Whats wrong with this snake?

[Dopamel]

i found this weird video on youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wU-mSfpVUY

really wondering what the snake is doing....maybe a parasite? ants bothering it? Thanks for any info you can give

 

[Newts]

The explanation I have seen is that it has suffered some kind of trauma (like being clipped by a car) and is having seizures before death. This snake doesn't appear to have any visible injury though. Can snakes be... flicked clear so to speak, and only have internal damage?

 

[HiramAbiff]

The explanation I have seen is that it has suffered some kind of trauma (like being clipped by a car) and is having seizures before death. This snake doesn't appear to have any visible injury though. Can snakes be... flicked clear so to speak, and only have internal damage?

Yep, a lot of road kills don't look like they have been run over if you see them right after it happens. Doesn't have to be a clip either, even when cars run directly over them they can look unharmed. I've got an adder in a jar that was run over from the car in front of me, he lives on my desk and I still can't see an injury on him.

 

[Dopamel]

aww poor thing...thanks for answering my question though guys

 

[cement]

As far as car victims go, because snakes are so flexible they can look unharmed after being hit, sometimes just a bit of blood from their mouth, a foggy eye etc.
I can see in that video a bull ant sized bug or spider running around the snake, maybe it was tagged by whatever that is?

 

[butters]

On a number of occasions I have seen snakes act like that after being bitten by an ant. In one instance I restrained the snake and removed the ants as they were locked on tight. Once the ants were removed the snake acted normally..

 

[Bluetongue1]

It looked more like it was going through its death throes to me, especially given the angle the head ended up and those last few flicks of the tail.