Very Ill Elderly Snake

[Snakegurl13]

Originally Posted by louise

whatever you and the vet decide and if it is to costly let us know. we will take up a donation and help in all ways possible even if it has to be euthanized.

Yeah i even applied for something called care credit (credit card for vet bills, or even dentistry!) but I've never been late on any sort of payment, and dont have a credit card or loan.. so i dont even have enough credit for that! MAKES ME SO ANGRY! So if it is something costly i'm in trouble!

[louise]

Originally Posted by Snakegurl13

Yeah i even applied for something called care credit (credit card for vet bills, or even dentistry!) but I've never been late on any sort of payment, and dont have a credit card or loan.. so i dont even have enough credit for that! MAKES ME SO ANGRY! So if it is something costly i'm in trouble!

no your not. we will help.

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[HERPHAPPY]

Originally Posted by Snakegurl13

.... im not going to go do something extreme based off of something someone online says ( without finding other information that backs it up!) I just hope whatever is wrong with Rocky is not painful, and is from a past issue, not a current issue. He seems like a great snake... just a little slow, and odd looking LOL. But we'll see what this vet says. Any clue how much it is for a snake to be put to sleep? if it comes down to that? cause if she determines he is in pain, i wouldnt just let him suffer. But i wouldnt want to just walk in and ask them to put my snake to sleep if he is infact enjoying life. i just dont think there is a sure way to tell if a snake is in pain... or how much pain.. or if its all the time .. elect. cause my ball pythons are very reactive to pain, my female had an injury and sure as heck she would get very flinchy and aggressive if you bumped her boo boo! But every body (and snake) is diffrent!

I'm personally relieved to see that you've given all this more thought...and no one wants you to just assume that your snake should be put to sleep....far from it! The hope is for treatment in time to do some good! We have tried to offer our experience here...but it has to be a qualified vet actually seeing the snake to determine what is going on. All we could do was speculate in the hopes of giving you more insight that all may not be as well as you thought. Snakes in pain are often poor feeders or have poor attitudes (as in irritable), or may be lethargic...etc. Our thoughts & hopes are with you and your snake.

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[Stargazer]

Originally Posted by Snakegurl13

But of course, im not going to go do something extreme based off of something someone online says ( without finding other information that backs it up!)

I think this is very smart, and I don't blame you. Again, I apologize for the rudeness of a few people here who didn't give you the benefit of the doubt. I hope you can overlook that and stick around.

It's really hard to tell if a snake is suffering, as louise says. But I think the fact that your snake is eating is a good sign. Please keep us posted!

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[Snakegurl13]

Originally Posted by HERPHAPPY

I'm personally relieved to see that you've given all this more thought...and no one wants you to just assume that your snake should be put to sleep....far from it! The hope is for treatment in time to do some good! We have tried to offer our experience here...but it has to be a qualified vet actually seeing the snake to determine what is going on. All we could do was speculate in the hopes of giving you more insight that all may not be as well as you thought. Snakes in pain are often poor feeders or have poor attitudes (as in irritable), or may be lethargic...etc. Our thoughts & hopes are with you and your snake.

Well as i said! im realllllly hoping that his issues are from old problems.. and im inclined to think that, but will be happy if a vet agrees! because he is a piggy snake! to me he is a little thin.. so we offered him a little extra! hes very relaxed ... but moves around. i was told previously he would sleep all night in his water dish.. and he has only done this once since i got him! THANK GOODNESS! i brought the humidity up too 65-70 and warmed him up a little (hot spot of 96ish, cool side 85, warm side 90ish) and he seems to respond to the warm! he is more active when its hot outside. He responds to voices and noises... and will follow your voice to your face, he's very sweet, and if he is in pain.. he hides it well! but i've known alot of animals that hide their pain (mainly dogs..) but monday can't come soon enough, cause i want so bad to know what it is! and even then i have to wait for blood tests!

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[Sakara]

glad he's gonna get some good vet care

like the others have said, if you need anything, feel free to PM for whatever

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[louise]

really the warm side should be about 88 and cool side 80 with a 5 degree drop at night. if they have a RI i would heat the whole cage to 93.

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	Respiratory Infection Respiratory Infection

[Snakegurl13]

Originally Posted by louise

really the warm side should be about 88 and cool side 80 with a 5 degree drop at night. if they have a RI i would heat the whole cage to 93.

