Reptile & Amphibian Forums

`04 Albino Jungle Corn: R.I.P

I purchased an Albino Jungle corn from an experienced Breeder about 2-3 weeks ago... when I got the snake she had an usually large lump in her abdominal area... I ignored it because the breeder told me she had recently had a meal so I figured it was just digested food waiting to be excreted. she had a meal the very first day I got her but she regurgitated the very next day, at this point I became concerned.

I stopped feeding her in hopes that the lump would eventually go down... unfortunately the lump began to get larger, and she wasn't defecating... when she did defecate it wasn't complete it was only the white-ish calcium portion...

I felt the lump and there was something round and hard in there (at the base of the lump closer to her cloaca)... the snake died last night and I couldn't help but do my own autopsy
this lil girl was filled with waste up to her stomach

when I fished around in there (the waste) I found three pieces of wood (probably bedding) and a few pieces of hard round unknown matter (left of photo)

Turns out this stuff caused her intestinal blockage and she was unable to defecate completely

The lesson here don't feed your snakes in their enclosures... bedding is a killer!!!!

~ZF

Sorry to read about your loss Zenny....
I have used some beddings like Aspen or Carefresh, but I always go back to plain old newspaper.
It is much easier just to feed in the enclosure w/o the hassle of removing them, letting them eat, then replacing them with a full stomach. At least it is easier for me with around 85 snakes. I guess someone with a dozen or so would not be hassled with the process.
Great point you are making though.....One should never feed on bedding...period.
Sorry again about your loss,
John Lassiter

Fortunately the breeder has acknowledged that it was his fault and he'll replace the snake...

~ZF

Great... What a responsible breeder/business person!
That is the only way to do business IMHO.
John Lassiter

Excellent post ZF,a great lesson for many to learn. Sad to looose any snake from that type of feeding situation. CHEERS to the breeder who is willing to replace your loss.

Hi,

I'm sorry for your loss. That really sucks. However, as tragic as the death of your snake is, the events that likely caused it (wood shaving impaction) is a pretty rare event. Thousands and thousands of keepers maintain and feed their snakes on pine and aspen bedding weekly, and this has been done for many, many years. I can understand your frustration and concern, but the actual threat of blockage from bedding is quite small. I've maintained thousands of hatchlings on both pine and aspen since 1990 and have only experienced a similar event once. I lost a beautiful SC eastern king hatchling to a wood blockage in '91. However, I continued to (and still do) keep and feed my snakes on aspen in there cages. Unless you maintain a very few animals, taking each out and feeding it outside of the enclosure far too time consuming and risky (full belly x manipulation = regurgitation), and considering the actual threat involved, unneccesary. Snakes feed on all sorts of ground materials in the wild and as a general rule have adapted methods to insure that the stuff they are sitting in when they catch and kill prey doesn't kill them. Typically, snakes can easily pass small shavings of wood. They have evolved to pass larger items because of the prey they consume and the messy manner with which they consume it requires that ability.

So, while the death of your snake because of the impacted wood is very unfortunate, it is also a very rare occurance. I must respectfully disagree with you on your recommendation that keepers feed outside of the cage. Again, I'm sorry for your loss.

Will

Sry ZF, always sucks to lose a cool snake.

Also, even if internal impaction isnt an issue, isn't it better to feed outside of the cage for agression issues?

Unless you're talking about a retic or other large or powerful snake, I've always thought the aggression issue link to in-cage feeding was sort of a myth. It seems that any snake I have had that would strike inside the cage due to food aggression would be happy to do so even if fed in another container. Hunger seems to drive them more than which container they are in. In my opinion anyway.

Mark

>>Sry ZF, always sucks to lose a cool snake.
>>
>>Also, even if internal impaction isnt an issue, isn't it better to feed outside of the cage for agression issues?

