new corn arrived sick

[troublemich]

i recently purchased a miami phase corn snake from CA i was told he is about 4 yrs old. when i received him through FEDEX overnight i placed him and the container open into his viv. when i held him he made breath noises we thought he was agitated so i put him back into his viv. the next day i noticed something wrong with his mouth but didnt want to agitate him any further so i left him alone for a few days. i received him on a wednesday on monday i had my boyfriend open his mouth so i could take a look based on my research i concluded he had mouth rot. i started swabbing with diluted iodine and made him an apt with the vet for friday. by friday i had pretty much cleared up his mouth rot but the vet determined he has pneumonia and prescribed antibiotics and daily baths. he had a follow up the following thursday. he was worse now he had slimy sticky discharge coming from his mouth. they took him off the antibiotics wanting to do a test but he needs to be of the meds for a week. he has now been off the meds for 4 days but hasn't ate for 2 weeks. he shed today is more active and the sliminess has gone down he still refuses to eat i have tried thawed & live fuzzies i have even tried a thawed pinkie. i can still hear and feel the difficulty he has with his breathing but is better off the meds. can corns be allergic to antibiotics? and any suggestions would be appreciated i would hate to lose him.

[cobained]

if he's a good weight, i wouldn't bother trying to feed him right now unless the vet suggests it. he's very stressed from shipping, and then being sick, and then meds/baths, etc, so stressing him about food seems unnecessary. 2 weeks for an adult corn is nothing...my males regularly only eat that often and can go months without losing any real condition. have you contacted the seller and made them aware of these issues?

i would think corns could possibly be allergic to meds just like mammals can, but don't know for sure if that's true. i can't really give any advise, but it sounds like you have a good vet working with you and I would probably just do as he suggests. we had a ball python (and an expensive one at that) who came down with a bad respiratory infection...after lots of meds/shots/hospitalization/care, he did recover fully! best of luck with yours.

[DMong]

i recently purchased a miami phase corn snake from CA i was told he is about 4 yrs old. when i received him through FEDEX overnight i placed him and the container open into his viv. when i held him he made breath noises we thought he was agitated so i put him back into his viv. the next day i noticed something wrong with his mouth but didnt want to agitate him any further so i left him alone for a few days. i received him on a wednesday on monday i had my boyfriend open his mouth so i could take a look based on my research i concluded he had mouth rot. i started swabbing with diluted iodine and made him an apt with the vet for friday. by friday i had pretty much cleared up his mouth rot but the vet determined he has pneumonia and prescribed antibiotics and daily baths. he had a follow up the following thursday. he was worse now he had slimy sticky discharge coming from his mouth. they took him off the antibiotics wanting to do a test but he needs to be of the meds for a week. he has now been off the meds for 4 days but hasn't ate for 2 weeks. he shed today is more active and the sliminess has gone down he still refuses to eat i have tried thawed & live fuzzies i have even tried a thawed pinkie. i can still hear and feel the difficulty he has with his breathing but is better off the meds. can corns be allergic to antibiotics? and any suggestions would be appreciated i would hate to lose him.

The vet needs to do a sensitivity culture on the snake by swabbing down into hs throat with a cotton swab. Then it has to be tested to see what antibiotics will indeed be effective on the bacteria. Respiratory infections(R.I.'s) go hand in hand, and Ri's are often a secondary infection resuling from the mouth rot (infectious stomatitis). Amikacin would very likely be very affective, but the bacteria culture needs to be done ASAP! to conclude which antibiotic will be most effective against the specific bacteria, as things can worsen rapidly and lead to the snakes death. Keep the snake in the mid to high 80's to raise it's natural metabolism. This will help ward off the infection until the correct antibiotic can be administered.

The scum-bag that sold the snake to you KNEW about this..GUARANTEED!, and you really should have notified the person right off the bat the first day to demand your money back. But regardless, the snake needs help, and fast. I hope the vet is competent enough to do what I have mentioned, as this should be a simple thing to do.

Also, forget about trying to feed it anyway. Snakes don't eat when they have mouthrot and Ri anyway. When things clear back up is the only time they will go back to feeding. This is just how they are " hard-wired" narurally.

Best of luck with getting the snake better, but don't just hope it goes away and gets better on it's own. This has already gone on for a good while, and the idiot that sold it to you certainly knows this too.



~Doug

[DMong]

Oh!, also,........yes, iodine mixed in with full-strength hydrogen peroxide and well rinsed in the mouth is VERY effective at killing the bacteria of the soft gum tissue. Just make sure you tilt the snakes head side ways as you rinse it so none goes down the snakes glottis (breathing tube) and it helps it to rinse out the other side side. Doing this along with gently removing any of the soft "cheesy" rotted gum tissue and/or loose teeth will help speed the healing along.

But again, the Respiratory must also be addressed FAST!


cheers, ~Doug

[Holly12]

I wil say this the guy that sold you the snake you really need to contact him and say look the snake you gave me is sick what can you do about this?. If it was me I would be very upset with the owner that had him and did nothing to help the snake. That's why when I look to buy a corn snake I make sure that the breeder is a good breeder and that the snakes are in good health. And also if you do get a snake ask if anything happens can I get my money back or something. I wish you alot of luck and really hope that your corn snake get better soon. :(

[crotalis40741]

I wil say this the guy that sold you the snake you really need to contact him and say look the snake you gave me is sick what can you do about this?. If it was me I would be very upset with the owner that had him and did nothing to help the snake. That's why when I look to buy a corn snake I make sure that the breeder is a good breeder and that the snakes are in good health. And also if you do get a snake ask if anything happens can I get my money back or something. I wish you alot of luck and really hope that your corn snake get better soon. :(

Yes I agree you really need to contact the breeder and inform them of what is going on. I would suggest also that you have copies of the vet records to show the breeder the diagnosis. When ever anyone purchases a snake from an online breeder a check of the BOI can save a lot of heartache and expenses.
Good luck with your snake and please keep us posted of the outcome.