Well the vet that i spoke to said to warm his tank up until she sees him incase he does have an infection... but he has no signs of an resp infection. I've never had a snake with one, but i almost bought a snake that had one!! (poor thing!) :shrugs: i dont know but he seems to really enjoy it.. as far as i can tell... his previous owner was using a normal 60 watt light bulb... and i even put it on his tank to see if it produced heat... and sure... it made the lid hot........ but the dirt was icy cold! so i got him a good reptile light! so i mean if his tank was cold all the time... i bet he's really happy to be warm!! and he likes to soak up the heat off of my body too... he like melts into my lap LOL. maybe the heat feels good on his back??? my BPs hang out most of the time on the cool side... my hogg island is alwayyyyyyssss under the hot spot!, and Rocky is normally under the hot spot, or in the warm end.. so i donno... maybe my snakes are "special" LOL

	Ball Python The Ball Python (Python regius), also known as the Royal Python, is a ground dwelling snake native to the savannahs and rain forests in western Africa, predominatly the countries of Ghana, Togo, and Benin.

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	Respiratory Infection Respiratory Infection

[louise]

Originally Posted by Snakegurl13

Well the vet that i spoke to said to warm his tank up until she sees him incase he does have an infection... but he has no signs of an resp infection. I've never had a snake with one, but i almost bought a snake that had one!! (poor thing!) :shrugs: i dont know but he seems to really enjoy it.. as far as i can tell... his previous owner was using a normal 60 watt light bulb... and i even put it on his tank to see if it produced heat... and sure... it made the lid hot........ but the dirt was icy cold! so i got him a good reptile light! so i mean if his tank was cold all the time... i bet he's really happy to be warm!! and he likes to soak up the heat off of my body too... he like melts into my lap LOL. maybe the heat feels good on his back??? my BPs hang out most of the time on the cool side... my hogg island is alwayyyyyyssss under the hot spot!, and Rocky is normally under the hot spot, or in the warm end.. so i donno... maybe my snakes are "special" LOL

well for sure do what the vet said. i bet the heat does feel good on his back. chances back had like 3 spots that were broke. she use to love it when i would rub those breaks. she would sit real still and you could tell she enjoyed it. my BPs always stay on the cool side and chance usually does. my dum stays on the cool side 90% of the time. candy the solomon island ground boa stays in the heat.

	Ball Python The Ball Python (Python regius), also known as the Royal Python, is a ground dwelling snake native to the savannahs and rain forests in western Africa, predominatly the countries of Ghana, Togo, and Benin.

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[SUAD]

Originally Posted by Snakegurl13

He responds to voices and noises... and will follow your voice to your face

Sweetie, he can't follow voices or noises, as he has no ears or even simple auditory canals. Snakes are not capable of hearing whatsoever, unless a noise is loud enough to vibrate them or the ground around them. Also, get your snake an undertank heater- they respond to that MUCH better than any overhead measure.

Goof luck with your guy, I hope everything works out.

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[Snakegurl13]

Originally Posted by SUAD

Sweetie, he can't follow voices or noises, as he has no ears or even simple auditory canals. Snakes are not capable of hearing whatsoever, unless a noise is loud enough to vibrate them or the ground around them. Also, get your snake an undertank heater- they respond to that MUCH better than any overhead measure.
Goof luck with your guy, I hope everything works out.

Well.. weather he has "ears" or not.. he responds to voices... They say that when you loose a sense (being eye sight) you gain a little with your other senses. who's to say that can't be true with a snake?? And the reason i don't do under the tank heaters are they burn up rather quick, i dont find it cost effective... and as long as the tempatures on the ground (where the snake is) are the proper temps.. i dont see a problem in the world with heat lamps... mine are on the outside of the tank, spaced from the lid.. No burns! There are diffrent ways to Raise, and love your snakes... and i choose to use the heat lamps! Thanks tho.

[Icicle]

Originally Posted by Snakegurl13

Well, of course i haven't been scared off! i just see no point in responding to pointless remarks (most of what has been posted, but not all) But, i contacted my local zoo, who knows pretty much nothing about reptiles, who has a veterinarian who comes in to check their reptiles once a month, who has agreed to see "rocky" as we have named him. i explained to her his symptoms, and she says that very well it could be a bacterial infection, but with the fact that previous owners have had him checked out, it was probably from years ago, and that could be what caused his back to be the way it is. as for his eyes, she says they might be cataracts but needs to see them to be sure. We see her next monday, she plans to do a fecal test, and blood test.. check his mouth and skin. and then go from there. other then that Rocky is doing good, we brought his temp up a little in his tank, he's been up moving around more at night, climbing on his stick, friendly and in your face flicking his tounge like my other sweet snakes do! So those of you who were able to give usable information thank you! i just wish we had more snake vets around here! living in a town of less then 25,000 puts limits on your resources! and not all of us have a car that will make it a couple hundred miles... But i will let anyone who is interested in Rocky know what his tests say when they come back, but i haven't a clue how long that can take.

I'm Sorry if I came acrossed rude to you Snakegurl, I'm usually very mellow.
Just when I see someone post they won't cause they have old reports, just kind of struck a nerve.

