I think Coco might have broken her tail!

[sjpearl]

I noticed yesterday that my 8 year old, 5 foot long corn snake, Coco, had a swollen area around her vent and the vent itself looks kind of open.

I just realized that her tail doesn't seem to work. It's limp and the very tip is turning black. I have emailed the closest reptile vet, and I'll call them tomorrow. I think this is bad, what do you think? :(

[ceduke]

Something big is going on there. I'm glad you have a reptile vet to consult. The tissue turning black means that that part of her tail is not recieving any blood and is starting to die. She really needs to be seen. Poor girl, I hope it's something treatable

[Dakafall]

Without pictures its hard to tell (at least for me)

[sjpearl]

I emailed a (somewhat) local herp vet, and I'll call them in the morning. What I hate is that she doesn't show pain, so I don't know what's going on with her. I'd like to have her receive an overall checkup anyway.

I really love this snake and I hate that she's sick or injured...

[meld]

Best of luck at the vet today. Hopefully Coco will be okay. Keep us posted.

[sjpearl]

I took Coco to the All Creatures Animal Hospital in Bremerton, WA today, and saw Dr. Little...a good experience for anyone in the area.

It's kind of complex. Coco hasn't eaten for about a month (which is not unusual for her at this time of year), and she is very thin; however, the last third of her body is quite round. Her vent is also kind of open, and her tail is completely limp. The vet took a series of x-rays and did a physical exam.

It turns out that the vet thinks she has a backup of urea (powdery light yellow stuff) inside and she had a urea plug in her vent. The vet was able to remove the plug, and he thinks she'll eliminate the rest on her own (if not, I'm supposed to massage her). He also thinks her enclosure is too cold, even though she has a heat mat under half of her cage (at 92 degrees), and he wants her to have about 14 hours of light a day to keep her eating through the winter (very short days up here!). Also, he wants us to increase her humidity to about 50% by using a damp sponge.

We got her a new light bulb, a heat lamp, and a humidity gauge, and we covered most of her wire mesh lid with aluminum foil. We'll start monitoring her temp. to keep it between 80 and 90 degrees.

Tonight we'll try force feeding her through a tube, which we'll repeat every four days (if we're successful).

Wish us luck!

[sjpearl]

The vet thinks that the paralysis in her tail is nerve related and may improve, but if not, she can live with it. The black tip may (hopefully) fall off, and leave healthy tissue.

[Lennycorn]

Is the heat lamp the only source of heat??

[sjpearl]

No, she has a heat mat under half her cage at about 90 degrees.

[kaypar2011]

Good luck with your snake. It sounds like you have a good reptile vet. Maybe with the pressure relieved at the vent, she will want to eat on her own. I hope she improves rapidly for you.