Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Snapping pics of my jungle carpet shedding I notice Irwin, my 3 yo corn is wigging out, curling around all over himself and trying to do something to his head. He just ate half an hour ago, no problem. So I thought he might just have the tail stuck somehow? This was a frozen/thawed rat pup, no problem for him.

So I see if I can help him and his neck is swollen, his head is pretty limp. I opened the mouth but can't see anything I recognize as strange. He kept his mouth open after I gently pried it open. He wheezed a little bit, so maybe he was scratched by mouse part going down? He was perfectly fine before the feeding, absolutely alert practically begging for food. One of my carpets ate a prey item similar in every way from the same bag and is fine. . .

It's Easter Sunday, no vets. . . is he screwed? Can I give him snake mouth to mouth? That seems like a terrible idea. This fella is my first snake. I son't want to lose him. He's still around but pretty limp. He's not his usually feisty self after a meal, in my hands he was like a big wet noodle. Poor baby! What can I do?? Pic:

Hi,
Sorry for your snake and you. Sure looks like a respiritory infection to me. How warm is your cage. I would warm the area up a bit if it isn't in the upper end of the 70s (77-83).
Jim

I heat the entire snake room to a temp of 78. His cage is 82.4 on the hot side according to my temp gun as of 5 minutes ago.

He was totally fine before eating and ate. I really don't think it's a resp infection since it had a sudden onset and he went so suddenly limp. I was handling him 3 days ago and there was not an issue at all.

Hi there. If you're in the UK, vets will have an emergency callout service just as doctors do. I had my vet out of bed at half past midnight for a fitting Corn a few years back. If your own trusted reptile vet doesn't advertise an emergency number, look through the Yellow Pages or yell.com to find one that gives an emergency number. Ring all of them until you find one that'll see a snake - any port in a storm.

If that swelling's developed just since you fed, I'd think it's unlikely to be a respiratory infection.

Good luck - I know what this is like.

The only thing I could consider is that perhaps a piece of the substrate was aspirated during feeding. What do you feed your snakes on?

It is also possible that the food item was not fully thawed, but I would think that would cause a regurge rather than what you described. Strange.

Outside of an injury sustained by an accidental dropping of a heavy object on the snake's head/neck region, I am really stumped. Let us know how things progress on this!

I'm really sorry you've had to go through this.
-----
Darin Chappell
Hillbilly Herps
PO Box 254
Rogersville, MO 65742

He seems to be fine now. I checked him before going to work and he was alert at the front of the cage and even rattled his tail at me.

He was dead as far as I am concerned, totally limp in my hands, not breathing and he felt like a heavy rope. Ten minutes after I lay him down in his enclosure to come write a quick HELP message on every cornsnake board I could find, he was laying motionless on the cage floor with his tongue out. I had a heart attack. I touched and prodded him until I saw a little movement. At that point I thought it was too late.

But he is fine this morning! And this afternoon, now too. I feed the snakes on paper towels. I know it is possible to swallow paper towel but I don't think there were any small pieces in there. I am stumped. I am going to bring him in for a vet check and see if everything is good with him.

This was the most bizarre thing that has happened to me in nearly 4 years of having him, now. I am just glad he is alive. Losing him at 3 1/2 years old is way too young. Thanks for the concern and help!

Wow that was quite an ordeal I am very glad that your pet has come through so far. Maybe it had a stroke? I know that sounds funny but its reactions are hard to explain.
-----
Matt from Minnesota

My best guess would be some sort of a neurological fit like a seizure. I've seen it happen in lizards before and I'm sure it's possible in snakes too. Glad he made it. Good luck.

Brian

What a relief for you! That's really good to hear. They are amazingly resilient creatures sometimes.

When you go to the vet, I'd take a copy of that photo. The sudden swelling is really peculiar. Could it be some sort of extreme allergic reaction, like the equivalent of the human anaphylactic shock reaction to nuts? I'm wodering if maybe the mouse could have accidentally come into contact with some sort of chemical (perfume, deodorant, cleaner etc) before he ate it.