I'm glad you taking him in to see the vet Monday. I hope the best for both of you.

[Snakegurl13]

Originally Posted by Icicle

I'm Sorry if I came acrossed rude to you Snakegurl, I'm usually very mellow.
Just when I see someone post they won't cause they have old reports, just kind of struck a nerve.

I'm glad you taking him in to see the vet Monday. I hope the best for both of you.

Well thanks! i dont blame you for being upset. Its just insane how limited i am here! i reallllly had to search to even find a vet through the zoo... and she's sorta pricey .. but atleast its a start! i would love to be able to just up and drive a couple hundred miles to the city where there are really good reptile vets, but my car wouldn't make it! im not that lucky! And i dont just say that to make excuses. I just hope this vet knows snakes well like she claims!

[HERPHAPPY]

Originally Posted by Snakegurl13

Well the vet that i spoke to said to warm his tank up until she sees him incase he does have an infection... but he has no signs of an resp infection. I've never had a snake with one, but i almost bought a snake that had one!! (poor thing!) :shrugs: i dont know but he seems to really enjoy it.. as far as i can tell... his previous owner was using a normal 60 watt light bulb... and i even put it on his tank to see if it produced heat... and sure... it made the lid hot........ but the dirt was icy cold! so i got him a good reptile light! so i mean if his tank was cold all the time... i bet he's really happy to be warm!! and he likes to soak up the heat off of my body too... he like melts into my lap LOL. maybe the heat feels good on his back??? my BPs hang out most of the time on the cool side... my hogg island is alwayyyyyyssss under the hot spot!, and Rocky is normally under the hot spot, or in the warm end.. so i donno... maybe my snakes are "special" LOL

To us, they are ALL special... If his previous owner did not keep him warm enough, that could have affected his immune system (making him unable to fight off a bacterial infection for example)...incidentally, that's why you never hibernate a snake that is in any way unhealthy...if they wake up at all, they can be very ill. (In the wild they may succomb during hibernation...)

Where I used to live there was a nature museum that kept snakes and lizards, but their well-intentioned methods were strictly 'dark ages' if you know what I mean? The only heat their reptiles had was from overhead lights, in a building well cooled for human comfort in the desert. As you've noticed, heat rises and does very little for the cage inhabitant! It took me a couple years of nagging to get them using uth's....that and the original curator retired! They thought it was normal for their snakes to regurgitate half of their meals!!! They didn't realize they were too cold to digest properly! The ill rosy boas I spoke of were theirs...the year before they gave me one of their 3 rosy boas as she wouldn't feed for them....all three rosies were kept in the same 2' x 2' cage and she had been stressed to the point of starvation. I originally took her home (as a volunteer) to get her feeding for them if possible...she had eaten/kept down only a few rodents in the last two years and was very thin; at my house she ate fine, but they decided they didn't want to deal with her and asked if I'd keep her...I already had about 85 snakes but would never say no, knowing her situation. Their rosy boas got sick & died the next year (thanks in part to the ignorance of the new curator)...mine went on to reproduce for 6 years of the total 12 years with me when she finally passed of old age....they had had her for about 15 years, making her at least 27! And I learned alot from "Ms. Orange"! I have several of her 'kids' and her (equally-old) mate still. (I really did NOT want to breed rosies ...it's a very long story...)

Your vet should have more insight as to discomfort/pain your snake may have (keep in mind that swelling is often the culprit, putting abnormal pressure on nerves and internal organs...) and hopefully will have some treatment ideas. We really are on your side here...and Rocky's!

[SUAD]

Originally Posted by Snakegurl13

Well.. weather he has "ears" or not.. he responds to voices... They say that when you loose a sense (being eye sight) you gain a little with your other senses. who's to say that can't be true with a snake??

You can't sharpen a sense you don't have, this is a fact, hon.

Originally Posted by Snakegurl13

And the reason i don't do under the tank heaters are they burn up rather quick, i dont find it cost effective... and as long as the tempatures on the ground (where the snake is) are the proper temps.. i dont see a problem in the world with heat lamps... mine are on the outside of the tank, spaced from the lid.. No burns! There are diffrent ways to Raise, and love your snakes... and i choose to use the heat lamps! Thanks tho.

There shouldn't be an issue with UTH "burning out" (?), and how are you getting proper ground temps with an overhead heater on a tank large enough for a Hogg Island with the bulb up off the tank? Something is contradictory here.... I have UTH's from 7-8 years ago that work just fine, are accurate, and don't drive up cost. Compare this now to bulbs that literally burn out and cost the exact same as UTH heaters. I have no doubt that you love your snakes, but what you're saying doesn't make any sense....on several counts.

