Very strange tentacled snake behavior

[dkspftw]

OK now I have more concerns. I saw the snake doing it last night and today again, and it seemed clear it's undergoing a shed. It has splotches of skin beginning to come off underwater, albeit fairly unevenly.

However my concern is that the snake looks really skinny. Like wrinkled, almost. Most of the other tentacled snakes look like this to some extent, they have weirdly loose skin compared to terrestrial snakes.

But a bit above his vent this guy's stomach is concave, and almost looks like it folds down into the skin to make a sort of > above his vent. I can't get clear pictures of this due to glare on the glass and his natural camo colors. I might be overestimating how severe the problem is, but it's hard to tell.

I'm planning on adding some larger fish (female bettas) to the enclosure as I've seen videos of tentacled snakes eating larger prey items than the guppies I feed mine, in the hopes that he'll bulk up. The reptile store I got him from said they fed them mississippi minnows before, which again would be larger than the feeder guppies I get. But there are a LOT of guppies in there at any given time.

Should I attempt to pull him from the tank and put him in a 20g for quarantine/feeding observation? I'm concerned that that would only stress him out even more.

I should note that these guys are rear-fanged and I've seen him strike at a pair of tongs I used to try to move him once. He's almost definitely stressed right now (sheds are supposed to be especially stressful for these snakes) and I really do not want to be tagged by something venomous. Not to mention that unless he's in the branches again, it'll be near impossible to get him out of the tank.

[bioteacher]

Just speculating here, but I think one of a few things could be happening...

- He could not be eating because of competition with the larger male (hence the seeming skinnier). Although, at the Zoo in NYC they have a bunch set-up in one tank (not saying that's correct though or know about their success with them). This also wouldn't explain the "basking".

- The snake may have some sort of parasite/fungus and is trying to "self medicate" by drying itself. This would explain the weight loss, as well as shedding. This could be due to the introduction of several other animals.

- Depending on the type of water you're using (brackish, salt, fresh), it could be too salty for him and he's trying to excrete some of that salt on "land" where the humidity provides a higher concentration of freshwater.

- It really could just be basking... something not often seen because I'd imagine they'd be skittish above water due to potentially being prey. The heat light was probably too hot for it and basking in the cooler air may actually be nice?

By the way, these snakes are ovoviviparous - meaning no eggs to be found, but live births. Not sure if the births take place on land or in the water though. I'd suggest providing a slightly above water level muddy area for them to burrow in if need be.

I would suggest a quarantine tank for him. To move him, you could use a snake hook/tongs and place him in a bucket or bag filled with water... or use a fishing net. No worries about being bit then. Best of luck with 'em and let us know how it turns out! If you're in NY, anywhere near the Hudson Valley I'd love to take photos of them sometime if you have any interest (I'd send all the digital copies to you).

[dkspftw]

Thank you, bio, for the thorough response. I'm sending you a PM about photographing my stuff, I'd love if you could do that.

Unfortunately I have a sad ending to the story.

I had an experienced herp vet come by who actually has a colony of these guys himself. We quarantined the snake in a 20g tank with no land and feeders a-plenty, and it was given injections of antibiotics, vitamins, and hydration. It never again willingly put its head under water, except at one point where I think it may have been unconscious from the stress of the move, and as such didn't eat any feeders and passed away after a few days in quarantine.

The vet said that there was no sign of the fungus present that usually wipes out whole colonies. That being said, people usually keep them in very acidic water (to combat said fungus) and mine are at like 7.6 pH. I've got a ton of UV filtration in the tank, so probably any fungus in the water column is getting fried.

Also, I am quite sure that they're normally kept in larger groups than I have. I'm debating if I should attempt to source more or not (I now have 2 left) or possibly donate mine if not.

The vet says that this is not an uncommon occurrence, and in a lot of colonies you'll get a snake who will just go off feed for no explicable reason and not work out.

As an aside, I had no idea they were live-bearers! When I was reading about their husbandry originally I swear I read something along the lines of "these snakes do everything underwater, from eating to laying eggs" but maybe I just read "giving birth" as "laying eggs" or something.

[Pyrate81]

Sorry to hear your loss. That sucks.

At least you know probably what the cause was.

[dkspftw]

Sorry to hear your loss. That sucks.

At least you know probably what the cause was.

Haha. Yeah, the cause was "common mystery death syndrome," unfortunately.

[DestinyLynette]

Off topic but I've never even heard of them before this thread and now my mind is blown. Very cool animals.