First Corn Experience

Hello there,

I am sorry for the long post I am about to write, but I want to share with you my entire experience with my first corn so far. To try and keep this post as short as I can I will skip the first part of the story on how I decided to get a pet snake.

So, I got my first corn on Sep 9th. It's a lovely little female corn named Nyx! She was born on Jul 4th, so that makes her about 4 month old.

The guy I got her from last fed her between 1st and 10th of Aug so I was worried because I knew that baby corns should eat every 5-7 days. Apart from that, she looked pretty skinny. So, I blindly ignored pieces of advice that said you should leave the snake a couple of days to a week to get used to the new home and I fed her the day I got her, being aware that she may refuse. Luckily, she "attacked" that pinky like a real predator and I really enjoyed seeing a snake feed for the first time.

Nyx is a bit shy and hides a lot, but she is really used to me handling her and it takes her about 5 seconds to completely calm down after I pick her up. I usually handle her every day for about 15 to 30 minutes (I don't handle her for 36-48 hrs after feeding).

Unfortunately, as it is my first snake and I am still learning about caring for them, I did not see that she did not completely shed before I got her and she had a bit left on her tail. Her first shed after I got her made it obvious that something it is not ok with her tail tip, as another layer got stuck on the exact same portion of the tail. I gently helped her (following advice I found on this forum) and it went great, but a sign of the constricted tail and blood flow was and still is visible. At her next shed (on Nov 4th) the same thing happened again, but this time, after I helped her shed that little bit, I saw that it has a little wound where the previous mark was and I really panicked.

I got her to a vet that was recommended to me by six vet clinics and two of my friends that is specialized in exotic pets (he used to treat all the animals from the circus including pantheres, owls, hawks, snakes of all kinds and so on). At the moment I am using a Vitamin A solution to keep her tail tip moist and hydrated at all the time and, although the tissue looked almost dead to the vet, now it seems to get better. She also has a very little bump (it cannot be seen easily) on her back, and I will take her to an X-ray scan so that the vet will clearly see what is happening to her tail and her back.

He said that (and this maybe useful to other snake keepers, as I did not see this anywhere else) it might be a pulmonary abscess as it is pretty common in snakes, but that I should not worry about too much. From what I've read, it could also be caused by incubation conditions or by not being fed enough after she was born. But I will wait until the next weekend when we'll go to the vet again.

I weighed her this morning, before I left for work and she weighs about 11g which I think is not enough for her age, but I will keep track of her weight and see whether it is ok or not. Her first shed after I got her (Sep 29th) measured about 28-30cm and the last one (Nov 4th) about 38cm. So that means a 10cm growth in one month, which I do not know if it is ok or not, but what I can say is that I could clearly see her gaining weight and getting longer after I got her and between the two sheds.

The picture where I'm not holding her, was took 4 days after I got her, the other three pics were made yesterday.

Thank you for taking the time to read my first post!

Sorry to hear that your little girl has a problem, but she looks good in the pictures. Unfortunately, I'd be quite surprised if the tail section that was constricted will regain blood flow. We can only hope, but steel yourself to the fact that the section may no longer be viable tissue, and may have to be removed. Snakes with that problem have lived a long time, since it doesn't affect their health once removed. As far as pulmonary (lung) abscess, I have never heard it said that it is common in snakes. The cause is typically due to bacteria entering the lung. But I'm not a vet, so let us know what he decides after further examination and what if any, treatment is recommended. I hope I don't sound too negative.

Hello Twolunger and thanks for the reply. I'm not saying that the tail looks like it regains blood flow, just that it looks better. I know that in almost all similar cases, the snake loses its tail and I'm kind of prepared for that, but dammit, I will feel terrible...

Regarding the other problem, the guy I got her from said he searched online and it might be Metabolic Bone Disease caused by the fact that he didn't feed the hatchlings as he should have and so, they got a Ca deficit. I do not know whether this might be true or not, as I didn't have time to search for MBD, but I will today.

One more thing, the little lump became noticeable after about two meals after I got her and then became less noticeable as she gained weight. Anyway, I'll keep you guys up to date.

A lump does not fit the description of MBD. Although not impossible, snakes are not usually affected. Reptiles on a vegetable diet may suffer from insufficient calcium, but carnivores seldom do. I would be curious what the breeder was feeding that he thought was low in calcium.

Let us know what your vet determines.

He fed her pinkies but she got 2 or 3 pinkies in her first two months.

X-Ray scans

Hey guys, today we got an X-ray, but sadly the vet I saw last time was not working today, so I'll go talk to him on Monday evening. But if there are any vets around here, I attached the scans.

One is from above, the other, from her side, but I couldn't manage to hold her still enough for the lateral one.

Hey again! We went to the vet tonight! Luckily, he said everything looks great, she has no infection or anything else. And regarding the tail he said there's still blood flowing through it, but it's 85% sure that she'll lose it with the next shed, as it was constricted, and the shed will get stuck there again. Meanwhile I'll continue to gently rub the area with the vitamin A solution and when shedding, I'll raise a bit the humidity.

Anyway, the news were better than I expected and I have no reason to panic. That's great news! in case of a plot twist, I'll keep you guys updated. Thanks!

Great news for Nyx. She's in good hands. I have a couple that hatched this year that look a lot like her.

Welcome to the forum. I'm so glad Nyx is doing well. I'm so glad the vet report is good. Just remember, even if you had known about the tail right away, it may have already been too late, so don't blame yourself if she loses it. I swear nature gives them long tails so that they can afford to lose some. My rescue snake came to me with a shortened tail that I assume was lost over the years due to stuck shed. She's fine, beautiful and even flips her tail and wraps it around me.

I just read your story. That noodle is lucky you came along. You did the right thing taking her to vet and following up with her care. I can’t wait to see more pictures as she grows. Thanks for sharing.


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Welcome to the forum! I'm glad your snake is going to be ok!