Sick Garter

[TheIconGuy]

My Oregon red spotted had been acting odd after regurgitating some silverside.

He had gone through a shed a few days before when I fed him on Wednesday. He ate one more silver-side than he usually would and started acting weirdly (moving his head around oddly). I put him back in his tank assuming he had eaten to much and would throw up. When I checked on him 20 minutes later I found all of the silver side on top of one of his hides. He was fairly normal after that. On Friday I noticed that he was moving slowly and mostly sitting in the same place for hours. He also wouldn't bother to run away from me if a put my hand near him. After that, I cleaned out his cage and put him on paper towel so I could keep track of things better. Sunday morning he seemed the same, but an hour or so ago I woke up to him thrashing around. He stopped after winding up behind his water bowl. If I pick him up now he wont move his front half but will wrap his tail around my fingers.

Could it be a thiamine deficiency?

[guidofatherof5]

Sounds like it could be a B1 deficiency. Needs a vet. visit.

[d_virginiana]

Hopefully this is something that can be treated! Good luck (Seconding vet visit)

[TheIconGuy]

I was hoping he would make until I could take him to my vet Monday, but he passed around 11pm Sunday night. Would a vet be able to tell me what happened?

Also, if it was a B1 deficiency, how often should I supplement if I'm feeding whole fish?

[BLUESIRTALIS]

So sorry for your loss! I personally don't think it's a good idea to use fish as a staple, but i know some do. If your gonna use fish i think you should vary the diet and throw in some nightcrawlers and mice as well and maybe supplement every once in awhile. Just my opinion! In the wild garters will eat fish, amphibians, worms, some slugs, and have been known to eat baby birds, and mice so even they keep a varied diet for the most part in the wild. Now don't get me wrong they are opportunistic feeders and may feed heavy on a certain prey that is more abundant in the wild, but it's still better to vary the diet when using fish. It does sound like b1 deficiency though. Just remember that most fish are also contaminated with heavy metals and at high levels can be dangerous. I feed mostly hairless mice with some nightcrawlers and frozen thawed fish thrown in as a treat. This is just my opinion and hope it can help someone in the near future. Sorry again for your loss!

[chris-uk]

I wouldn't necessarily jump on thiaminase deficiency as a culprit. It could also be an acute infection, what you described and the rapid deterioration is very similar to the garter I lost to septicaemia last year (I had a PM done on her so I'm certain of the cause of death).

A PM done quickly (by a suitably qualified vet) is the only way to know for sure.

[guidofatherof5]

Sorry to hear you garter passed.

[guidofatherof5]

I received a call last night from my friend Steve Schmidt. He feels the problem this snake had was very possibly due to Sodium Triphosphate poisoning. Here's a link to a thread started by Infernalis calling our attention to this possible problem. Thank you Steve for you input. You may not be a member of the forum but contribute in a great way.
http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/husb...ozen-fish.html

[TheIconGuy]

Thanks for the condolences. I saw that post when I was researching before getting the snake. Have people been having issues with sodium triphosphate on San Francisco Bay brand Silversides?

[guidofatherof5]

Thanks for the condolences. I saw that post when I was researching before getting the snake. Have people been having issues with sodium triphosphate on San Francisco Bay brand Silversides?

That I don't know.