by Dr. Howard A. Mintzer
Q. Shannon W. of Poughkeepsie writes:
I purchased a Ball Python from a pet store two weeks ago. She (I'm just calling it she because I don't know it's sex yet) was doing fine until a week ago. She used to eat twice a week but now hasn't eaten in an entire week and doesn't seem as active as before. Also her eyes seem to be turning blue. What is happening to her?
A. Shannon, you have nothing to worry about. What you are noticing is a normal phenomenon-your snake is about to shed her skin. Unlike mammals (that's us) who shed small amounts of skin continuously, reptiles (snakes & lizards) shed their entire skin every few weeks and start all over with fresh shiny new skin. How fortunate for them. No retin-a, no facial creams and no wrinkles as they get older! Snakes even shed the skin that covers their eyes. In fact that is the first sign that most snake owners notice when their pet is about to shed. As the old layer of skin begins to die it becomes dull, loses its elasticity and gets wrinkled. The skin over the eyes loses its transparency and appears to have a bluish tint. At this time your snake starts to become less active and stops feeding. Although ball pythons are among the most well mannered of snakes you must be careful and avoid handling her at this time because she can't see very well and might bite you by mistake. To help her shed her skin completely you will need to supply extra moisture and a rough object that she can rub against. Spraying her once a day with a fine water mist will help keep her skin lubricated so that it easily slides off when she rubs against the rock or other rough surface that you have provided for her. After she has shed avoid handling her for a day or so as her new skin is very sensitive and you can easily hurt her by picking her up. A few days later she will be hungry again and you can resume offering her food.
By the way, veterinarians who routinely treat snakes have instruments with which they can easily determine the sex of your snake if you wish to breed her or just in case you'd like to know what sex your snake is. Call your veterinarian and see if he can do this for you.
Q. Robert R. of Lagrangeville asks:
My corn snake has been hissing when he breathes for the past month. He also seems to be less active than normal and for the past 2 weeks hasn't been eating. What can be wrong with him?
A. Snakes sometimes hiss as a warning. However, they don't usually do that to the owner and when they hiss to warn you to stay away they do not act sick. Snakes that act sick and are continually hissing when they breathe are often suffering from pneumonia. Most of the snakes that I see with pneumonia have acquired the infection because of rapid changes in the temperature of their environment. Snakes are very sensitive to outside temperature because they are cold blooded animals. We mammals maintain the same body temperature regardless of the outside temperature. Reptiles on the other hand are cold when their environment is cold and become warm when their environment is warm. A rapid swing of temperature is not good for snakes which is why they hibernate so long here in the northeast. Most snakes that we raise as pets need to be kept at a temperature of about 85o during the daytime and 75o overnight. During the spring and fall it's not unusual to have a very warm day followed by a chilly night. Many people will throw open the windows to let the fresh air in on a warm day and forget to close them at night. The overnight drop in the snake's room temperature to 40o or 50o is enough to set off a bout of pneumonia. This is the most common history that I hear when an owner presents a snake to me with pneumonia; that he left the window open on a warm day and forgot to close it at night.
When a snake gets pneumonia it is very difficult for him to breathe and feed at the same time. Those of you who have had an infant with a cold know what I mean. The snake refuses food and gets weaker. This makes it more difficult for him to muster up the energy to fight the pneumonia. Untreated, pneumonia in snakes is often fatal. I would suggest that you find a veterinarian who treats snakes and have your pet examined. Once your veterinarian diagnoses pneumonia he will begin to give your pet a series of injections to fight the bacteria that is attacking your snake's lungs and place your snake in a nebulizer chamber to deliver medications directly into the lungs. If your snake has become dehydrated he may also have to feed him fluids via a stomach tube. Unfortunately it is very difficult to give snakes oral medication so once your pet goes home he will need return every few days for a week or two for antibiotic injections. By the time your pet is finished getting antibiotic injections he should be showing some interest in food again. Don't worry about him, treated early most of the snakes that I see with pneumonia are cured and return to being healthy happy pets.