??What the??

[ButtersCorns4life]

Ok, I have a Butter Corn, Artemis. But about 2-3 months ago I noticed a Little red dot on her tail... The people on Cornsnakes.com just said it was nothing or it was part of her color... But now its like a blackish grey color and really tiny compared to her body. There is also previous shed skin still on it... do you think I should soak her for awhile?
I was feeding her when I noticed it, so after she was done I checked it out. When ever I touched it she would whip it away. So I think it hurts her... I was just seeing if I should go to the vet and have the vet check her out. And if it could possibly make her tail fall off... Hopefully not! :sidestep:
If you need pics I could probably get them..
Thanks you, Butters

[diamondlil]

Pictures would help, it does sound likely that it could be old shed that's cut off circulation to the end of the tail. You might be best taking the snake to a herp vet.

[Silt]

When was the last shed? If it IS just some skin left on from a previous shed, and that shed was a while ago, a vet can't help you at all. It'll just cost you $100+ for the vet saying, "yeah, that tip of the tail will fall off soon".

Hope he gets better! :)

Lisa

[jimijaw]

Post some pics at least its free before you spend your money. We can sure try to diagnose as long as the pics are good. Good luck with what ever you do. :)

[bitsy]

I'd have to say when in doubt, always go to the vet.

Even with a photo, we can only offer an opinion on what the photo appears to show us - which may not be the entire situation. Photographic evidence will depend on angles, lighting, position etc. We can't tell anything about the overall condition of the snake, which would be a factor if it is appearing to show discomfort.

Online forums are great for opinions and guidelines, but a knowledgable reptile vet would be the one to give you a definitive answer. If I thought one of mine was in pain, I have to say that I'd be making an appointment without giving it a second thought.

[Silt]

I'd have to say when in doubt, always go to the vet.

Even with a photo, we can only offer an opinion on what the photo appears to show us - which may not be the entire situation. Photographic evidence will depend on angles, lighting, position etc. We can't tell anything about the overall condition of the snake, which would be a factor if it is appearing to show discomfort.

Online forums are great for opinions and guidelines, but a knowledgable reptile vet would be the one to give you a definitive answer. If I thought one of mine was in pain, I have to say that I'd be making an appointment without giving it a second thought.

Extremely good advice!! :cheers:

But then again, in some cases, going to the vet for everything is not necessarily the best thing to do. In this case, the VERY worst case scenario would be the tail falling off, and a vet is unable to do anything about that. No antibiotics, no surgery. Although the tail will not re-grow, the tip will form new flesh and heal itself. From then on, the snake will be in no pain whatsoever, so you don't have to worry about that. :)

Good luck!

Lisa

[bitsy]

the VERY worst case scenario would be the tail falling off, and a vet is unable to do anything about that. No antibiotics, no surgery. Although the tail will not re-grow, the tip will form new flesh and heal itself. From then on, the snake will be in no pain whatsoever, so you don't have to worry about that.

I see what you're saying, in that losing a tail tip is not the worst thing ever.

But the VERY VERY worst case scenario is that the tail tip falls off and the resulting wound becomes infected. An overstatement, but still theoretically possible. To imply that it's a risk-free process is, I think, understating it. Losing a tail tip is undesirable and still needs to be handled in a way that minimises risk.

At the very least, you need to be prepared to apply some reptile-safe disinfectant. If you're a nervous novice with a particular concern, then a vet visit is usually worth it, if only for your own peace of mind.

I don't mind my vet thinking I'm a lunatic, over-anxious Mum (and he has a couple of times). What I would mind is if I dismissed something as minor that then went on to cause further harm. :)

[diamondlil]

I'd agree with Bitsy on this one. I know I've read that neosporin can be used, but wouldn't have a clue where to get it from. The fact that the op said the snake was objecting to having the tail touched would indicate that the area is painful, to me. I'd personally have to get a potentially painful wound checked out.

[diamondlil]

And without a picture, it seems that diagnosing a described wound as 'nothing to worry about' over the internet is perhaps a little too laissez-faire?

[Don5999]

My American Rough Green had dreadful trouble shedding when she was small. But only the tip of her tail. When I noticed that a small area wasnt being shed and was going black, I had her at the vet who had to amputate as it was useless. One small stitch and no infection thank god.

Best to be safer....

[Drizzt80]

Only two things that I would like to interject . . .

The fact that the op said the snake was objecting to having the tail touched would indicate that the area is painful, to me.I have several snakes that I would consider "tail shy" they have a tendency to tail whip when near their tails. I've also noticed they tend to squirm a bit more when handled near the tail or their tail is held still. May not necessarily indicate pain.

And without a picture, it seems that diagnosing a described wound as 'nothing to worry about' over the internet is perhaps a little too laissez-faire?Agreed. (and even sometimes with a picture!)

D80

[ButtersCorns4life]

I just fed my snakes last night and I got the camera today! So Ill have pics up either tomarrow (Sunday) or the next day (Monday)

But while I was feeding my snakes I noticed the same thing is starting to Leo!!!!!!!!!!! How can I stop it before his tail loses color like Artemis's?????


Thank you, Butters

[jimijaw]

A similar problem on another corn snake site was diagnosed as pseudomonas infection in the blood in which the snake died. I am certainly not trying to frighten you but the symptoms are quite close. Id say take it to the vet. Better safe than sorry. Jimi

[jimijaw]

Ok this is the post I mentioned above.Well gang, my baby is REALLY REALLY sick. I took her to the vet and she has a pseudomonas infection in her blood, so she has hemorrhagic septicemia. Whew. I SWEAR the first symptom I saw was Thursday, the dark tail, then Saturday a dark scale, then Sunday a black scale, made the appointment Monday morning, then Monday night blood from her vent. I asked the vet, could this really happen within a WEEK? He said yes, it takes a few days before you see symptoms, but yes a week. I asked how bad is she. He said it's hard to tell, worse case, her whole SKIN will peel off. I said, like a shed? He said no, like a skinned chicken, you won't mistake it. :(

He thinks it came from her water dish. I told him I rinse and re-fill it twice a week. He said wash in the dishwasher or at least HOT SOAPY water. I kept indoor/outdoor carpet in there and changed it whenever she pooped or once a month. He said take the plastic out, put newspaper in there, not shredded. Wash the aquarium in hot salt water.

I have to give her a SHOT of Baytril every other day for 10 days and a warm bath every day. I'm telling you all this, to hopefully prevent anything else from having to go through this. I really thought I was doing a good job. I guess I sort of caused this.

[JGAust]

Well today Friday 1 week later, Leo looks fine he shed and it came right off, but Artemis is still having trouble, so i give her a 10-15 min. bath every day and its starting to go back to normal :grin01: So I don't think its as serious as yours.. Sorry for the snake tho... :sobstory:

Butters

[jimijaw]

I am so glad to hear that yours is doing better :cheers: Jimi

[Roy Munson]

Well today Friday 1 week later, Leo looks fine he shed and it came right off, but Artemis is still having trouble, so i give her a 10-15 min. bath every day and its starting to go back to normal :grin01: So I don't think its as serious as yours.. Sorry for the snake tho... :sobstory:

Butters

So who are you, ButtersCorns4life, or JGAust? There was some trouble caused by your JGAust profile a while back, where there was a lot of lying and game-playing on your part. I sure hope this thread isn't another game. The fact that at least one of your profiles has a lie listed for your age makes me wonder what you're up to.

Please tell me asap which profile you would prefer to keep so I can lock the other one.