Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I posted the same thread last night and no one has replied, so I'm trying here too.

I'm really at a loss at this point. I have a baby cornsnake, a few months old now, got from petco and was very healthy for awhile. I live primarily with my mom, and she lives at my dad's, so I only see her once a week and my dad is supposed to take care of her. I don't know what's going wrong, but her health has been rapidly declining. The very tip of her tail bleeds sometimes and is crusty and very thin. The skin on her head is also very wrinkly and dry. I think this is from too low humidity levels. I have soaked her in room-temperature water for about 20 minutes to hopefully hydrate her, although I'm not sure if that's even the problem because she has water in her dish that is fresh. She also refuses to eat, and I'm at a loss. Right now I have her in a box with the pinky and I'm going to leave it there until she eats it or overnight, although all she's doing is sitting there staring at it and trying to escape.

Also, in the process of removing one of her eyecaps, I think I pulled off too much skin and now her one eye is swollen. This was a few days ago, and the swelling has gone down, but still. Should I worry about this?I'm very worried for her health. We called a vet and they hardly helped. I"m at a loss. What should I do?

I might think that poor temperatures may be at the route of these problems. How are you heating the enclosure and what are the temp's on the cool and hot sides?

For hydration and proper shedding, a humid-hide is quite helpfull. It is as simple as a small plastic container with a hole cut into the side. Fill it with spaghnum moss and spray it down well. The humidity will be near 100% inside.

If you peeled off the scale covering the eye, it is now exposed. It can heal but is dreadfully susceptable to drying out and/or getting infected. I herp experienced vet will have to be seen. There isn't much they can do over the phone.

See www.arav.com for a starting point in finding a herp vet. Also contact your local herp society if you have one.

Good luck!

Ian