HELP! Newly one eyed Corn

[starskygirl]

hi folks, I'm new. My name is DJ, i live in London Ontario Canada. I have a normal corn who is called Cinnamon Girl. She is 4 yrs old and 3.3 feet long.

I have had no problems until recently. My cat thought it was smart to get up on her screen cage cover and our guess is he went thru the corner with one of his feet. I dont know how long it was like this but I went to feed her one day and I noticed her eye bulged out and sort of covered like when they shed. I took the lid off the cage and when I did that I discovered the opening. Usually its a slide out lid, slid out, feed the lock back.

I knew right away then, what was wrong since the screen is steel. I took her straight to the vet who confirmed. She pokes her eye on a tiny thread of the screen. He told me there were two punctures. 200 bux later with eye cream and skin wash ect she is healed but has lost that eye as well as shed.

So here is the problem. She has not eaten in 2.5 months. A few weeks ago she had no interest in the baby rats. This is a snake who loves her food. She normally strikes,grabs and coils around the rat/mouse. I tried several times and nada. Today she clearly either wants to eat or thinks she is a rattle snake. She is doing something she has never done before. Shes rearing up like on the movies, opening her mouth and leaving it wide open and striking me instead of the mouse. The one time she did get it she started to constrict it then just let go and started to slither away. It was her fave too...a week old live baby. Once I gave up and picked her up she was fine.

There is no eye cap on the good eye and after this adventure i soaked her for 15 mins to loosen the rest of the shed she had on the lower half of her body since new years. So what is going to happen? Will she ever eat again? Will she die? How do I help her? I am at a loss.

I have replaced the terrarium lid with nylon screen and put a piece of plywood on the top in case that stupid cat tries it again he cant go thru. You advice and help and suggestions are accepted most gratefully.

dj

 

[AliCat37]

Do you feed her in her cage? Or outside of the cage? I would try feeding her inside the cage if you do not already. Another thing that you could try is completely rearranging her cage. Sometimes this will get one of my picky eaters to eat again.

I wouldn't worry about her starving to death until she drops a large amount of weight.

Are you sure there are no other injuries? My cats used to sit on the one tank I have, and I put duct tape sticky side up on the lid and they don't go there anymore.

 

[dave partington]

hi folks, I'm new. My name is DJ, i live in London Ontario Canada. I have a normal corn who is called Cinnamon Girl. She is 4 yrs old and 3.3 feet long.

I have had no problems until recently. My cat thought it was smart to get up on her screen cage cover and our guess is he went thru the corner with one of his feet. I dont know how long it was like this but I went to feed her one day and I noticed her eye bulged out and sort of covered like when they shed. I took the lid off the cage and when I did that I discovered the opening. Usually its a slide out lid, slid out, feed the lock back.

I knew right away then, what was wrong since the screen is steel. I took her straight to the vet who confirmed. She pokes her eye on a tiny thread of the screen. He told me there were two punctures. 200 bux later with eye cream and skin wash ect she is healed but has lost that eye as well as shed.

So here is the problem. She has not eaten in 2.5 months. A few weeks ago she had no interest in the baby rats. This is a snake who loves her food. She normally strikes,grabs and coils around the rat/mouse. I tried several times and nada. Today she clearly either wants to eat or thinks she is a rattle snake. She is doing something she has never done before. Shes rearing up like on the movies, opening her mouth and leaving it wide open and striking me instead of the mouse. The one time she did get it she started to constrict it then just let go and started to slither away. It was her fave too...a week old live baby. Once I gave up and picked her up she was fine.

There is no eye cap on the good eye and after this adventure i soaked her for 15 mins to loosen the rest of the shed she had on the lower half of her body since new years. So what is going to happen? Will she ever eat again? Will she die? How do I help her? I am at a loss.

