• Responding to email notices you receive.
    **************************************************
    In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.

  • IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!! About the Google Adsense ads being displayed

    =====================
    Posted 08/15/2025
    =====================


    Yeah, I know. They are a pain in the butt. But they pay the bills to keep my server running. Just a fact of life, I am afraid.

    Want to get rid of them? Simple. Just become a Contributor level member or above and they will be gone. -> Please click HERE."

    Is that too much for me to ask of you to keep this site running? Well, sorry about that. I too wish I could get everything for free. But alas.....

    =====================
    Addendum: 01/10/2026
    =====================


    Google Adsense ad revenue for December, 2025 was just $30 over the cost of the lease for the server running this site. So, in effect, the money providing the incentive for me to continue running this site is coming SOLELY from the paid memberships and sponsorships here. Which honestly ain't much....

Something I have never seen before

E

EvolutionReptiles

New member
Joined
Oct 9, 2004
Messages
14
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Michigan
I am currently in the middle of feeding snakes and I picked up my california kingsnake to feed him and his whole body just feels limp. He isn't using any muscles to hold on unless he has to. When I sit him down or hold him over the ground he is almost have small seizures. This is the first time I have ever seen this before. Any ideas what it might be? He is 4 years old, around 4ft long, typical colubrid set up. 29 gallon, 85 degrees day, 75 at night. Hides, limbs, water dish, cypress bedding. Any advice would be great. Thanks.

Jeff


He did eat for me, one f/t mouse, has not had any regurgitation problems and feces look normal. This the first day I have noticed it.
 
Have you had this snake long? I know you posted the temps of his cage, but could your snake have gotten overheated? That could make a previously healthy snake limp pretty quickly.
Maybe someone with more knowledge about this will post.
Hope your snake gets better.
 
An important question: Did the snake return to "normal" or is it still limp and unresponsive? I don't know what this is, truthfully. If it returned to normal I would just label as a moment of peculiarity, keep an eye on the animal, and take it to a vet if this happens again. If it still has not recovered, and you have a good herp vet, take it to the vet.
 
Neonate

I've had the snake since it was a neonate. I talked to one of the other breeders in the area and he mentioned an article released recently on the effects of lead poisoning in reptiles. Causing muscle and nerve problems. The city of Lansing has warned us that the pipe do have lead in them and that we need to run our water for 30 second before drinking it. This seems like the most likely theory, however out of the approx. 80 herps in my collection this is the only one to seem to have this problem. Thankfully one of the best herp vets around lives the next city over so we will be taking a visit here in a couple hours to see what is up. But the lead poisoning is definitly something to look out for.
 
Don't know if this will help, but...

Many years ago I purchased a juvinile Sinaloin (sp?) Milk (about a foot long; can't remember the age). When I got it home I realized it had mites. I put a small piece of No Pest Strip in a solo cup with some holes punched in it, in the cage (again, I'm going back about 12 years ago; hence the antiquated measures). When I went back to check on it a few hours later, it was foaming at the mouth and laying on it's back. When I took it out of the cage, it was as limp as a piece of rope, and also appeared to have slight seizures every now and again. I put it in a clean cage, and it eventually turned around in a day or so. The snake was fine after it recovered. It grew large and healthy. Needless to say, I've never used No Pest Strip again!!!! Your situation sounds similar; maybe it is some kind of "poisoning" or toxcicity reaction? Like I said, I'm not sure if this will help you, but I thought I'd share. Good luck with your "baby".

-Ron Mertz
 
Then maybe, as you stated before, it could have something to do with the water? Or, maybe, a "bad" feeder rodent? I'm very interested to see what the vet. has to say. Good luck!
-Ron Mertz
 
Now that I'm thinking about it...

What do you think the chances are that your animal had a stroke? Seizures, paralasis - are't these symptoms of a stroke victom?
Just my two cents.
-Ron Mertz
 
Back
Top