| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| heatseeker872591 |
Posted - 17/05/2010 : 17:56:42
hi guys its been ages since i posted on here. but i thought id just post this to get some opinions on this.a month and a bit ago i fell in love with this huge grey rat snake in my local pet shop and i just had to buy him so i did. i was told by the pet shop owner he is between 6 and 7 yrs old and the original owner had raised him from a juvenile and in the end got bored with him,so traded him in to get money off a boa constrictor.
however first thing i noticed that this snake (typicall after i bought him)that his breathing is a bit heavy, (and all the time i have had him so far theres no mucus or bubbling coming from the mouth or nostrils. and a week or 2 later just out of suspicion and by looking i noticed a few mites crawling over him around his head area, so panicked as i was i submerged him in a RUB full of water and gave the vivarium a good disinfected cleanout. i also bought something called -insect spray from the shop which is for reptiles and it really has and does seem to be doing the trick in eliminating them as i have not noticed any since his through cleanouts. and have been giving him a good cleanout every day because-
another thing i have noticed is that he is pooping way too often, in the past few weeks he has been pooping nearly everyday but not alot on each occassion just the usual few stools with the yellowy stuff -no blood or anything unusual for it. lucky i am just keeping him on newspaper
and quite naturally it does stink, but whats puzzling me in the time i have had him he really has pooped out more in poop than the food i have ever gave him i have only been feeding him 1 small rat a fortnight coz i noticed he is quite chunky and heavy aswell. I come to the conclusion did the original owner feed him everyday or something coz the pooping wont stop, does anyone think his guy may be just over full? anyhow i got him booked into the reptile vets for wednesday and just hoping the vet finds whatever is wrong with him.
but on the other side despite these symptoms he is having he is a really really active snake, i keep him in a 4 feet vivarium heat source by a thermostatically controlled dimmer theromostat with a digi thermometer and i keep him at 85F during the day and 75F at night, he is kept in a seperate room to my corn snake and i am strict with hygiene and always wash my hands b4 and after in the handling between the 2.
would love some thoughts on this topic, sorry its long but would like to give as much Info as possible |
| 18 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Mouse |
Posted - 08/06/2010 : 10:35:31
He's gorgeous :D looks very friendly!! |
| heatseeker872591 |
Posted - 07/06/2010 : 16:12:56
hi everyone i made a new seperate post regarding his update |
| DannyBrown91 |
Posted - 21/05/2010 : 16:20:54
quote:
Originally posted by Scarlett
Just looked at the picture's on Facebook, what a handsome monster lol. I can't say if he's overweight though, if rat snakes are supposed to be fatty like Python's then I'd say he's a good size.
Rat snakes are fairly slender snakes like other colubrids (Kings, Milks, Corns...) |
| Sta~ple |
Posted - 21/05/2010 : 16:19:32
Does he have like banding or tyres going on? If he does he's a fatty.
None the less, he is gorgeous! He seems like such a gentle giant. |
| Scarlett |
Posted - 21/05/2010 : 16:16:40
Just looked at the picture's on Facebook, what a handsome monster lol. I can't say if he's overweight though, if rat snakes are supposed to be fatty like Python's then I'd say he's a good size. |
| matty18714 |
Posted - 20/05/2010 : 22:46:32
I cant see the pics or video, so I cant comment yet on his weight as he may look ok for its weight. If it is overweight then a bit of a diet will do him good. You cant predict the life span, so its not worth thinking about, and its definatly not something to worry about. |
| heatseeker872591 |
Posted - 20/05/2010 : 22:29:05
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=4731980&id=730131696 thats another pic |
| heatseeker872591 |
Posted - 20/05/2010 : 22:00:24
please reply every1 when you seen him and tell me what you think. matty you said something about power feeding decreases the lifespan, as im not the first owner of this snake is there anything i can do to "reverse" that if you know what i mean, ie cutting down his feeding and getting him back down to weight will extend the lifespan to how it should be? sorry if im confusing you lol |
| heatseeker872591 |
Posted - 20/05/2010 : 21:43:48
http://www.youtube.com/user/Heatseeker872591 please click on the 2nd video down in my account, a video will show the sheer size of the best |
| heatseeker872591 |
Posted - 20/05/2010 : 21:42:51
hold on, my youtube account will show you a video
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| heatseeker872591 |
Posted - 20/05/2010 : 21:42:18
ok trying to find a way to upload pics its been ages since i uploaded a pic on here lol |
| hiper2009 |
Posted - 20/05/2010 : 00:07:31
2KG what a bloooody beast please post picssssssssss   |
| kdlang |
Posted - 19/05/2010 : 21:34:09
Wow thats sounds like some snake |
| matty18714 |
Posted - 19/05/2010 : 21:33:28
quote:
Originally posted by Dan-sunkist
what is power fed if ya don mind me asking.
Power feeding is feeding an animal more than is healthy in an attempt to get it to breeding weight faster. It reduces the snakes life span amoungst other problems. |
| Dan-sunkist |
Posted - 19/05/2010 : 21:31:38
what is power fed if ya don mind me asking.
glad to hear he is ok i would love to see him he sounds like a beast of an animal |
| matty18714 |
Posted - 19/05/2010 : 20:46:13
2KG! What a beast. Photos please  |
| HannahB |
Posted - 19/05/2010 : 20:31:32
glad there was nothing seriously wrong with him - i thought i had replied to this thread before,
if he has been power fed then hopefully cutting down his feeding will help stop the every day pooping - you should get some pics of him  |
| heatseeker872591 |
Posted - 19/05/2010 : 19:38:16
just an update
took the snake to the vets today
no sign of mouthrot or any serious RI like bubbling or anything but he heard the heavy breathing and did admit it sounded unusual and so gave him an injection of anti botics just to clear up anything that might be inside his lung, also weighed him and he weighs just under 2KG by about 2 grams. he believes also that the snake was power fed and said to keep feeding him one small rat a fortnight for him to lose a bit and hopefully the pooping nearly every day should stop, and the heavy breathing also. he said keep him on newspaper from now on aswell, but theres nothing life threateninly wrong with him. and to give him a call in a few weeks if im still concerned about his health!
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