I have replaced the terrarium lid with nylon screen and put a piece of plywood on the top in case that stupid cat tries it again he cant go thru. You advice and help and suggestions are accepted most gratefully.

dj

Are you are that after poking her eye one time, that she then poked it out again? You indicate you are feeding live prey, is there any chance she may have been injured by teeth or claws of her last meal? Have you tried her on a mouse instead, just in case she's perma-freaked-out over rat scent? Maybe try a nice hot frozen/thawed mousicle for the next feeding? If she is ignoring the food, have you tried placing her in something like a 6 qt sterilite container (with air holes), the food, and snap the lid on, toss a dark towel over it and leave overnight? If feeding live I guess you never walk away while the prey is alive, especially if in a small lidded container,
Yhe warm side of her vivarium should be around a constant 82-85 Fahrenheit
Just a few random thoughts.

 

[starskygirl]

Do you feed her in her cage? Or outside of the cage? I would try feeding her inside the cage if you do not already. Another thing that you could try is completely rearranging her cage. Sometimes this will get one of my picky eaters to eat again.

I wouldn't worry about her starving to death until she drops a large amount of weight.

Are you sure there are no other injuries? My cats used to sit on the one tank I have, and I put duct tape sticky side up on the lid and they don't go there anymore.

I always feed in cage.

dj

 

[starskygirl]

Are you are that after poking her eye one time, that she then poked it out again? You indicate you are feeding live prey, is there any chance she may have been injured by teeth or claws of her last meal? Have you tried her on a mouse instead, just in case she's perma-freaked-out over rat scent? Maybe try a nice hot frozen/thawed mousicle for the next feeding? If she is ignoring the food, have you tried placing her in something like a 6 qt sterilite container (with air holes), the food, and snap the lid on, toss a dark towel over it and leave overnight? If feeding live I guess you never walk away while the prey is alive, especially if in a small lidded container,
Yhe warm side of her vivarium should be around a constant 82-85 Fahrenheit
Just a few random thoughts.

No no she only poked it then and it had two little punctures that only the vet could see with the scope. I never leave her alone with live pinkies and when i feed live when i have them, the ratlets are usually between 4 days and a week old and dont have open eyes. She wont take a mouse either. I ytied thawed and she wont take that either. Thats why I tried with live. i have my own pinkies for her. She isnt ignoring the food, shes striking at it but not like before the injury. Today she was striking at thin air after we tried to feed ger and she never ever had her mouth open wide until this injury. She rears up like a rattler with its mouth open. She strikes the pinky then slithers off a bit, rears up and does it again but doesnt coil it or anything. The temp is 78F.

I am at a loss. Can I upload video here?

dj

 

[NH93]

The ambient temp at 78F is too warm, for one thing - if that is your cool side/ambient temp! Try getting it down below 75F. Being in Kitchener, I understand that it gets cold sometimes but this will calm her down a bit, at least.

How are you maintaining temperatures? what do you use to heat the hot spot/side?

My first thought is, she has lost her eye and is now having to adjust to only seeing half of what she's used to. She is most likely very nervous, especially if the cat may have spooked her on top of losing the eye.

I think you will need to leave her alone for awhile. At least a week. Only attempt to offer food once a week, no more.

Best of luck!

 

[starskygirl]

Still nothing. Same behavior and shes staying in the spot in the terrarium.

dj

 

[HVani]

I rescued a snake that had a horrible skin infection. Her skin was pitted and oozing and she did not eat for months. She would not eat until she was totally healed then only after she shed. I tried everything you have mentioned. Eventually here is what I did.

I waited until she shed. Then I offered a frozen thawed mouse that was a bit smaller than she usually got. I heated it up to really hot using a hair dryer(read about this on a ball python forum). Then I put her in a tub with it, with a towel over the tub. I did not check on her at all until after 45 minutes. When I did it was gone.

Again this was after months of trying. I have had success with a couple snakes that would not eat, by feeding them after a shed. Maybe it's like a reset? At 4 years old she should be big enough to handle going without food for a bit longer. My girl lost a lot of weight but she ended up pulling through and is the picture of health now. Good luck.