BLIND?? Is my corn snake blind? Is there a way I can test this??

[danar1977]

My corn snake, Anaconda, is about 3 years old and weighs about 280 grams, and is almost 4 foot. My question is though when I feed her she is always really searching, i have to follow HER head around for her to find the mouse. She has also missed the mouse and bitten my finger before (and YES I DO use tongs). She has also lunged at the air many a times when she smells the mouse. I feed frozen just fyi. So, curious of there is some way to tell if she IS blind?? Is this common in corns??

Thanks!!

[bitsy]

I have an elderly Corn that has the equivalent of cataracts and seems pretty much blind. He finds his food without problems, because he uses heat sensing to pick up where the food is in the feeding tank. Next time you offer a mouse, make sure it's really hot - hopefully that should help yours locate it.

I do have the problem where mine has trouble distinguishing between a hot defrosted mouse (edible) and my hand (inedible - but only once he's had a speculative chew on it first!), so I wear gloves. They block the heat from my hands and so that he doesn't get the two mixed up.

I don't think there's any way to be absolutely sure that a Corn is blind, because they use sight, heat and vibration to sense movement. If they lose one sense then they just swap to the others. However, mine lives a good life and appears to behave normally. I've also known someone who runs a snake rescue and has taken in blind Corns over the years. She's not had any specific problems with their general behaviour. Her observation is that these tended to be lighter coloured morphs, lacking black pigment, that had been kept with UV light (not actually necessary for a Corn). It was her view that the concentrated UV damaged their eyes in some way, although I don't believe there's ever been a formal study on the subject.

Hopefully if that's the problem with yours, then she'll be fine despite it. You'll just have to watch your fingers!

[danar1977]

Thanks for the insight. I was wondering if it was possible it was one of her other senses, so I guess that is possible too. Interesting. She is happy and healthy though so i guess that IS all that matters. Thanks again, Dana

[rexracer]

I would think you would be able to tell if your snake is blind by it's behavior while in it's tank. Is it kept in a clear sided tank? My snake is very aware of movement in the room and will react if you walk up to the side of his tank. The hot mouse is a great idea. I always heat my mice with hot tap water just before feeding.

[Nanci]

A lot of my snakes seem like that when I feed them. They go more by heat, and to a lesser extent, smell. Try making the mouse really hot (102F, or even a little hotter) and just placing it in her feeding bin and letting her find it. My kingsnakes are especially bad about finding food- the mouse can be laying right on them, and they are all keyed in on what I'm doing outside the feeding bin, searching around frantically. They are visually oriented, but to movement, not still objects.

[danar1977]

VERY interesting. I REALLY REALLY appreciate the comments!! To be honest we only have one snake and she is about three years old. I just recently bought a book on her to read up and my son, whom is seven, took it before I could even crack a page and now I cannot find it in his collection of a million darn books. The most I have read on corn snake care is from the pet store phamplets. I figured if I joined here I could get a little insight on this amazing pet.
So, if anyone has any basic care they want to share that they think I need to know that would be great! She obviously does well though as she is almost 4 feet and 280 give or take grams. She eats like a anaconda...lol....that's her name.
She is my son's pet, but ofcourse I care for her. i do have some snake experience as I have had boas before that I DID research about before I bought.
Anyways, thanks again, sorry for the rambling...it's early and I just made my coffee.

[Nanci]

Here is a link to my caresheet! (http://snickersnakes.com/caresheet/)

There are two good cornsnake books too, one by Kathy Love, one by Don Soderberg.

[danar1977]

Thanks soo much Nancy....I will look at it tonight when I get home from work!

[Tracee]

There's no such thing as rambling about corns on here!

Just to throw in another voice - my old fella, as he has aged, very often misses the completely lifeless mouse right in front of his face. I can't remember exactly when but he wasn't very old when I first noticed it. He is definitely not blind. Just a bit stoopid :)

[danar1977]

He he. Thanks for the input Tracee. To be honest, this is a much nicer forum than the crested one. People here are much more informative and very nice!

[danar1977]

Here is a photo if anyone is interested!?

http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/zz32/moretoys4you/Anaconda/DSCN0570.jpg

[Tavia]

Gorgeous classic!

[Nanci]

He looks like he's looking right at you!

[Tracee]

He he. Thanks for the input Tracee. To be honest, this is a much nicer forum than the crested one. People here are much more informative and very nice!
Yeah it's a great forum, fantastic people :)

Beauuuutiful snake!

[Haarstad]

I love that snake, look at those borders!!

[danar1977]

Thanks for the compliments on Anaconda....she is a good girl. Here is a cute photo when she was a baby...LOVE this one!!

http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/zz32/moretoys4you/Anaconda/l_64fcc9061af5f1dc27262537eed46bb5.jpg

[vetusvates]

Great thread, danar. All the info makes me feel better. I have a 2008 female fire whose IQ I have wondered about. I always took it for granted she could see, and I don't think she could be provoked to strike, but she always takes a while to find her mouse.

[Tracee]

Great thread, danar. All the info makes me feel better. I have a 2008 female fire whose IQ I have wondered about. I always took it for granted she could see, and I don't think she could be provoked to strike, but she always takes a while to find her mouse.
I also think my old boy is just *whisper* exceptionally stupid. Bless him. It's a good job those mice are dead or he wouldn't have a chance!

[Karoni]

Sometimes Sienna and Firefly get the mouse right away. Sometimes they seem oblivious even though they can see fine. But, if I wiggle the mouse in front of them, then they're suddenly interested. Firefly will look hers over and then grab it in the middle or by the butt. Soooo funny to watch.

Anaconda is gorgeous!

[carnivorouszoo]

ha ha if I make the mice do a zombie dance they try to slither away, all like HELP! It's gonna get me! Its hilarious but i don't try it anymore since I want to feed them not scare them.

[danar1977]

Thanks for the compliments on Anaconda, and on the thread!
Yeah, maybe she is just a bit "blonde". I would THINK that like most animals a snake would have a hue to their eye if she was blind. Not sure.

[bitsy]

I would THINK that like most animals a snake would have a hue to their eye if she was blind. Not sure.

Certainly mine has altered pupils. Some parts of them are solidly cloudy mainly in the centre, with diffused cloudy areas towards the edges.