Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My 8yo FAVORITE corn has an impaction with fecaliths. We're off to the vet. Has anyone dealt with this with a favorable outcome? He's never fed on substrate, I think it's cold and dehydration during our recent move. I could just cry...literally...my whole family adores this snake.

first I'm no expert. but we usually soak them in warm water and maybe a little bit of mineral oil. Also snakes are far more sedentary in captivity than the wild. This also can cause defecation issues.

The very best of luck.
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Thanks for reading.
Big Tom

www.HerpZillA.com

Thanks...

This is my naturally sedentary, flabby snake anyway. Well, the x-rays were interesting and this poor snake is loaded with fecal matter (guilt, guilt, guilt). The vet was able to coax out a few hard, yellow urates, but that's all. So, he gave about 40 cc of 50/50 mineral oil/water via feeding tube and some subcutaneous fluid. I've upped the heat and will continue with warm baths. Hopefully something will pass soon.

Laura just want to send well wishes. hope everythings gonna be ok.
Tom

Thanks. He's not a breeder, or any special morph. He's just a 7yo amel that I bought for my 12yo dd as a Christmas present years ago. He's just so darn cool and laid back. We do community events at a sort of lower income part of town and he is the snake that everyone asks about. We've been going there for years and people always ask about our pink (or orange) snake. He's so laid back and he's helped countless kids overcome snake anxiety or was their first snake to hold. He's been a superb animal ambassador, but I don't think I'll put him through the trauma of surgery if it comes to that decision. It's a pretty bad impaction.

Thanks for that info. I'm not sure i would ahve ever used that much mineral oil. Nice to have a vets dosage use of it

Good luck again.

Tom

>>Thanks...
>>
>>This is my naturally sedentary, flabby snake anyway. Well, the x-rays were interesting and this poor snake is loaded with fecal matter (guilt, guilt, guilt). The vet was able to coax out a few hard, yellow urates, but that's all. So, he gave about 40 cc of 50/50 mineral oil/water via feeding tube and some subcutaneous fluid. I've upped the heat and will continue with warm baths. Hopefully something will pass soon.
-----
Thanks for reading.
Big Tom

www.HerpZillA.com

Yes, he's a fantastic vet and the only one in our area with an actual Avian/Exotic specialty. Apparently 5% of weight is the formula for fluid via feeding tube and I thought he may have said that he decided to put in 30cc of mineral oil instead. I was conservative and posted 50/50. I always try to post info like this when I encounter a strange problem so that it will help someone else. Not that I encourage anyone to play vet at home if they have a seriously ill animal, but perhaps the info would help if there was no other alternative, etc.