Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Today is day 10 since my baby corn snake was fed at the vet's office. That meal seemed to do OK for the most part... no regurg... but about 3 days later, she looked as if she just ate. I added a little extra heat to her enclosure during the day, as the vet suggested, and it seems to have helped. Since today is day 10 since that meal, I just fed her a few minutes ago. Upon advice received here, I opted to cut the pinky in half this time, as to take it easy and give a small meal. Cutting a pinky in half was pretty nasty! LoL. But she took it just fine and is now laying in her warm spot to digest. So far, so good. Keep your fingers crossed for this lil guy!
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0.1 Ball Python
1.0 Great Basin Gopher snake
0.0.1 California Kingsnake
0.0.1 Corn Snake
1.0 Western Hognose
0.2 Kitty cats
1.0 Cat

That was a VERY wise decision on your part to cut the pinky in half like we talked about,.....not only does it make it smaller, it also helps expose more soft tissue for the snake's stomach acids to start on immediately so it will have less chance of putrifying, and be digested a little easier. This is of utmost importance in helping the little guy get better.

I'm glad to hear that things seem okay so far!, keep up the good work, and please remember......eeeasy does it.

Again, good luck, and I wish little dude well!

~Doug
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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

Its much easier and less messy to cut the mice while they're still frozen. Thaw after cutting.
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Capitol Breeders is:
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n/p
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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

Since I only fed half a pinky, should I still wait 7-10 days to feed again? Or should I just play it by ear and see how the does digests first? The rest of the snakes will be fed again this Sunday, but that will only be 5 days. So far the snake seems to be doing well after eating, so we shall see.
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0.1 Ball Python
1.0 Great Basin Gopher snake
0.0.1 California Kingsnake
0.0.1 Corn Snake
1.0 Western Hognose
1.2 Kitty cats

Well, it might be possible to feed it with the others at the next feeding scedule, but it really depends on the size of the pinkie, temps., and if things look like their being digested,and defecated out properly. I would still rather be on the safe side with very small meals for just a bit longer, and VERY gradually up the size after another couple weeks. There's no real "formula" for this, just some good judgement necessary on your part.

This also reminds me,....since the snake is very small, if I didn't already suggest it earlier, it might be a good idea for you to use paper towels as a substrate for a while, so you can easily see the poop, and/or possible regurges.

Good luck!, ~Doug
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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

That is an excellent idea about the substrate. I will do that. I have never had a snake this small before. Should she poop before her next meal? This snake has never pooped since we have had her, which was part of the problem. There was fecal matter backed up when she was at the vet.
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0.1 Ball Python
1.0 Great Basin Gopher snake
0.0.1 California Kingsnake
0.0.1 Corn Snake
1.0 Western Hognose
1.2 Kitty cats

Yes, paper towels would be a definite smart thing to do here, this will prove, or disprove if it's deficating properly, or regurging, etc...

It would indeed be nice to see some poop on the towel before he ate again, but might not be absolutely necessary, since I guess it could have already gone in the other substrate. But it should be leaving evidence on the paper towel soon, and I'd want to SEE something before the meal after the next one.

beast regards, ~Doug
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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

I am going to change to paper towels today, but I have thoroughly checked through the aspen that has been in there. I just went through it all with my hands and there was nothing but aspen in there.
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0.1 Ball Python (Herbie)
1.0 Great Basin Gopher snake (Tippet)
0.0.1 California Kingsnake (Killa Kali)
0.0.1 Corn Snake (Valentine)
1.0 Western Hognose (Pumpkin)
1.2 Kitty cats (Bubba, Kit & Spooky-Shadow)

Well,....just take it nice and slow, and see what happens,...only time will tell. Good luck, I really hope things wok out well here. It sounds promising so far.

Just continue very SMALL meals for a while(month or so), look for healthy looking poop, and see how things go from there.

best regards, ~Doug
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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

I had to heat it up just a little bit before I could cut through it, but it was about half frozen when I cut it. I put it back in the baggy and ran it under warm water to heat it up and it didn't get TOO messy, but it could have been neater! Is that the best way to do it?
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0.1 Ball Python
1.0 Great Basin Gopher snake
0.0.1 California Kingsnake
0.0.1 Corn Snake
1.0 Western Hognose
0.2 Kitty cats
1.0 Cat

Yesterday, I had hand-sifted through all the aspen to check for anything in there and it was clean. This morning, I was taking out the aspen, to put in paper towels (to make it easier to see the poop or a regurg) and I found some poop that wasn't there yesterday. It was tiny and a little on the runny side though.
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0.1 Ball Python (Herbie)
1.0 Great Basin Gopher snake (Tippet)
0.0.1 California Kingsnake (Killa Kali)
0.0.1 Corn Snake (Valentine)
1.0 Western Hognose (Pumpkin)
1.2 Kitty cats (Bubba, Kit & Spooky-Shadow)

Okay,...great!,....just continue with the small, further apart meals, ans see how things go. Poop is a good sign for sure, it means things are able to be passed by the snake.

Slow and steady wins this race..LOL!,....or was that from the children's story "the Tortoise and the Hare"?,....oh well, it applies well here nontheless..LOL!