I stopped using a feeding container when it seemed the snakes were distracted by the smell of the previously feeding snake. I keep mine on Carefresh and use this technique to feed them in their cage: I place a sheet of newspaper in the cage and get the snakes to strike and consume the mouse on the paper (easy to move them on the paper once they're constricting the f/t mouse). It keeps the cage cleaner and the mouse free of Carefresh.

Sorry to hear it, Zenny. I'll be in FLA this weekend, so will miss the White Plains show. And, dammit, I need feeders!

~Andy

Zenny that sucks man but at least you are getting another from the guy. Give him a good guy star. As far as feeding my babies I put them in little brown bags. The kind you get to put your beer in at the local 7-11. I had a buddy who worked at a warehouse that carrier them and he got me a ton for next to nothing. The snakes can get out of the bags but after a feeding or two they always seem to eat then get out. Just a hint for when your addiction gets to big. With adults I don't bother as they always seem to get all the bedding off. Also I am usually right in front of them feeding the snake below or above so I keep a eye on them.
Later Jason

I've had this happen to me also. An old friend from Flagstaff AZ told me about a trick that has worked for me twice now. Both times my snakes have passed some sort of blockage, probably pine shavings.

You'll need a shoebox size or sweater size container that will hold water. The box should be the appropriate size for the snake. The box needs to have a tight fitting lid. Fill the container to about an inch from the top with lukewarm water. Dissolve 1-2 tablespoons of table salt into the shoes box size or 3-4 tablespoons for the sweater size box. Try the lower dosage first. The box should have smooth sides near the top to prevent the snake from resting or climbing out of the mild brine solution.

Place the snake in the container and quickly put the lid on without letting the snake get out or injuring the snake as he/she tries to escape.

The goal is to get the snake to swim around in the salt water solution for 1/2 to 1 hour or until the snake passes the blockage.

I'm not really sure how or why it works but it has worked for me and at least 2 other herpers I know of.

One last thing. I think it would be a kind gesture to post the name of the breeder that is replacing the snake, with his permission. That kind of honesty and integrity should be rewarded.

Just my two cents.

CG

But I am curious to know if there's any evidence that the salt makes any difference? I thought just the soak in warm water itself would help instigate some movement inside the snake. I have done it where I soaked the snake in warm water for 30 minutes, removed them for 30, and re-soaked again a few times in one day and had decent results. Tom Stevens

I have never tried it without the salt, but it sort of makes sense that it would work without it too. I've had great results with the salt though. It usually only takes about half an hour for them to pass the blockage.

The guy that taught me about the "snake enema", told me about a wild caught Cal king that had a blockage. He soaked the snake in the warm brine solution, it passed, and as a bonus it killed off some nematodes that were in the snakes mouth too.

Thanx for the advice.. hopefully i'll neva have that problem again but if i ever do i'll try that.

as far as the breeder's name... i'm not too sure i wanna post it... he's a great guy thou... and i will do business with him again

~ZF

I'm sorry about your loss. I'm very weary about suspicious lumps in snakes. My very first snake ever was a baby corn that had a bulge. I made the assumption that it was just healthy and full-bodied. (I'd gotten her from a breeder I trusted.)

Five weeks went by, then the little corn started appearing lethargic. A day later, something was wrong with its mouth. Since that day was Thanksgiving, I took her over to my friend's house instead of to my vet. My friend said it looked like mouth rot, so he helped clean out her mouth. We discovered that she was actually coughing up tiny worms. There were so many of them she couldn't even shut her mouth. The next day she was already dead.

I had my vet do a gross necropsy for me, and it turned out that the bulge in her abdomen was wall-to-wall with strongyloides, hookworms, and their eggs. Her trachea was completely full of lungworms. She'd been coughing up their larvae. This was only a gross necropsy, so there weren't tissue samples submitted to a pathologist, but my vet said it looked like my corn died because it couldn't breath.
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chickabowwow

DAMN!!!!! i thought my snake had it bad... did the breeder repalce ur snake?

~ZF

No, it would have been impractical to pay $35 to replace a $20 corn snake. I've been friends with the breeder for awhile, so I just let the issue go.
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chickabowwow