Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a ghost corn snake that is about 40" long and 3yrs of age. He was a proven breeder and now he is just my house pet. His living conditions are very good for him while I am home.

However, for many reasons beyond my control, I was out of town for 2 weeks with only a couple of days back in the middle. The rest of the time the neighbor was checking on them and making sure they had water. I was back in the middle to handle feeding.

Upon returning from all of this I noticed the ghost was sneezing and not curled up in his hides. My thought is RI. He would do the log drape thing a little bit, and rub his nose on stuff. I have not seen any bubbles, open mouth breathing, or gummy mucus. He is also blue going into shed.

While gone I had the house temp set at 80F 24/7. That should have been just fine for the corn. Now that I am back home, I've bumped the temps in his cage. The first day he laid out and soaked up the heat. The sneezes seem less frequent, and he is actually hiding in his homes again. I see these as signs of improvement, and its only been 3 days.

Is there anything more I can do?
How long do I keep this up until I return to normal?
If it gets worse, when should I take him to a vet? Like how bad is vet bad?

If I can avoid going to the vet, great, but if I must then I will. The University of Florida has a top rated herp vet clinic that I can visit.

I'm sure my husbandry is fine when I'm home, but since the neighbor wouldn't scoop poop, the corn hung out in the cage with his feces for a while, and I'm suspecting that is where he got his RI.

Thanks a bunch for any advice!

Well, sneezing sounds and ticking/clicking and/or popping sounds are all signs of RI, BUT they can also "sneeze" from fine dust in the substrate and will also do this from time to time when they have a small piece of loose shed skin in their nostrils. I would keep the temp elevated in the mid 80's ONLY until it sheds, then if it continues for one second after it fully sheds and no skin is visible in or around the nostrils, I would go straight to the reptile specialists you were referring to. When RI and other things are caught early-on they are MUCH easier to take care of for a swift recovery. The last thing you want to do is ignore things after it sheds and you still hear any noises when it breathes.

Also, if it is on aspen or pine and it gets dusty at the bottom, I would change for at least right now to newspaper or paper towels so you can rule dust out as well.

Hopefully it can be a quick fix for the snake...

cheers, ~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

serpentinespecialties.webs.com

I would like to think it is just dust or loose scales in the nose.

There was evidence of lots of burrowing after I returned, and the fir bark chips do get dusty, especially as the dust settles to the bottom.

He only sneezes now after a brief hold. I check on him in the morning to see if anything major has changed, and he'll sneeze a few times then and for a bit after putting him back. Once he's curled up in his home though I don't hear anything.

There is a good possibility he's hungry, and I'm thinking about offering him something small, like a hopper. He last ate 12 days ago, and I've been holding off because of the RI and shed.

I figure though if he eats it and can keep it down, what is the harm?

Thank you for the info.

I just got a really close look at him, and his nostrils, at least one, looks clogged with dirt. It's dark brown, the color of fir bark dust. He would also 'burp' a bit but not the forceful sneeze I hear when I hold him in the morning. One side of the mouth would pop open, it seems only on the exhale. It's not a gaping wide open mouth breathing.

I'm hoping the shed will help clear the nose, and everything really.

Yeah, that could very well be the problem then. Also, if it doesn't come out with the shed, you can get one of those little rubber ear syringes at any drug store or Wal-Mart, etc..for next to nothing and that should be able to suck it out efficiently. It sounds like that fine bark material likes to pack easily.

Good luck with it.

~Doug
-----
"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

serpentinespecialties.webs.com

I meant to post this pic too.

-----
"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

serpentinespecialties.webs.com

He seems to be improving. I hope it is just a clogged nare and not an RI.

He's been laying on the heating pad, but not curled up under a hide. He seems a bit sluggish, but he seems slower during sheds anyway.

I snapped this picture to show the dark gunky crap around his nose. The side of the tank a bit dirty, but you can see how dark his nare is, and it usually doesn't look like that. Every now and again his mouth will pop open for an exhale, but while he's sleeping he seems to be breathing fine.

I cleaned and disinfected the cage furniture today, and changed out the bedding.

I'm just nervous.

Yeah, it definitely seems to be clogged there. Hope all is well with the next shed then.

~Doug
-----
"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

serpentinespecialties.webs.com

Okay - first it seems as though you were right. After the shed my guy seems to be fine.

Now he seems super active. It had been 18 days since a feed (what with the possible RI and then shed), and I had a small mouse in the freezer and offered him that today, which he took.

He seemed rather active after the feed, and tonight he seemed even more active-almost hyper. I offered a second mouse, which he ignored.

I'm thinking looking for love? He's 3yrs old and was a breeder corn before I got him. However, its mide June, and I figured he would be looking a few months ago.

I'll offer a more appropriatly sized meal in 5-7 days.

It isn't RI - RI rarely happens with colubrids unless husbandry is sub-par for a long time - alot longer than two weeks. And even then, it still is rare.

He is either going to shed, or he has dust up his nostrils.

I know you and Doug already reached that conclusion, just letting you know that sneezing is usually caused by dust or an up and coming shed. Now if you had blood pythons, an RI is probable. But a cornsnake at 80 deg, doubtful.

Change out that bedding, go to carpet or paper. Bark is notorious for causing sneezing in some individuals unless misted enough to keep the bark particles adhered to the bark. Once dry, that dust is a nuisance. Same with some brands of aspen chips - too much dust. Coir fiber is one substrate that is not dusty, even though it would seem so. The ZooMed and Tech Lab shredded aspen is pretty good too.