Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Posted by: micheemak at Mon Oct 18 11:55:13 2004 [ Report Abuse ] [ Email Message ]

Hey all - my first post here, for a terrible reason. My red albino corn snake just died, and I have no idea why. I've had him since April and he's always been an excellent eater. The only problem I've noticed is that he has not grown. Literally. When we got him, he was very tiny - about 8 inches long, and not even as thick as a pencil. In the 7 months since then, he's only shed twice (both in strips, I had to use warm water and q-tips to get the rest off him) and grown to a length of 9 3/4 inches. All my other snakes - I have 13, all corns - have all grown like mad. SOme of the snakes I got after him are almost triple their size.
I had him out last night and he seemed lethargic and I did notice a funny smell, he wasn't acting like himself at all. His vents were clean though, and he appeared well hydrated. He just ate on Thursday.
Any ideas? Could it be related to the fact he wasn't growing? I'm at a loss and completely devestated.

I'm no expert, but it sounds like it could have been a parasite. There is usually regurgitation involved, at least in my only experience it was, but I guess it is not necessary. A parasite living inside the intestines could have been absorbing all of the nutrients that would normally be going straight into your corn. So, that could account for why the little guy never got much bigger. Even though he was eating, he may have essentially starved to death. But like I said, I'm no expert. Whatever it is, I hope it doesn't strike again. Sorry for the loss. Take care...
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-JH

1.0 Amel Corn
1.0 Dot-Dash Cal King
0.1 50/50 Cal King
1.1 Trans-Pecos Rat Snakes
3.4 Baby Corns (Assorted Flavors)
0.0.1 Ball Python
0.0.1 Bullsnake
0.0.1 Texas Long-nose
1.1 Bearded Dragons

Sounds like natural selection.Ive had snakes that were never meant to be.We all get or hatch one like that sometime.It could have been anything.Dont blame yourself.I would (just in case)disenfect its cage and throw away it's waterbowl and hides.Unless it was wild caught I doubt it was loaded with parasites...Paul.

Again, sorry for the loss, but I disagree. You don't need to throw out water bowl or hides (depending on the make!).
If you use natural wood, you still only need to disinfect with
a bleach water combo (Use a 12(water)-1(bleach)ratio. Soak any
natural wood for 1-2 hours. Then rinse very well in HOT water.
Then again, soak in a 25-1 ratio (This will help rid most of
first bleach without allowing bacteria to form in second (rinse-soak). Then simply rinse in warm water well and let air-dry for 1-2 days. If you have ceramic water bowls, simply douse in
strong bleach water combo and stick in your dishwasher!

For 5 dollars or less you can replace them.Why bother?That's just my 2 cents on the subject and Im sure your way would work also...Paul