[DMong]

When ever anyone purchases a snake from an online breeder a check of the BOI can save a lot of heartache and expenses.

Yes, and if this guy doesn't make good on this in the very near future, he should be "featured" on the BOI as well! :mad:

This person knew FULL-WELL that it was sick and not eating before he shipped it.


~Doug

[Shiari]

Oh!, also,........yes, iodine mixed in with full-strength hydrogen peroxide and well rinsed in the mouth is VERY effective at killing the bacteria of the soft gum tissue. Just make sure you tilt the snakes head side ways as you rinse it so none goes down the snakes glottis (breathing tube) and it helps it to rinse out the other side side.

I would contact the vet before following this advice. Firstly, I assume DMong meant povidone-iodine, because straight iodine is horribly caustic. Second, povidone-iodine mixed with 3% hydrogen peroxide will eventually explode . The betadine can also cause some major issues if any of it is ingested by your snake.

http://www.safety.vanderbilt.edu/pdf/hcs_msds/betadine_solution%207_05.pdf

[DMong]

I would contact the vet before following this advice. Firstly, I assume DMong meant povidone-iodine, because straight iodine is horribly caustic. Second, povidone-iodine mixed with 3% hydrogen peroxide will eventually explode . The betadine can also cause some major issues if any of it is ingested by your snake.

http://www.safety.vanderbilt.edu/pdf/hcs_msds/betadine_solution%207_05.pdf

I did mean providone iodine, and just a tad mixed in with the hydrogen peroxide. There was a large female Boa constrictor that had such horrible mouth-rot there were tiny maggots crawling out of her nostrils, and the roof of her mouth was eroded completely through the top. The whole front of her face was very swollen, some loose teeth, and of course refused to eat, etc..

I had her back to eating and looking normal in no time doing this. This was one SEVERE case.

Plain 2% or 3% hydrogen peroxide will do the trick anyway.



~Doug

[carol]

Aww, poor Miami! I wouldn't worry about him not eating yet. But on top of everything else you are doing I would keep him very warm and very dry.

[troublemich]

thanks guys. i have e-mailed the breeder but he just turned around and started asking me a bunch of questions on how i was keeping him. the vet even said that there is no way that he was at this point in the short time that i had him. the mouth rot is gone. but the RI is still here the slimy mucous is better since he's been off the meds but i can still feel the congestion in his chest when he breaths. we are supposed to go back to the vet thursday to have the culture done. as for the breeder i have stopped communicating with them i feel they knew he was sick and it would cost me more to ship him back than i paid for him to begin with. i am just very upset and disappointed that someone could do this. i am a novice when it comes to snakes but even i knew there was something wrong. he is very friendly and beautiful i would just hate to lose him.

[DMong]

Yes, that is a typical reply from someone that knowingly sent a sick snake to a customer. They will always attempt to spin it around like it was your fault this happened.

Good luck with the culture and getting some antibiotics administered that will tarket the infection. As said before, remember to keep it a bit warmer in the mid-high 80's so that the snake's metabolism is raised more to help combat this some until the meds can be given.

Best of luck!...........ps I would let everyone know about this on the BOI as well so this person cannot continue his little deceiptful game. If you already contacted him and he blew you off like that, then it is....GAME ON!!!





~Doug

[ceduke]

Save those emails!! If you do end up going to the BOI with this, they will be important!

[Holly12]

thanks guys. i have e-mailed the breeder but he just turned around and started asking me a bunch of questions on how i was keeping him. the vet even said that there is no way that he was at this point in the short time that i had him. the mouth rot is gone. but the RI is still here the slimy mucous is better since he's been off the meds but i can still feel the congestion in his chest when he breaths. we are supposed to go back to the vet thursday to have the culture done. as for the breeder i have stopped communicating with them i feel they knew he was sick and it would cost me more to ship him back than i paid for him to begin with. i am just very upset and disappointed that someone could do this. i am a novice when it comes to snakes but even i knew there was something wrong. he is very friendly and beautiful i would just hate to lose him.

Yeah he try to trun it around to say it is your fault that's how it goes he knew that snake was sick and this makes me mad to see that he did not give a damn. :realhot:

[Naagas]

I hope your snake feels better soon.

I can't believe that scum like that guy sell sick snakes. It harms the whole hobby. Make sure that you do report him on the BOI so that others are warned and don't get put in the position you are in.

[Susan]

Well, I know of one breeder in California that fits this description perfectly ;)! And there is TONS of info in the BOI already.

[Nanci]

Well, I know of one breeder in California that fits this description perfectly ;)! And there is TONS of info in the BOI already.

Hmmm- I would like to know who that is!

[BR289]

Sorry to hear of your troubles....Back "In the day" when I was more involved in the hobby it was common as many of these reptiles were wild-caught and many had not been succesfully captive-bred yet and alot of them were kept with others that were wild-caught so things spread easily.
The cost of the reptile along with shipping and now the vet bills really is a hard thing to "Swallow" so to speak but rather than letting the snake die, it's great to see you trying to save it.
Best of luck

[Susan]

Hmmm- I would like to know who that is!

You should know who I'm referring to as you've had dealings with him yourself...something about a stripe with a motley lineage. ;)

[Nanci]

He's not in prison?? Nice...

[Susan]

He's not in prison?? Nice...

Not sure about that, but he could be having someone else sell his snakes for him if he is.