HELP! Snake doing something weird :(

[HoneyCombTina]

so maybe there's nothing wrong...
but I came home just now and my snake was poised on her water dish with her head tilting up towards the ceiling, just sitting there not moving or doing anything. I moved around so she would see me and maybe move or something and she didn't. is there something wrong? I've read that if a snake does that a lot it could be a nuerological problem, but the only time I've seen this happen is maybe once or twice. the other time was when she was getting close to shedding, and she didn't move around as much and just seemed inactive. if anyone knows whats wrong or has expierenced this, please let me know

[Ash]

It sounds to me like an RI. If it were neurological she would probably have done it her whole life, and generally IBD looks very uncoordinated, not sitting poised upright and not moving. They sometimes sit like that to drain all the goop back and ease their breathing. I suggest listening for any wheezing, whistling or crackling when it breathes, and looking for any bubbles or slime around the nostrils or corners of the mouth. Either way, you should get that snake to a vet ASAP, if it's an RI you really don't want to wind up waiting until it's too late. My friend's snake was doing that and because it was a spider she ignored it, thought it was part of the wobble, and it later died.

[HoneyCombTina]

It sounds to me like an RI. If it were neurological she would probably have done it her whole life, and generally IBD looks very uncoordinated, not sitting poised upright and not moving. They sometimes sit like that to drain all the goop back and ease their breathing. I suggest listening for any wheezing, whistling or crackling when it breathes, and looking for any bubbles or slime around the nostrils or corners of the mouth. Either way, you should get that snake to a vet ASAP, if it's an RI you really don't want to wind up waiting until it's too late. My friend's snake was doing that and because it was a spider she ignored it, thought it was part of the wobble, and it later died.

she doesn't have any of that going on, I check around her mouth n nostrils everyday to make sure theres nothing funky going on i'll keep her under close inspection for the next little bit and see if her breathing sounds strange

if anyone else has any ideas, I'd appreciate your input

[dr del]

Hi,

Was her mouth open when she was doing it?

Does she do it often -I know you said you have seen it once or twice but in what timescale are we talking?

I know mine sometimes freeze when they see me moving about - I assume they think if they don't move I won't notice them.


dr del

[Kaorte]

I have also noticed the "freezing" as Derek put it. Sometimes they will just freeze in odd positions if they notice me looking at them

Also I believe when they drink water they sometimes need to hold their heads up to get the water down. I know many people have picked up a snake who has recently taken a drink only to have it spill out of their mouths all over the place.

If you don't notice any other symptoms of an RI then chances are its not an RI.

[HoneyCombTina]

no, her mouth was closed. she doesn't seem to have an RI, theres no mucus or whatever around her mouth/nostrils, no weird breathing noises, nothing people have told me to watch out for that I have noticed.

do you think it would have anything to do with her getting close to shedding? thats the last time I noticed her doing this, just kind of freezing into a position, and the last time she shed was probably a month ago, which she did in one piece, no problem

[Kaorte]

no, her mouth was closed. she doesn't seem to have an RI, theres no mucus or whatever around her mouth/nostrils, no weird breathing noises, nothing people have told me to watch out for that I have noticed.

do you think it would have anything to do with her getting close to shedding? thats the last time I noticed her doing this, just kind of freezing into a position, and the last time she shed was probably a month ago, which she did in one piece, no problem

no? I don't see what it would have to do with shedding.

I would say what you are witnessing is normal snake behavior. Sometimes they freeze in odd positions. It is nothing to worry about. Its just one of their many defense mechanisms. "If I don't move maybe they won't see me". "If I curl into a ball they will leave me alone".