Romillus
11-21-15, 11:52 PM
Hey Everyone, I am having some concerns with my snake, and it's worrying me a bit.
I recently purchased a Kenyan Sand Boa (Eryx colubrinus) and there are some things that he is doing that I've been told isn't normal. I am going to take him to the place where I bought him on Monday for them to look at him, and make sure he is O.K. but I am a bit nervous. (This is my first Reptile)
The pet store fed my snake two pinkies every Sunday (I didn't know this until later) When I went to buy a snake, I choose this one, they said that they feed him every Sunday, and that if I bought him on a different day, to wait about a week before feeding, and making that his new feeding day. Well..
I bought him on Wednesday, November the 4th. (He eat on the first) I got him home, and set up his tank, I put him in a 20 Gallon tank, with 1 inch of sand on the low end with the water bowl, and 4 inches - 6 inches of sand on the high end where his heat lamp / hiding place is.
The sand I got was from the pet store, it was pre-cleaned sand, and washed, I did wipe out the tank before I used it though, and washed the skull hiding place and water bowl off before putting it in there.
Well the first few days I had him, I let him get used to his new place, he went under the sand, and stayed there completely hidden with only his nose sticking up until Saturday, on Saturday the 7th I had to take him out (I was going to if he had came up or not) the tank smelled so foul it was stinking up the house, the pet store said he might have pooped himself from being scared with the move. so he ended up coming out anyways, and when I picked him up, he was ok with me, he crawled over my fingers, and wrapped around my hand, and was looking generally what I thought comfortable with me. I took him to the sink, and gave him a short bath, murk warm water, and slowly just using the water in one hand to pour over him to clean him off. after that I put him in a secondary (feeding) tank that I got him, and cleaned out the main tank (which did have poo in it). I put him back in, all was O.K. he then moved around a bit, and went under, and was looking to what I thought exploring, but O.K.
Well surprise surprise, Monday the 9th, he shed his skin (I cleaned that out the tank after he was done, I could see him moving through his skin, so weird looking)
Well, I fed him on Wednesday the 11th (remember his last feeding was on the 1st) I fed him 1 fuzzy (mouse about the size of a thumb) and within 15 minutes he had killed and eat the mouse. When I took him out his cage, he wasn't nervous, jumpy or anything, he let me pick him right up, didn't crawl away from me or anything, and did the same as before, wiggled between my fingers, and around my hand, I fed him (in the second empty tank), and put him back in the tank, and this is when I first noticed something weird. after I put him in the tank, he didn't burrow in the sand, he just kept moving around ontop of the sand, and this is when I first called the pet shop to ask what that meant, they said that he might still be hungry, and asked what and how much I fed him, when I told them, and told them who I was, they said that they fed the snake TWO mice a week (first time I found out about this) and I didn't know that, and the closest place was them, about a hour from me, which I couldn't get to, so I ended up not being able to give him his second mouse.
After talking to them, they said he would be ok, and to wait till next wed to feed him 2 mice.
well a few days after that, on Sunday when I went to clean his tank out I noticed he had these white spots on him, just near the back of his body and over 4/5 different areas covering 3-10 scales depending on the spot, weird white, which it looked like the color of the scale had changed, and not like leftover dead skin. I did try to wipe him off with my hand to see if it would come off, but it didn't so I cleaned the tank, and put him back in, I didn't want to give him a bath, or mess with it to much, because I didn't know if it was going to hurt him or not.
well now we are on Wednesday the 18th his next feeding day but this is when i got worried, when I tried to take him out, he kept crawling away from me, and pretty fast, I knew something was weird, but didn't think much of it, well I ended up scooping (with my hand) some sand away, and picked him up, when i did that, I thought he was going to bite me, he was spinning in circles in my hand, and almost straight as a stick, so I put him back down, he went straight for the sand, I didn't know what was wrong, but being stupid I thought maybe he was agitated because of not being fed enough from before, so after a few minutes I picked him up again, and put him in his second tank.
I put in the mouse, he didn't eat it, he looked at it, and made that thing where his body squeezes up right before he attacks, and then nothing, he stretched out slow and then went over to the mouse, and just licked it and then crawled over it, and around it, and messing with it, then just went and tried getting out of his cage, i left him in there for about 10 minutes with the mouse, nothing, he just crawled over it and left it alive, well I put him back in the tank, and called the pet store, they said put the mice in there with him, and see what happens, nothing, I left the mice in there for 10 hours before finally taking them out, he just moved over them and went into the sand or sneaked up on them and looked at them and then moved away.
so he eat two mice on the 1st, then 1 on the 11th, and none on the 18th... well now his tail is really dry and dull looking, not like the rest of his body which is shiny
and now he looks like he is trying to get out of the tank, when I got home, he was sitting ontop of the sand, and I did pick him up, and he did the same as the first time, he crawled over my hand through my fingers, between them, around my arm, he went from hand to hand, but when I put him in his tank after that, he slid up on the glass, and for a while now, he has been sliding up and down the glass looking like he is trying to get out.
the white scales are getting worse, and more of his tale is getting dried out looking...
Does anyone know if what's happening is normal?!? I'm sorry for the long story in advanced, I'm really just worried.
