Garter snake sick from giving birth?

[ConcinusMan]

Or to be more specific, her body mass index is what's important, not her weight. A clear photo, rather than knowing her weight, would be more helpful in determining her overall health. Sounds to me like the diet and the environment aren't right and if it's been that way for much of her gestation period...

How long has it been since she ate? Did she eat all the way up until she had them, or quit 3 weeks prior? What's the cool end and warm end temperatures? What are you using 2 heat a 5gal tank? How long ago did she have them? That's all important to know. But seriously you could have been feeding her worms every day and it probably wouldn't be adequate unless you're talking about a 12-14 inch northwestern or something like that.

[d_virginiana]

It's a long shot, but she may be refusing worms at this point because she sees the energy it would take to eat them as being worth more than what she would get from them. I know frogs will do that, especially if they're stressed. Offer pinky mice and silversides. Like... immediately. Sitting slack-jawed and listless is a pretty bad sign and delays make it less likely she'll recover.
Also, I'd recommend not feeding frogs any more unless that's the only thing she'll take. It's kind of like realizing your milk is spoiled and continuing to drink it... If she doesn't already have parasites, introducing more when she's sick isn't a good idea.

Don't wait to get a 20 gallon tank (unless you can get it ASAP); go buy a large sterilite tub from walmart and drill air holes into the sides. Using newspaper for bedding will keep the humidity from getting too high in one. A 5 gallon isn't suitable for any adult garter. She needs a temp gradient and decent food supply. And a thermometer to make sure the temp gradient is correct. The hand-held laser thermometers are like $20 from Petsmart.

A picture of the mom would be good. If she doesn't mind being picked up, get pics of the lower third of her body and vent area too.
Also, how are you keeping the babies? Can you post a picture of their setup and what you plan to feed them as well?

[Bothriechis schlegelii]

Everybody, I'm pretty sure that she is not sick from giving birth. I suspect a respiratory infection, caused by rodent aspen shavings, which are more dusty than reptile aspen shavings. I immediately removed the shavings and replaced it with paper towel. Now just to wait? I'm not sure. How do I cure this? Now to start researching...

[chris-uk]

If she has an RI you should be looking at a trip to the vet to get her some antibiotics. That's the best way to cure an RI.

[d_virginiana]

Vet visit. And get her in a more appropriate setup/start feeding more if she'll eat. Stressors like that can make a sick snake even weaker.

[Bothriechis schlegelii]

She won't eat. She hasn't eaten since she gave birth on the 23rd. I will get a large bin for her, and put reptile (not rodent!!) aspen shavings in it, with a large water dish and hide in it. I'll provide the best I can for her. I think the closest vet that will take snakes is around 4-5 hours away, but I'll look into it. For now, what can I do? If I can't take her to the vet? What do I do???

[ConcinusMan]

Everybody, I'm pretty sure that she is not sick from giving birth. I suspect a respiratory infection, caused by rodent aspen shavings, which are more dusty than reptile aspen shavings. I immediately removed the shavings and replaced it with paper towel. Now just to wait? I'm not sure. How do I cure this? Now to start researching...

Like bacterial pneumonia in humans, most respiratory infections in snakes are caused by common household bacteria that don't normally cause infections. Bacteria present basically everywhere in the environment that ourselves and our snakes come in contact with and ingest or inhale everyday without any problems. The immune system normally does it's job and keeps these from harming your snake or causing any symptoms. I am told by vets that the #1 husbandry mistake that causes these infections is keeping a snake too warm and/or lack of a temperature gradient. I think it's quite unlikely that some dusty aspen caused the infection.

The gradient is important because the snake needs to thermoregulate. For garters an air temperature in the 70's is appropriate but they also need to have a spot where they can warm up to 85-90 degrees. Inability to regulate their body temperature freely puts stress on the immune system. Combine that with a heavy parasite load and/or becoming gravid/giving birth and the immune system won't be able to fight off infections then they get an R.I. This has happened to me just once and it was an old female that was gravid. Antibiotics are the only way to cure it. I used oral Baytril suspension for 14 days and saw significant improvement within 7 days.

The thing about R.I.'s is we don't see symptoms until it's quite advanced. They open their mouth when their nasal cavity is clogged with mucus or when it's moved into the lungs. Pneumonia is particularly dangerous to snakes since they only have one narrow, functional lung. There's very little time to spare once they start gaping. She needs the husbandry/temperature issues corrected but the infection will likely just get worse or become fatal if she doesn't get antibiotics. That requires a prescription/vet visit.

About all you can do now is keep her warm day and night (around 88-90 F and not longer than a week or so) and keep the humidity around 70%. That should help relieve symptoms but it won't get rid of the infection without antibiotics.

[Bothriechis schlegelii]

Like bacterial pneumonia in humans, most respiratory infections in snakes are caused by common household bacteria that don't normally cause infections. Bacteria present basically everywhere in the environment that ourselves and our snakes come in contact with and ingest or inhale everyday without any problems. The immune system normally does it's job and keeps these from harming your snake or causing any symptoms. I am told by vets that the #1 husbandry mistake that causes these infections is keeping a snake too warm and/or lack of a temperature gradient. I think it's quite unlikely that some dusty aspen caused the infection.

The gradient is important because the snake needs to thermoregulate. For garters an air temperature in the 70's is appropriate but they also need to have a spot where they can warm up to 85-90 degrees. Inability to regulate their body temperature freely puts stress on the immune system. Combine that with a heavy parasite load and/or becoming gravid/giving birth and the immune system won't be able to fight off infections then they get an R.I. This has happened to me just once and it was an old female that was gravid. Antibiotics are the only way to cure it. I used oral Baytril suspension for 14 days and saw significant improvement within 7 days.

The thing about R.I.'s is we don't see symptoms until it's quite advanced. They open their mouth when their nasal cavity is clogged with mucus or when it's moved into the lungs. Pneumonia is particularly dangerous to snakes since they only have one narrow, functional lung. There's very little time to spare once they start gaping. She needs the husbandry/temperature issues corrected but the infection will likely just get worse or become fatal if she doesn't get antibiotics. That requires a prescription/vet visit.

About all you can do now is keep her warm day and night (around 88-90 F and not longer than a week or so) and keep the humidity around 70%. That should help relieve symptoms but it won't get rid of the infection without antibiotics.

How do I keep the humidity up? I don't have a meter for humidity (can't remember the name of the gauge). Can I just have a wet piece of paper towel in there to keep humidity high just like for babies? I'll cut out half of the lid and secure some wire mesh on it so I can place a lamp there.

[guidofatherof5]

A larger water dish will help raise the humidity but opening the top and adding heat from a light will reduce the humidity.
Any chance you can get an under the tank heater? The benefits are the humidity stays in and the snake gets the needed heat.
ZooMed make a good heat pad.

[Bothriechis schlegelii]

A larger water dish will help raise the humidity but opening the top and adding heat from a light will reduce the humidity.
Any chance you can get an under the tank heater? The benefits are the humidity stays in and the snake gets the needed heat.
ZooMed make a good heat pad.

No, I can't provide a heat pad at the moment, but I can provide a lamp. I transferred her to a larger Rubbermaid bin that she can fully extend herself in. I provided a larger water dish, an extra hide, and a few more rocks to make it feel more natural (minus the paper towel haha).

I Googled "how to cure a respiratory infection in snakes" and came up with some home remedies and home treatment and stuff. I haven't read anything yet but I'll give it a good look right now...