). If she does have internal parasites on this test, then you'd bring her in to the vet for examination and a course of meds. Her backbone is up a lot more than I'd be comfy with. Either get that fecal done soon or just get her into the vet.

---

I have a fecal from my male, her im just gonna have to take in, but I got one from him today, would it be ok to stick in the freezer or can it only go in a fridge?

Just the fridge. I'm no vet tech but if I remember right sticking things in the freezer makes cells and such like pop so whenever you are sending in samples or getting a necropsy done, you refridgerate not freeze. That way the "sample" doesn't get damaged but also doesn't start to get nasty either.

:( well crap...(no pun intended lol) I put his stool in the freezer, but I was able to get a fresh one from her yesterday, gonna swing by the vet and see what options I got.

Update, for those following the post. Got an appt today with the "Exotic Vet" today at 5:30, they gonna examine her and they want a fecal sample as well. taking her in is only gonna cost $42.50, to me thats freakin cheap to have a vet look at her, now if she needs meds, that might be a different story....lol.

Best of luck with her. :)



dr del

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by frankykeno

Just the fridge. I'm no vet tech but if I remember right sticking things in the freezer makes cells and such like pop so whenever you are sending in samples or getting a necropsy done, you refridgerate not freeze. That way the "sample" doesn't get damaged but also doesn't start to get nasty either.

---

Snakes, like all lifeforms on earth are chock-full of water. As water freezes into ice it expands, and as it expands the cells explode because the cell-walls cannot handle the growth expansion. This is why cryogenically freezing and then reviving is impossible, the cells burst causing death.

Sounds to me like your doin the right thing and hittin that vet up soon! :sweeet:

well, took her to the vet. Said her physical appearance looks good, but did say she looked a lot more then she would like, and said she felt a lot more softer then usual, vet said she felt more liquids in her then you would normally find. Check her mouth and her scales, said everything looked really good, just too thin. couldn't see anything with a physical exam so she went and took a look at the fecal, came back she is loaded with "Large Strongyles" whatever the hell that is. Got some paste I am supposed to inject into her mouth once a week for 4 weeks then come back and get a recheck done, the stuff is called Panacur, again, whatever that is. so, she wasn't a happy camper today, but at least I know that something was wrong and getting it treated. Vet said my male should be fine as long as they haven't had any physical contact with each others fecal, so that def isnt a problem. Shes had a rough day... :(

Hey,


Look at it this way;:)

You noticed there was a problem and are well on the way to getting it sorted and getting your girl into perfect health.:rockon:

Hopefully somone who knows more about the specific treatment will be along sharpish to give more info but once the course is finished she should pile the weight back on.:D

**edit**

Did a swift google and these results seemed the most relevant;

link 1

link2

**end edit**



dr del

Great to hear you got a good diagnosis!

So, this obviously isn't your main problem but I thought I would just add that my snake is probably about that size and I feed him two small adult mice per week.

Oh yea, did your vet say where she may have gotten this?

Large Strongyles include the parasites called roundworms, which she probably has. The Panacur will easily get rid of them and she will be just fine. Just make sure to sterilize everything between handling her and handling your other snake, so you don't cross-contaminate.

Snakes get these parasites from: Being born with them(mother passes it on), having access to contaminated water(giardia can be contracted via dirty water sources, or from other animals), or being kept in very dirty conditions with other infected snakes. She likely contracted them from the pet store you got her at, where quarantine procedures are likely slim to none.

But she'll be fine after getting the deworming medication. After the final dose, you should see her start to fill out.

Sounds like you've found yourself a decent herp vet and have the problem sorted out now. Bet the little one will start to gain proper weight and feed better once those nasty worms are all gone. Good for you getting her seen and this dealt with. :)

Yay! Good to hear! I'm glad it is just a simple parasite and not something that would take more treatment ^_^ (not that parasites aren't bad...but they aren't hard to treat..) she'll be on her way to filling out in no time at all. :D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

Large Strongyles include the parasites called roundworms, which she probably has. The Panacur will easily get rid of them and she will be just fine. Just make sure to sterilize everything between handling her and handling your other snake, so you don't cross-contaminate.

Snakes get these parasites from: Being born with them(mother passes it on), having access to contaminated water(giardia can be contracted via dirty water sources, or from other animals), or being kept in very dirty conditions with other infected snakes. She likely contracted them from the pet store you got her at, where quarantine procedures are likely slim to none.

But she'll be fine after getting the deworming medication. After the final dose, you should see her start to fill out.

---

That pretty much nailed it. Only think I found about what the vet said was that if she starts to put on a lot of weight after the first few doses she wants me to call her cause she is gonna want me to up the dosage, she def knows what she is talking about and I trust her completely, but that just sound odd to anyone? I told her I will be moving to FL at the end of the week and she said to call her in four weeks to give her an update on her, only went to this vet once and I'm really gonna miss her :8:

On a side note, this vet is great for herp, and I actually got her name off that list we have on the site, but they apparently dont get many snakes cause the staff was just obsessed with her, asking to see her, hold her, and were all around just amazed by her, the other customers weren't too keen about her, but the staff loved her, just really surprised me.

Our vet back in Michigan was like that and we miss her still. You might want to ask your current vet if she can refer you to anyone in your new community. Good herp vets are a pure treasure to find! :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by sw204me

well, took her to the vet. Said her physical appearance looks good, but did say she looked a lot more then she would like, and said she felt a lot more softer then usual, vet said she felt more liquids in her then you would normally find. Check her mouth and her scales, said everything looked really good, just too thin. couldn't see anything with a physical exam so she went and took a look at the fecal, came back she is loaded with "Large Strongyles" whatever the hell that is. Got some paste I am supposed to inject into her mouth once a week for 4 weeks then come back and get a recheck done, the stuff is called Panacur, again, whatever that is. so, she wasn't a happy camper today, but at least I know that something was wrong and getting it treated. Vet said my male should be fine as long as they haven't had any physical contact with each others fecal, so that def isnt a problem. Shes had a rough day... :(

---

Kashmire had three types of strongyle parasites when he was tested positive as a baby. He had two doses of Panacur, two weeks apart. I didn't feed him until a week after his last dose. He did fine.

Glad you got her seen right away! Now that you're erradicating those parasites, she'll be able to keep all the nutrition to herself and not have to share it with the parasites!