I can attach photos of the snake, or his tank if needed.
I recently purchased a Kenyan Sand Boa (Eryx colubrinus) and there are some things that he is doing that I've been told isn't normal. I am going to take him to the place where I bought him on Monday for them to look at him, and make sure he is O.K. but I am a bit nervous. (This is my first Reptile)
The pet store fed my snake two pinkies every Sunday (I didn't know this until later) When I went to buy a snake, I choose this one, they said that they feed him every Sunday, and that if I bought him on a different day, to wait about a week before feeding, and making that his new feeding day. Well..
I bought him on Wednesday, November the 4th. (He eat on the first) I got him home, and set up his tank, I put him in a 20 Gallon tank, with 1 inch of sand on the low end with the water bowl, and 4 inches - 6 inches of sand on the high end where his heat lamp / hiding place is.
The sand I got was from the pet store, it was pre-cleaned sand, and washed, I did wipe out the tank before I used it though, and washed the skull hiding place and water bowl off before putting it in there.
Well the first few days I had him, I let him get used to his new place, he went under the sand, and stayed there completely hidden with only his nose sticking up until Saturday, on Saturday the 7th I had to take him out (I was going to if he had came up or not) the tank smelled so foul it was stinking up the house, the pet store said he might have pooped himself from being scared with the move. so he ended up coming out anyways, and when I picked him up, he was ok with me, he crawled over my fingers, and wrapped around my hand, and was looking generally what I thought comfortable with me. I took him to the sink, and gave him a short bath, murk warm water, and slowly just using the water in one hand to pour over him to clean him off. after that I put him in a secondary (feeding) tank that I got him, and cleaned out the main tank (which did have poo in it). I put him back in, all was O.K. he then moved around a bit, and went under, and was looking to what I thought exploring, but O.K.
Well surprise surprise, Monday the 9th, he shed his skin (I cleaned that out the tank after he was done, I could see him moving through his skin, so weird looking)
Well, I fed him on Wednesday the 11th (remember his last feeding was on the 1st) I fed him 1 fuzzy (mouse about the size of a thumb) and within 15 minutes he had killed and eat the mouse. When I took him out his cage, he wasn't nervous, jumpy or anything, he let me pick him right up, didn't crawl away from me or anything, and did the same as before, wiggled between my fingers, and around my hand, I fed him (in the second empty tank), and put him back in the tank, and this is when I first noticed something weird. after I put him in the tank, he didn't burrow in the sand, he just kept moving around ontop of the sand, and this is when I first called the pet shop to ask what that meant, they said that he might still be hungry, and asked what and how much I fed him, when I told them, and told them who I was, they said that they fed the snake TWO mice a week (first time I found out about this) and I didn't know that, and the closest place was them, about a hour from me, which I couldn't get to, so I ended up not being able to give him his second mouse.
After talking to them, they said he would be ok, and to wait till next wed to feed him 2 mice.
well a few days after that, on Sunday when I went to clean his tank out I noticed he had these white spots on him, just near the back of his body and over 4/5 different areas covering 3-10 scales depending on the spot, weird white, which it looked like the color of the scale had changed, and not like leftover dead skin. I did try to wipe him off with my hand to see if it would come off, but it didn't so I cleaned the tank, and put him back in, I didn't want to give him a bath, or mess with it to much, because I didn't know if it was going to hurt him or not.
well now we are on Wednesday the 18th his next feeding day but this is when i got worried, when I tried to take him out, he kept crawling away from me, and pretty fast, I knew something was weird, but didn't think much of it, well I ended up scooping (with my hand) some sand away, and picked him up, when i did that, I thought he was going to bite me, he was spinning in circles in my hand, and almost straight as a stick, so I put him back down, he went straight for the sand, I didn't know what was wrong, but being stupid I thought maybe he was agitated because of not being fed enough from before, so after a few minutes I picked him up again, and put him in his second tank.
I put in the mouse, he didn't eat it, he looked at it, and made that thing where his body squeezes up right before he attacks, and then nothing, he stretched out slow and then went over to the mouse, and just licked it and then crawled over it, and around it, and messing with it, then just went and tried getting out of his cage, i left him in there for about 10 minutes with the mouse, nothing, he just crawled over it and left it alive, well I put him back in the tank, and called the pet store, they said put the mice in there with him, and see what happens, nothing, I left the mice in there for 10 hours before finally taking them out, he just moved over them and went into the sand or sneaked up on them and looked at them and then moved away.
so he eat two mice on the 1st, then 1 on the 11th, and none on the 18th... well now his tail is really dry and dull looking, not like the rest of his body which is shiny
and now he looks like he is trying to get out of the tank, when I got home, he was sitting ontop of the sand, and I did pick him up, and he did the same as the first time, he crawled over my hand through my fingers, between them, around my arm, he went from hand to hand, but when I put him in his tank after that, he slid up on the glass, and for a while now, he has been sliding up and down the glass looking like he is trying to get out.
the white scales are getting worse, and more of his tale is getting dried out looking...
Does anyone know if what's happening is normal?!? I'm sorry for the long story in advanced, I'm really just worried.
I can attach photos of the snake, or his tank if needed.