Reptile & Amphibian Forums

One of my corns bit anothers head while feeding,and when i seperated them the snakes tooth had gotten stuck behind the other eye socket,which pulled off the actual eye covering revealing the eye which then bulged out,i seperated it from the other corn and put triple anitibiotic ointment on the eye,has anyone ever herd of this or have any ideas on what i can do to help it? i doubt the eye can be saved by the looks of it...

Wow this is a first for me and is another good reason to feed snakes separately. You should have taken him to the Vet if you want to save the Eye IMO. That is a very sensitive area and sholud be tended to by a Pro. On the othet hand I have had snakes that have lost an eye and still fair very well. I have a Polk County Corn that I almost killed with my car. I swerved hard to avoid hitting it but I nicked the corner of his eye. I'm pretty sure he's blind in that eye but the eye is still in tact. You need to make sure that eye doesn't spawn an infection which can become a bigger problem than losing an eye. You probably did good by putting the ointment on it. Good Luck!
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King Snakes! Who can make a better mouse trap?
J Sierra

I'm actually a bit concerned about applying a topical ointment to that eye. Some of the triple antibiotics have drugs in them that are rather harmful to the kidneys and liver if they end up going systemic. I'm not entirely sure that the physiologic structure of the eye itself is capable of preventing absorption without the eye cap. I would definitely take the snake to the vet before applying anything else to the eye.

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King Snakes! Who can make a better mouse trap?
J Sierra

>>One of my corns bit anothers head while feeding,and when i seperated them the snakes tooth had gotten stuck behind the other eye socket,which pulled off the actual eye covering revealing the eye which then bulged out,i seperated it from the other corn and put triple anitibiotic ointment on the eye,has anyone ever herd of this or have any ideas on what i can do to help it? i doubt the eye can be saved by the looks of it...

feeding snakes together?
Do you not have any books on corn snake care?
You've already cost one snake an eye.
separate the snakes...permanently
You are only asking for more problems.
The vet is the answer to your question. Take the injured snake to the vet, don't try to medicate it yourself. You will definitely cost it that eye and could easily cost it it's life.
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Corn snakes and rat snakes..No one can have just one.
"Resistance is futile"
Jimmy Johnson
(Draybar)
Draybars Snakes

_____

Its been a while since you posted "Co-Habitation, By Jimmy Johnson". Maybe its time.

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Kent

0.1 Hypomelanistic striped cornsnake
1.0 Lavender cornsnake
1.2 Gray-banded kingsnakes, blairs phase

Lol!! That is so cool! I was thinking the same thing!
Jeff

>>Its been a while since you posted "Co-Habitation, By Jimmy Johnson". Maybe its time.
>>
>>
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CORNSNAKE
COHABITATION
A FEW THINGS TO THINK ABOUT

I feel it is best to keep snakes separate.
I know a lot of people can and do keep multiple snakes together without problems. I just feel the possible drawbacks need to be expressed.
When a person gets the experience and knowledge of each individual snake in his care, and wants to try co-habitation, it is up to them. They just need to be careful and observant enough to see and understand the subtle signs of stress in their snakes.
There can be definite drawbacks in co-habitation.
If one snake becomes sick there is a very good likelihood the other/others will get sick as well.
It may also take a while (usually too long) to determine which one is the sick one.
If one regurgitates its food you won't know which one unless you happen to get lucky and see it.
If one has a problem stool you won't know which one. Once again one may have a problem and by the time you figure out which one the other/others could end up with the same problem.
Although this is only a slight possibility, it is still a possibility and has been know to happen... one snake could eat the other. Cannibalism can and does occur with corn snakes. The smell of a prey item could trigger one snake to eat the other. Or simple hunger accompanied by a ready food source could do the same. Although uncommon, it has happened and is a possibility.
Another possibility is unwanted pregnancy. A female may become gravid and you may not have the knowledge, desire or ability to incubate the eggs, care for the hatchlings and find homes for them. With hatchlings comes added responsibility.
A lot of people rationalize by saying, "I will just put two males or two females together". That can work but mistakes can be made, especially with hatchlings. You could easily end up with a male and female.
There is also a chance of a female breeding too young or too small and having difficulties, or even dieing. Not common but it can happen.
With multiple snakes in the same enclosure you could easily loose them all if there happens to be an avenue of escape. Instead of losing one you could loose two or more depending on how many you decide to place together.
With multiple snakes in an enclosure, one or all of them could be stressed by the presence of the others. Stress can cause a drop in appetite and other health problems.
People will put multiple snakes in an enclosure and ask why one isn't eating.
When they are told it is probably due to stress caused by the other snake, the response is almost always the same "they like each other, they are always under the same hide together". Well this probably just means "that" hide or area of the tank has the optimum conditions they are looking for.
Snakes do not like each other or enjoy each other’s company.
There is no capacity for snakes to "like" or "enjoy".
I have kept multiple snakes together, without problems, but have made a choice to keep them separate. There are no good arguments as to why you should keep them together but there are several good arguments as to why you should not.
So, in my opinion, although people do it successfully I just don't think it is worth the risk.
If you decide to keep multiple snakes together, watch closely for any signs of appetite loss, shedding problems, regurgitation or “personality” changes. These could all be signs of stress.
You would also want to feed them in separate containers and give them an hour or so before putting them back together.
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Corn snakes and rat snakes..No one can have just one.
"Resistance is futile"
Jimmy Johnson
(Draybar)
Draybars Snakes

_____

I knew we could count on you Jimmy!!
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Kent

0.1 Hypomelanistic striped cornsnake
1.0 Lavender cornsnake
1.2 Gray-banded kingsnakes, blairs phase

>>I knew we could count on you Jimmy!!
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>>Kent

I always have that handy....LOL
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Corn snakes and rat snakes..No one can have just one.
"Resistance is futile"
Jimmy Johnson
(Draybar)
Draybars Snakes

_____

Take the snake to a vet ASAP. Topical creams are not to be put on eyes either.

Its bad enough housing snakes together who are not together for breeding purposes, but to feed them together? You are lucking not to come back to find one very fat snake or worse two dead snakes, one having died trying to eat the other one. It has happened before.

Separate your snakes, bring the injured one to see a vet. Read more about proper care of corn snakes.
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PHLdyPayne