Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I went to the pet store to buy a new heat lamp and some frozen silverside fish for Ripley my Banded Water Snake who I am getting next weekend (I've been waiting months for him and am very excited he's finally coming home). The reptile manager approached me, she knows I have a weak spot for Corns. She asked if I wanted two babies that had hatched with deformities. They haven't eaten yet. She tried but they both refused.

This one should be fine if I can just get him/her to eat. The only deformity visable is that he only has one eye. As long as there is nothing wrong internally then the missing eye should really not pose any problems. There is no hole, he has perfectly formed scales where they eye should be. He's feisty and has sharp teeth. Whoever said Corns don't bite? I named him Suezo which will only make sense if you have played Monster Rancher on Playstation (he's a little one eyed monster).

With the dark stripe on his face you don't even notice the missing eye right away. I'm sure it will be more noticable if he lives and gets bigger.

Although there is no hole, the left side of his face is indented where the eye should be.

Luckily I breed my own mice so will be able to get day old pinks for these guys. Sometimes the pinks you order online are pretty big, and these snakes are pretty small.

This one is Mocchi and I don't expect he'll live long. He will likely die or need to be euthenized. I am trying to get my hands on a Pinkie Pump which is probably the only way I'll be able to save him. Some of you might say to just freeze him now, but I have to give him a shot, he's a very sweet snake. I will monitor him for signs of suffering and will do what I need to if it comes to that. He has a deformed jaw, eye, and spine. Who knows what internal problems as well. He did poop and pee on me though, despite the fact that he's never eaten, so he must have been digesting stuff from inside the egg at least.

This is his "good side"

His not so good side, although this side does have his one nostril, there is no nostril on the other side...

Any suggestions on how to save Mocchi would be greatly appreciated. I'm not holding my breath, I think it would take a Miracle for him to pull through. Any positive thoughts you wish to send his way would be wonderful! I'll keep you posted on the progress of both babies.

I tried to stay with just ONE corn, really I did...

-----
Lyns Lair
Frogwatch USA
WNY Herpetological Society

0.1 Cat (Mia)
4.2 Ferrets (Wolf, Shadow, Verdell, Sullivan, Boo, Peach)
1.0 Carpet Python (Bear)
1.0 Malagasy Blonde Hognose Snake (Wilbur)
1.0 Yellow / Everglades Rat Snake (Pumpkin)
1.0 Russian Sand Boa (Fang)
0.1 Normal Corn Snake (Mysty)
1.0 Banded Water Snake (Ripley) coming soon!
0.1 Golden Greek Tortoise (Sunshine)
1.0 Whites Tree Frog (Trevor)
2.0 Solomon Island Eyelash Frogs (Chompy & Gimli)
1.0 AFT Gecko (Cocoa)
5.6 Leopard Geckos (Trouble, Scooter, Simba, Firenze, Teddy, Nala, Mystique, Freckles, Dotty, Zipper, Twister)

They are both so cute! i have a soft spot for the "deformed" ones though b/c my Alex has spinal kinks and if it hadn't been for me he would never have been given the chance to have a normal life... we humans do everything we can to help the unfortunate of our kind no matter how slim the chances are of success so i see no reason why the animals we love and care for should not be give as much or at least near to that dedication...I spent over a year on Alex force feeding and trying to get him to eat but my persistance paid off and he is a healthy happy little guy who eats on his own.

Good Luck with your babies the one with out an eye should make it as snakes don't rely on sight too much but the other one will take extra TLC but he may pull through...i have seen lizards with jaw deformities like that and they have survive so i hope he can pull through too keep us updated on their progress!
-----
~~~Amy~~~
my zoo LOL
corns
1.0 caramel/amber het butter motley-Phoenix 1.0 sunglow motley-Eli 1.0 ghost-Alex(kinked) 0.1 charcoal-Siva 0.1 caramel het butter-Kilowea 0.1 butter 50% het motley-Mango 0.1 ghost-Pandora 1.0 hypo motley-Vishnu
leopard geckos
0.1 hypo tang-Ms. Cleo 0.1 normal-Valentine
others
1.1 dauchshunds 1.0 cat 2.10 fancy mice(and way too many babies to count LOL)

My Photos
My E-Mail

>> My Website Siva*s Serpents

It is always a tough decision. Put them down or give them a chance? Although the one with a single eye will probably be able to survive and do well as a PET, the second one with a single nostril, deformed mouth, etc. is questionable. If they do make it, neither should ever be allowed to breed. The deformities may be due to premature birth, bad incubation temps, etc. but it may be bad genetics. If it is genetic, it would be best to never pass on those genes.

That's actually one of the reasons she gave them to me. She knew I would not breed them. I do breed my Leos, and even then only sparingly because I don't want to be flooded with babies and not be able to get them into good homes. If you look at my sig line you'll see most of my animals are "single". I just enjoy having them as pets
-----
Lyns Lair
Frogwatch USA
WNY Herpetological Society

0.1 Cat (Mia)
4.2 Ferrets (Wolf, Shadow, Verdell, Sullivan, Boo, Peach)
1.0 Carpet Python (Bear)
1.0 Malagasy Blonde Hognose Snake (Wilbur)
1.0 Yellow / Everglades Rat Snake (Pumpkin)
1.0 Russian Sand Boa (Fang)
0.1 Normal Corn Snake (Mysty)
1.0 Banded Water Snake (Ripley) coming soon!
0.1 Golden Greek Tortoise (Sunshine)
1.0 Whites Tree Frog (Trevor)
2.0 Solomon Island Eyelash Frogs (Chompy & Gimli)
1.0 AFT Gecko (Cocoa)
5.6 Leopard Geckos (Trouble, Scooter, Simba, Firenze, Teddy, Nala, Mystique, Freckles, Dotty, Zipper, Twister)