| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Headlow |
Posted - 04/04/2011 : 11:27:33
Morning all. I just had my '09 Royal out for a brief handle, and noticed as soon as she was out of her viv that her mouth was gaping (sort of hanging open). I could also feel her muscles spasming in my hand. At this time there was no particular rhythm to these spasms. After a minute or so she'd regained control of her mouth, and managed to coil round my forearm. At this time I could feel her muscles spasming in a very particular rhythm, it seemed to be in time with her breathing. This soon stopped as well, and by the time I put her back in the tank (5 minutes tops) I could only feel the odd contraction.
I have noticed something like this before on the 3rd of January immediately after a shed, only that time there was some cork screwing involved. She was fine the next day though and ate. She's shed since then with no recurrence of the above symptoms, and hasn't missed a feed at all. She's also been out and about as regular these last few nights.
I don't over handle her, roughly 3 times a week, for no more than 10 minutes at a time. She's kept in a 3 ft viv heated by a statted and guarded ceramic. Hot end of 32-33c and ambient temp of around 26 c. She's 3 hides in the viv, and I've noticed that she spends the majority of her time in the middle hide.
Is this an RI? Something else? I'm on the verge of taking the day of college and bringing her to a vet |
| 20 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Lotabob |
Posted - 12/06/2011 : 18:47:23
A bit unusual that nothing showed, maybe it was a virus/infection that unfortunately had just caused too much damage but the treatments got rid of the virus/infection itself so nothing showed up. I suppose its good news in a way that your collection is not in any danger and closure on this whole crappy situation for you.
I know its probably a bit early but I was in city reptiles yesterday and there were loads of royals just in, a few pastels too and my personal favourite of their stock at the moment, a jag carpet python. |
| Headlow |
Posted - 12/06/2011 : 18:37:53
I got the PM results back and nothing at all showed up. Frustrating to not know what was wrong with the wee python, but good to know that there's nothing nasty in my collection. |
| stumpy |
Posted - 21/05/2011 : 14:38:56
I'm so sorry to hear, at least she not suffering anymore, you did the right thing for her |
| Kelfezond |
Posted - 21/05/2011 : 14:01:36
Sorry for your loss. It was the best thing to do |
| Laws |
Posted - 21/05/2011 : 13:57:21
Very sorry to hear about her , been following this thread from the beggining . Remember her now like those pics , big hugs to u x |
| Headlow |
Posted - 21/05/2011 : 13:28:31
The little Royal was put to sleep this morning.
This is how I'll remember her......
 |
| Headlow |
Posted - 19/05/2011 : 16:41:18
quote:
Originally posted by Lotabob
aww sorry to hear that, maybe its just for the best you can end her suffering. A truely awful decsion to have to make. You've done everything you posibly could do for her, its a shame she hasn't pulled through but you couldn't have done more. She was lucky to have you as an owner to give her that fighting chance.
Thanks for the kind words. You reassured me a couple weeks back when I was doubting myself, and the breeder I got her from has also told me that snakes just sometimes get ill. I also forwarded him on those pics and he says he's never seen anything like it.
When she first got ill I was terrified that she'd die, but now it hurts me much more watching her in that state.  |
| Lotabob |
Posted - 19/05/2011 : 12:56:10
aww sorry to hear that, maybe its just for the best you can end her suffering. A truely awful decsion to have to make. You've done everything you posibly could do for her, its a shame she hasn't pulled through but you couldn't have done more. She was lucky to have you as an owner to give her that fighting chance. |
| markmifsud |
Posted - 19/05/2011 : 11:03:57
Sorry its come to this, indeed very bad news to have to lose a pet :( but, no matter how much we think our pets understand life, they are entitled to have a quality of life. |
| Kelfezond |
Posted - 19/05/2011 : 10:56:12
Awww I'm sorry about that mate. Does look unpleasant |
| Headlow |
Posted - 19/05/2011 : 10:02:50
Well my little Royal is very ill indeed. Due to college commitments I can't get to the vets until Saturday. I fear the little one won't make it to then, and if she does I'm going to ask for her to be put to sleep. She's still showing the same symptoms, with a few new ones. She has'n eaten for 26 days now and isn't active at all. Here's some pics taken with my phone, so they're not the best quality. The first two were taken just before a trip to the vets a few weeks ago and show her coiling up in an unnatural way. The second two were taken this morning.
 |
| Headlow |
Posted - 30/04/2011 : 18:02:07
quote:
Originally posted by Lotabob
Any measurements in the hides will just be ambient temperature, only the hot spot itself will be 32oC.
