Children's stopped flicking tongue

[Pon62]

Hi just looking for some ideas. My daughter has had a childrens for 20 months or so and he stopped flicking his tongue a few weeks ago. He was feeding well up to this point and was growing. Temps have not changed and everything else in the enclosure is the same. The only change was we started him on hopper mice which are a fair bit bigger than the fuzzies he was taking. He did take one hopper but that's his last feed, must be 4-5 weeks ago. I know he can go ages without feeding but this is not really the time of year to go off I didn't think. I'm more concerned about the lack of tongue flicking. He does flick occasionally but not much, and he's been hiding away most of the time. Anyone heard of this happening and any ideas about what, if anything, I should do?

 

[MrVic]

Bob doesn't flick his tongue unless he is hungry.
When he is, he's moving around tasting everything.
He can sit around for weeks without him seeking for food. He doesn't flick his tongue continuously.

 

[wokka]

The ceasation of toungue flicking and feeding indicates there is a likely problem in the mouth. Have you looked? You can normally slide a plastic credit card between the top and bottom jaw. Look for puss which is indicative of mouth canker or respiratory problems, often associated with too low a temperatures.

 

[Pon62]

Thanks Wokka, will have a look. The temps haven't changed at all for months so l don't think there's a problem there. He has found a new shelter the last few weeks under something where he doesn't get the full heat of the enclosure so maybe that's it. I have removed this shelter now so will see what that does. If he gets back up to temp will these problems sort themselves or will he need some medication?

 

[kitten_pheonix]

Id take him for a vet check incase it is one of the things wokka has mentioned.
Respiratory infections etc wont normally fix themselfs in snakes and usually require antibiotic injections

 

[Pon62]

Will any vet do this??

 

[Reptiles101]

It'll need to be a specific vet that works with reptiles

 

[kitten_pheonix]

Will any vet do this??

Its best to seek a reptile specalist as they have more of an idea of what can be wrong with snakes.
I suggest you jump on facebook and look up "the reptile doctor" he recently posted about why you always need to see a vet regarding ri symptoms.
A case presented as ri but was in fact an indicator of cancer.

 

[Pon62]

Thanks guys. Anyone know of a reptile vet in Gippsland?

 

[MrVic]

https://aussiepythons.com/wiki/Reptile-Vets

Frankston
http://www.vetfind.com.au/category/victoria/