How to Assess the Health of a Pet Snake

Sometimes snakes get sick. When shopping for a new pet snake, it is important that you know how to determine if a snake is healthy or not. It is not very difficult to assess a snake's health before buying it. Here are a few simple steps to assess the health of a pet snake.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Hold the snake in your hands and look at its color. A snake should have vibrant colors. If a snake's colors are dull, then the snake may be sick. Make sure the colors are bright and vibrant. Even the darker colors will be bold.

2. Examine the snake's skin for mites, fleas or ticks. A sick snake may have parasites crawling on his skin. Look for white fecal matter that was left behind by the parasite. You can also look for lifted scales where the parasite may have inserted itself under the snake's skin and is sucking its blood. Do not buy a snake that appears to have parasites on its skin.

3. Open the snake's mouth with a small object. Be careful not to poke or hurt the snake. Look inside the mouth for lesions or blood. Make sure the inside part of the snake's mouth is pink and clean. The snake may be sick if there is a chalky substance, lesions or blood in the mouth. Check to see if the fangs look good and have no breaks or cracks.

4. Check the skins body for lesions, scrapes or cuts. If the snake has any of these things on his body, he may have an infection and be sick.

Tips & Warnings

• Check your snake regularly for illnesses.