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	Under Tank Heater Under Tank Heater

[M2788]

Originally Posted by Snakegurl13

Well thanks! i know alot of people aren't friendly to new commers on forums. (been there done that!) but im typicaly just one who lurks and absorbs any true information. But of course, im not going to go do something extreme based off of something someone online says ( without finding other information that backs it up!) I just hope whatever is wrong with Rocky is not painful, and is from a past issue, not a current issue. He seems like a great snake... just a little slow, and odd looking LOL. But we'll see what this vet says. Any clue how much it is for a snake to be put to sleep? if it comes down to that? cause if she determines he is in pain, i wouldnt just let him suffer. But i wouldnt want to just walk in and ask them to put my snake to sleep if he is infact enjoying life. i just dont think there is a sure way to tell if a snake is in pain... or how much pain.. or if its all the time .. elect. cause my ball pythons are very reactive to pain, my female had an injury and sure as heck she would get very flinchy and aggressive if you bumped her boo boo! But every body (and snake) is diffrent!

First and foremost, I am SO glad to hear that you are getting him to a vet, that is such amazing news.

As far as how much it costs to have a snake euthanized (though I hope and pray that it doesn't come to that), it depends on a few factors: the vet, the size of the snake, and whether or not you want the snake conscious when it is put down. When I had to have Jasper, my Saharan Sand boa euthanized earlier this year, I opted for the most painless route possible in having him unconscious while the needle was put in him, which not surprisingly was more expensive. It was about $150 dollars, but that is also including an emergency appointment fee given that it was the vet’s day off. It was very quick and completely painless for him though, so to me it was worth every cent that Jasper’s last moments weren’t spent in suffering.

I wish you the absolute best of luck with Rocky and getting him to the vet, and if you need help with anything, please just let us know.

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[Icicle]

Originally Posted by SUAD

You can't sharpen a sense you don't have, this is a fact, hon.

Suad even though they don't have ears like us, they can feel vibrations.
Take a look a blind person, they put different buzzers on different things cause they can feel the vibrations.

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[Snakegurl13]

Originally Posted by SUAD

You can't sharpen a sense you don't have, this is a fact, hon.
There shouldn't be an issue with UTH "burning out" (?), and how are you getting proper ground temps with an overhead heater on a tank large enough for a Hogg Island with the bulb up off the tank? Something is contradictory here.... I have UTH's from 7-8 years ago that work just fine, are accurate, and don't drive up cost. Compare this now to bulbs that literally burn out and cost the exact same as UTH heaters. I have no doubt that you love your snakes, but what you're saying doesn't make any sense....on several counts.

Alrighty! well im 100% sure of my ground temps (as my gauges no longer stick to the glass... they sit in the dirt, plus the ones on the glass) i personally had those under tank heaters burn up... after maybe four months .. i did it twice, and gave up because it didnt heat our tank well enough, and it was the biggest one i can find! the bulbs on the other hand last a little longer for about the same price... provide heat, light (for viewing reasons at night) UV during the day, (my experience my snakes are overall happier with uv lights) and you can always adjust a lamp, (moving it away or closer to the cage). Not that i should have to explain, how it works, or why i choose it? And to say i love my pets... that would be an understatment! but im not proving my snake love to some dude on the internet! anyone who knows me knows i love them like i love my children! (even if you dont think so ) and im not going to argue over wheather my snake can (and does) respond to voices and other settle noises! Thanks for your words tho!

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	Under Tank Heater Under Tank Heater

[Snakegurl13]

Originally Posted by M2788

First and foremost, I am SO glad to hear that you are getting him to a vet, that is such amazing news.
As far as how much it costs to have a snake euthanized (though I hope and pray that it doesn't come to that), it depends on a few factors: the vet, the size of the snake, and whether or not you want the snake conscious when it is put down. When I had to have Jasper, my Saharan Sand boa euthanized earlier this year, I opted for the most painless route possible in having him unconscious while the needle was put in him, which not surprisingly was more expensive. It was about $150 dollars, but that is also including an emergency appointment fee given that it was the vet’s day off. It was very quick and completely painless for him though, so in my opinion it was worth every cent that Jasper’s last moments weren’t spent suffering.
I wish you the absolute best of luck with Rocky and getting him to the vet, and if you need help with anything, please just let us know.

OH my gosh that is cheap! i should move where ever you live!!! just to see the vet on monday is going to cost me over $100!! that doesnt include to tests they will run!! so im terrified to see the whole costs..

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[Sakara]

snake can also sense the heat coming off your breath... when you talk to them they know that your mouth temp is hott and may follow it... considering we are a toasty 98.6degrees on average, that's pretty warm haha.

i still think my snakes know when I talk sweetly with them though

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