~Doug
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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

Even though there was poop in her tank, I'm still not sure she is digesting properly. The lump is back... I can feel a tiny bit of what feels more solid (the rest of the pinky, I'm sure), but it seems that just after that it seems liquid filled. I held her up to the light and the tiny section that feels squishy is a little bit translucent. Looks similar to how it looked before going to the vet. But, she did poop. I just have to keep a close eye on this one.
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0.1 Ball Python (Herbie)
1.0 Great Basin Gopher snake (Tippet)
0.0.1 California Kingsnake (Killa Kali)
0.0.1 Corn Snake (Valentine)
1.0 Western Hognose (Pumpkin)
1.2 Kitty cats (Bubba, Kit & Spooky-Shadow)

I hope to heck that infection doesn't come back,....I wouldn't offer it any more food, and I'd tell the vet about it. Did the vet administer Flagyl once, then another dose in 14 days, because that is a typical regimen. This case might demand even more, I don't know. But I sure hope the snake doesn't get worse.

Don't feed it though for now!, I can see that being MUCH worse than going a bit without food.

If that gets ANY bigger, I think it's time for some serious doses again,......but for maybe a little longer!....what a bummer! Hope things get better, and not worse, man!.

best regards, ~Doug
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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

The snake was with the vet for 4 days, so I know he didn't get a second dose. Actually, yesterday was 15 days since the Flagyl treatment.

My vet liked this snake a lot and actually had the receptionist tell me (when they let me know I could pick her up) that if for any reason, I didn't want to keep the snake, he would take her. So, if this is going to be a reoccurring problem, I am going to take him up on that offer. I certainly cannot afford this treatment on a regular basis, especially since the snake may not even make it if this continues. I like this snake a lot and I don't want to let her go, but if she is going to have constant problems, my vet will take better care of her. I will ask him about this in the morning when he comes into the office.
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0.1 Ball Python (Herbie)
1.0 Great Basin Gopher snake (Tippet)
0.0.1 California Kingsnake (Killa Kali)
0.0.1 Corn Snake (Valentine)
1.0 Western Hognose (Pumpkin)
1.2 Kitty cats (Bubba, Kit & Spooky-Shadow)

I know how you must fell about that, but I think that's a very admirable decision on your part, and it really would be best for the snake if it's going to survive this thing.

I can tell you for a fact, one treatment was NOT enough!, that was some serious stuff going on it's intestinal tract, and it certainly needed more than one dose. That would be like a doctor giving you a couple antibiotics for a serious lung infection, etc...something like this needs a substancial amount of treatments to eradicate it completely.

Whatever happens, I truly wish the snake well.......again, you have been thinking of the snake's best interest, which is a very commendable thing, I wish more people thought half as much for the well-being of their animals as you do.

Good luck with the situation!

best regards, ~Doug
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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

As of yesterday morning, my little snake no longer has a buldge. I was thinking that the infection was back and started to worry a bit. Now she looks 100% normal. The area looks normal now and there is no buldge! Kinda weird. Any thoughts?
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0.1 Ball Python (Herbie)
1.0 Great Basin Gopher snake (Tippet)
0.0.1 California Kingsnake (Killa Kali)
0.0.1 Corn Snake (Valentine)
1.0 Western Hognose (Pumpkin)
1.2 Kitty cats (Bubba, Kit & Spooky-Shadow)

From what I've been able to understand about intestinal infections, it can be common for them to change in size and shape from just about one day to the next. Maybe this has something to do with gas produced from the infection, or just plain inflamation from it, I really don't know. I still think another dose or two of Flagyl would help out immensely here to make absolutely SURE!!! the infection, and/or what is CAUSING the infection is TOTALLY eradicated, not just subsided some. Maybe even a couple doses of a good reptile antibiotic "Amikacin", but not at the same time as giving the Flagyl, that might be a little much for the young snake.

What if another swelling occurs sometime soon, are you going to give it to the vet as you mentioned before?.........He probably gave it back to you early(4-5 days) as you previously mentioned just in case it didn't pull through, then it wouldn't have happened while at his facility, and he might think it would "look" a little better for him in this situation, but of course I'm not saying that is absolutely the casehere, just a possibility. But it will NEVER make good sense to me that a snake with THAT BAD an infection, could be expected to be totally okay afterwards with only ONE Flagyl treatment???, even much lesser cases are usually given two doses, in this case I would use 50 mg/kg body weight(repeat in 14 days).

Either way, I really do hope the snake stays okay, and has a long healthy life. But if it should show ANY MORE signs whatsoever of this thing re-occurring, it really needs to see the vet again, either for more antibiotics to finish-off the infectious pathogens for good that were there from before, or just plain given to the vet so he can "HOPEFULLY" treat it as needed for better odds of it surviving at ALL.

Again, I hope things go well for the little one.

Keep us posted about this still, and give what I mentioned some more thought.

take care, ~Doug
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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

This snake is going to be going to the vet (to stay) this week. Things have gotten worse.
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0.1 Ball Python (Herbie)
1.0 Great Basin Gopher snake (Tippet)
0.0.1 California Kingsnake (Killa Kali)
0.0.1 Corn Snake (Valentine)
1.0 Western Hognose (Pumpkin)
1.2 Kitty cats (Bubba, Kit & Spooky-Shadow)