Ah, thank you for setting my mind at rest. |
| Lotabob |
Posted - 30/04/2011 : 17:35:13
Any measurements in the hides will just be ambient temperature, only the hot spot itself will be 32oC. |
| Headlow |
Posted - 30/04/2011 : 15:38:54
Yea thats how I'm doing it. I took a measurement from in the hides. The middle is under under 26 and the hot hide is 28c. |
| Lotabob |
Posted - 30/04/2011 : 15:33:59
I have my hot end thermometer probe and stat probe together on the substrate directly under the bulb. I have my hot end temp at 32oC it maybe fluctuates between 29.9 and 32.1 if the door is open but the dimming stat is incredibly accurate. |
| Headlow |
Posted - 30/04/2011 : 14:11:47
Where do you measure the hot end temp from Lotobob? What does it sit at? |
| Lotabob |
Posted - 30/04/2011 : 13:56:19
I can understand the confidence knock but there is nothing you could have done to prevent what is happening and its through no fault of your own. Your getting the same humidity readings as me almost exactly but I don't mist the cage so I would suggest not misting or altering humidity unless a shed is on its way. Temperature wise if your hot spot temperature is reacting to the drop in temperature at night it sounds to me like the bulb is maxing out and it may be beneficial to get a higher wattage, its not that its urgent though, your temperatures aren't bad its just dropping 4oC that it doesn't need to and its suggesting that should it drop much colder your bulb might not be able to keep up. Your ambient is lower than I aim for (25-26oC) but is by no means in the danger zone either but again a larger wattage bulb will most likely up the ambient too.
Thats just in comparison for what I aim for in my Royal viv and by no means suggesting that your temperatures & humidity are in any way wrong. I would be the same as you though if I was dealing with what you are, second guessing everything I do, actually third guessing, I already do the second guessing. |
| Headlow |
Posted - 30/04/2011 : 13:34:42
A bit of bad news I'm afraid. I removed the snake from her viv last night to give her another injection and she wasn't too well. Again she coiled up around my hand and went as hard as a rock. She let out a long breath that sounded like a hiss, and her tongue was hanging out while her mouth was closed very tight. She then proceeded to go to the toilet after which there appeared to to be a very noticeable dent in her back half, which did appear normal when I put her back. She stayed like that for about a while 2 or 3 minutes, and when she finally relaxed she was extremely nervous. My brother in law (who held her for the injection) remarked that she felt floppy.
Now the first time the I brought her to the vets he gave her an anti inflammatory as well as the antibiotic, and looking through the notes I've made, she was showing the same symptoms just over a week after, and that seems to have repeated itself this time. I'm thinking that she may need the anti inflammatories on a more regular basis?
Unfortunately due to the holidays I'm unable to get to the vets until this coming Thursday :(
This whole episode has also had a bad effect on my snake keeping confidence. I'm asking myself if I'm keeping her too hot or too cold, and if I'm honest since she became ill I have tampered with it a bit. I'm now sure that my second guessing of myself probably is not helping her recovery. At the minute the thermostat probe is reading 32.6 Celsius at ground level right under her ceramic. the middle of the tank is just over 80f and the cool end is just about 23c. Is this too cold? The viv is heated by a pulse statted 100 Watt ceramic. I've just put a thermometer into the middle hide to get a reading there, as maybe the temperature inside the hides is too cool? She's in the hot end hide at the mo, and when I lifted her last night I found her in the cool end.
Humidity wise during the day it reads between 40 and 50 percent on one of the exo terra dial gauges. At night it seems to be at a level 50. I suppose this is down to the night time temp drop? Incidentally, the basking spot at night is around 29c. When I 1st got the Royal I was told here, and on other forums, not to worry to much as the various gauges were all a bit iffy. I mist the tank every 3rd day and any time she's shed there haven't been any real problems...just a retained tail tip the 1st time.
The second guessing is also spreading to my other snakes.....all colubrids, the first of which I got 2 years ago. I had a little bit of trouble at the very start with him (my room is a converted attic and getting the correct temps took a while to sort) but since then he and the others have been fine....eating, pooping, shedding well and actively doing what snakes are supposed to do. |
| sandi |
Posted - 27/04/2011 : 08:33:08
Great news, got everything crossed for you. |
| Lotabob |
Posted - 26/04/2011 : 19:56:49
Thats brilliant news, its like a royal signal that things are going well when they eat. I'm so pleased for you. |
