Mandy the normal corn snake

Lol cinnabunbun! True. I never thought of that!

Shed-a-palooza!

Sorry for the poor quality, my finger in the way moment, and the TV in the background, but it happened so fast!

Mandy is in the living room and when I turn on the lights at sundown, I cover her viv with a cloth to give her some privacy. When I started to go over she had emerged from the humid hide and was drinking. But I also noticed that she was mid shed.

I barely had time to grab my phone and turn on a light. I've seen the videos and have even caught Cleo once mid shed but it is amazing how fast it goes.

So here is the video. It's just a minute long. I did see her shed the tail but it was way in back and I couldn't video it. I then got the fresh shed out and it measured 60 inches long.

Totally perfect! WTG Mandy!



https://youtu.be/_BGOC00Ta34

Perfect shed:



Pretty shed girl! Sorry for all the UTH and thermostat cords -- this was a very quick snapshot before leaving her to rest.

Woo speedy! Good job Mandy!!
I love that she's still quite dark. She's super pretty. You can tell her I said so.

I will Albertagirl! Thank you.

She didn't spend the last two days in the humid hide for nothing! She just slipped right out of that old skin. It must feel so good!

she didn't waste any time getting the job done.

Love the last pic. She's looking up at you. She's adorable and she knows it.

Thanks Karl! You are so right about her being adorable. I can't believe how long this girl sat unadopted, seeing how precious she is. Thank goodness for her foster mom!

After watching some other snake shedding videos on YouTube last night, mine's not as bad as I thought, even with the finger moment.

As to speed, yeah healthy corn snakes are really fast shredders! No wonder we miss it most of the time. If she hadn't stopped to take a drink I never would've seen this. I'm guesstimating that from start to finish the whole shed took less than five minutes.

Mandy had her post shed outing today. So, now we know what her color in daylight actually is. At least on my iPad, these look true to color.

love her black borders and her dark colors. I still think she has some of the darkest coloring I have seen for a "Normal." She is stunning. Even the tiny yellow tinge on her snout.

Thank you Karl. I'll tell her. I love that touch of yellow, too.

This is just a short clip of Mandy. It was taken yesterday right after I weighed her. She's a gentle soul.



http://youtu.be/pH_9CSFdmB0

She's beautiful. Your video says "set to private"?

albertagirl said:

She's beautiful. Your video says "set to private"?

Click to expand...

Oops, I'll fix that. First upload from iMovie so I missed that!

I love how when they get all coiled up like that so they look like they're going in 3 different directions at once.
Is her right eye still looking a little cloudy though, or is it just the light reflecting off of it? Do corn snakes get cataracts/cloudy eyes as they get old? I guess it would make sense, people do, horses do, dogs do, why wouldn't snakes?

albertagirl said:

I love how when they get all coiled up like that so they look like they're going in 3 different directions at once.
Is her right eye still looking a little cloudy though, or is it just the light reflecting off of it? Do corn snakes get cataracts/cloudy eyes as they get old? I guess it would make sense, people do, horses do, dogs do, why wouldn't snakes?

Click to expand...

I'm glad you could see the video this time!

Yes, snakes can get cataracts. I think she has cataracts. I couldn't tell until she shed, but there is something going on. In person her right eye is slightly more cloudy than the left. She is definitely not blind.

She also has an area at the top of each eye, more externally, that almost looks scarred and opaque. I don't know what that is. I'm guessing some event in her past that is already healed, but I don't know and I need it assessed.

The good news is that her shed was perfect and the spectacles she shed looked perfect. Her eyes definitely look much better post shed.

I wasn't going to mention it until after we consulted the vet, but I already have a reptile vet (member of ARAV) appointment for her next Monday afternoon. I made it yesterday morning. I want to make sure that there is nothing I could or should be doing for her eyes. She's going to get a complete check up while we are there.

I know she had a vet check upon intake at the rescue but I don't have those records and she's my responsibility now. It's funny, but there are times that even just to be on the safe side, the vet trip is a pretty easy decision to make.

This is a close up view of Mandy's right eye.

I was showing this video to Rufus and he started singing

" ♫♪♪♫ Something in the way she moooooooooves........ ♫♪♪♫ "

(You have to imagine a young corn snake singing, sounds kind of like a dog's Squeak Toy)

She (Mandy) is a Smooth Operator though, but she'll never be able to catch or keep up with Clyde

Karl_Mcknight said:

I was showing this video to Rufus and he started singing

" ♫♪♪♫ Something in the way she moooooooooves........ ♫♪♪♫ "

(You have to imagine a young corn snake singing, sounds kind of like a dog's Squeak Toy)

She (Mandy) is a Smooth Operator though, but she'll never be able to catch or keep up with Clyde

Click to expand...

Have I mentioned how much you crack me up Karl? You make me giggle daily!

DollysMom said:

I wasn't going to mention it until after we consulted the vet, but I already have a reptile vet (member of ARAV) appointment for her next Monday afternoon. I made it yesterday morning. I want to make sure that there is nothing I could or should be doing for her eyes. She's going to get a complete check up while we are there.

I know she had a vet check upon intake at the rescue but I don't have those records and she's my responsibility now. It's funny, but there are times that even just to be on the safe side, the vet trip is a pretty easy decision to make.

Click to expand...

You're such a good snake Momma! Older animals are a whole different can of worms from babies, aren't they? I'm going through it with my dogs right now, who are all senior citizens, and one who is quite old is also going to see the doc on Friday just for a "how's she doing?" checkup. It's all you can do! At least Mandy will have the best care from here on out even if her eyesight gets a little cloudy.

Karl_Mcknight said:

I was showing this video to Rufus and he started singing

" ♫♪♪♫ Something in the way she moooooooooves........ ♫♪♪♫ "

(You have to imagine a young corn snake singing, sounds kind of like a dog's Squeak Toy)

She (Mandy) is a Smooth Operator though, but she'll never be able to catch or keep up with Clyde

Click to expand...

Rufus is such a doll. Thanks for the serenade, Rufus. Mandy sends her hellos!

Lol, Clyde has everyone beat. It is amazing how fast he is.

albertagirl said:

You're such a good snake Momma! Older animals are a whole different can of worms from babies, aren't they? I'm going through it with my dogs right now, who are all senior citizens, and one who is quite old is also going to see the doc on Friday just for a "how's she doing?" checkup. It's all you can do! At least Mandy will have the best care from here on out even if her eyesight gets a little cloudy.

Click to expand...

Yep, it's especially different with older animals where you only know little bits and small pieces of their history. I do believe that she had good care at the rescue, but it's not the same thing as her having her own forever momma to fuss over her. That's why these sweet snakeys need permanent homes.

I just finished the longest outing on the living room blanket so far. She handles very well, but I'm also very, very gentle with her. I hold her briefly, like a minute and then let her down to crawl, but I must have held her about 12 times today. She did not seem stressed at all.

Mandy sees the reptile vet

Here's Mandy in the office waiting for the vet to come in.



Mandy was a trooper. She was so calm. The only time she protested was when the doc opened her mouth with a tongue depressor. She just curled her tail around my wrist and held on while she tried to twist away from the vet.

What I learned was that there is no visible infection in her eyes and I just need to keep a watch for changes. She shouldn't lose any weight. Her teeth are pretty short and to monitor for any feeding problems.

Mandy produced a fecal sample this morning right on schedule, but it will be a few days before I get the results of that test. I had timed the vet visit around digestion and that worked out perfectly.

Next year we will do a blood work up, but we didn't have to stick her today.

I couldn't have asked for a sweeter snakey girl. Now she gets to rest!

Oh good! So nothing wrong, just a happy little senior. <3