Reptile Forum, Reptile Classifieds - CaptiveBred

stargazerlily7 · Contributing Member Joined: 25 Mar 2006 Posts: 60

yesterday morning my speckled king snake (not sure of her age, she's 4 1/2 feet long and has been since i got her two years ago) bit her tail. i've never seen her do this before. i woke up to her thrashing around in her tank and when i looked i saw her mouth latched onto her tail. a few seconds later she let go and looked around the tank frantically for a minute, then settled down. i came home from work tonite and fed her (she gets 3 small mice every two weeks), and about an hour later she did it again, and she's done it three more times tonight. the last time she was thrashing around for so long and it looked like she was trying to eat her tail... i played with the cage latch to distract her and it worked, she let her tail go and darted up to see what the noise was. but can anyone tell me why she's doing this all of the sudden? i feel like she should be smart enough not to think her own tail is food (and she shouldnt even be hungry!) but im afraid she's gonna start to eat her tail and choke or something. i'm going to call my vet in the morning but i wanted to post here to see if anyone had advice or similar experiences. its 3am here and im too worried to go to sleep. thanks in advance for any advice!!!

Scott W · Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2006 10:15 am Post subject:

yep, somethings not right with your snake. I did have something similar with a boa which I found dead but had bitten itself (looked more like in a death roll) although I can't remember what a vet said it was.

A trip to the vets is definately a good idea. Have you used any chemicals to clean the cage or eliminate mites?
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mark · Captivebred Communist Joined: 09 Dec 2005 Posts: 1063

that really doesn't sound good get booked in at the vets asap keep us posted with results Sad

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stargazerlily7 · Contributing Member Joined: 25 Mar 2006 Posts: 60

6:15am, she eventually just refused to let go of her tail, i had a friend come over and he helped me pry her mouth open and pull her tail out, we flushed her tail with water (wish i had some iodine here) and then we made a makeshift tail cover from a cardboard paper towel roll, taped it onto her. she's buried herself under the substrate but she's not tryin to get the roll off so she should be ok til my vet opens in the morning. i'll keep you posted! she's been breathing heavy since this whole ordeal started, she's so stressed out! poor girl. Crying or Very sad

mark · Captivebred Communist Joined: 09 Dec 2005 Posts: 1063

Ive linked this post to another website to see if anyone else can give any help or ideas Sad

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peaches · Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2006 7:27 pm Post subject:

I feel for you, this must be a very worrying time, will be watching this thread and hope that your vet can give you some answers!!

I have no idea why a snake would try to eat itself, but there are known cases of this happening!! Not trying to scare you, just inform.

Has anything changed for her lately? moved viv, new substrate?? Very strange, sorry I can't give you any real advice, I hope the vet trips goes well.

mark67123 · Posted: Sun Mar 26, 2006 12:55 am Post subject:

I used to have a male cali king (about the same size) that bit his own body whenever I got him out, I assumed because he was stressed by being handled. Heard of a couple of other cases recently and both been kingsnakes.

I'd say it's some kind of stress problem - surely even a kingsnake (being a snake eater by nature) wouldn't mistake its own scent as food? Try to think of any recent changes in or around the viv, or within the house generally (e.g. air fresheners).
Is the snake just biting and holding the tail or actually "chewing" along the tail as if trying to swallow?

Although it's probably not related to the problem, I reckon it wouldn't hurt to be feeding a king that size one adult mouse per week. If the small mice i get are anything to go by then 3 a fortnight isn't a lot.

Mark.

stargazerlily7 · Contributing Member Joined: 25 Mar 2006 Posts: 60

so she was actually chewing along her tail, trying to eat it. she had almost 5 inches of her tail in her mouth last nite before i could pry her mouth open and get it out. my vet doesn't know what's going on. he said she might have a problem with her tail thats making her want to go after it. he gave me antibiotic injections to give her every two days and suggested i try to keep her tail covered. i've been using a cardboard paper towel roll adjusted to her diameter, taped on with white first aid tape. she's been getting it off within 12-24 hours but she's pretty good about letting me tape it back on. so im just trying to physically keep her away from her tail and give it a few days to a week, and then i'll see how she's acting. he said if its not an infection or irritation on her tail (and he didnt see or feel anything, except for the wounds she self-inflicted last nite) it might be neurological. so it's just wait and see for now. anyone have ideas of what i can use to isolate the last 5-6 inches of her tail from the rest of her body? i wish they made e-collars for snakes! im gonna pick up some white vet tape at work on monday, see if that sticks on any better. im also afraid of the tape irritating her more and making more problems. anyways thanks for the replies, this has been super stressful, im so worried about her!!! i'll keep you posted..... Sad

mark · Captivebred Communist Joined: 09 Dec 2005 Posts: 1063

I TOOK THIS FROM ANOTHER FORUM REGARDING YOUR SNAKE

I was told that after it became clear my garter snake was suffering from a vitamin deficiency that snakes sometimes bite themselves in the last few days before death along with thrashing around or flipping onto their backs due to the lack of vitamins affecting the brain function (or something along that line). A vet should have more answers but tell us, if you Flip the snake over on its back does it try to get back onto its belly? That was how our vet determined my snake was suffering from lack of vitamins, he laid him on his back and Redd did not seem able to right himself due to problems with his brain just before he died.
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mark · Captivebred Communist Joined: 09 Dec 2005 Posts: 1063

ANOTHER REPLY FROM SOMEONE ELSE

Ive been reading this with interest...

what about the old condom trick???

get a large enough condom to go around the tail and then stick the tape to that. the condom should be tight enough to not slip out and keeps the tape away from the snakes skin.

just a thought...

hope the poor animal improves soon.
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