Question after finding escaped corn.

Hi all, my girl Koka managed to escape Friday night. Fortunately I managed to catch her at 4am this morning.

She had been hiding in the wall connecting my upstairs and downstairs bathrooms which is very cold especially as it's Winter in the UK.

She was quite slow when I first put her back into her tank however I believe this was just from the cold. Gave her a once over as well and didn't notice any visible wounds, just a bit of a dusty nose.

I checked on her before going to work this morning and she seems to be her normal self.

I may take her to the vets just to make sure she's definitely alright but is there any other ways I can check for injuries internal or otherwise just to put my mind at ease until then?

Can dust cause Respiratory issues? What should I watch out for?

It sounds to me like she was just cold. Serious internal injury could leave part of her limp. The dust probably won't cause any issues since she was only gone for a few days.

I'm glad you found her!

hypnoctopus said:

It sounds to me like she was just cold. Serious internal injury could leave part of her limp. The dust probably won't cause any issues since she was only gone for a few days.

I'm glad you found her!

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Thank you! I was beside myself with worry the past few days and was just overjoyed to find her.

I left out one of her hides outside of a hole in the wall and she went into it and managed to curl herself up in it like she'll usually do in her tank, so I suppose that means that she's had no serious internal injuries?
Nothing out of the ordinary when I picked her up or put her back in her tank either except for the aforementioned slowness.

Will do another check on her once im home from work.
Thanks again!

They're pretty tough, I think it's unlikely that she got any injuries especially if she seemed to be acting and moving normally. But yes, keep an eye on her to see if anything seems unusual.

hypnoctopus said:

They're pretty tough, I think it's unlikely that she got any injuries especially if she seemed to be acting and moving normally. But yes, keep an eye on her to see if anything seems unusual.

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Will do! I'm sure she's fine but I've booked an appointment with the vets for her on Friday just to be on the safe side.

Sounds good! Let us know how it goes!

hypnoctopus said:

Sounds good! Let us know how it goes!

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I shall!

Checked her over again when I got home from work yesterday and don't see or feel any injuries apart from a few very light scuffs on the surface of some of her scales, didn't see any open wounds or missing scales however, so should clear up in a shed or two.

Still acting normal as well, and very alert & active as usual!

Perfect, glad to hear it.

That's great news! It's so heart wrenching when they escape. Glad you found it safe and sound.

So Koka still seems fine physically and she's been active, but a bit too active lately, like constantly following the walls along her tank and climbing around all day and night. It's making me slightly paranoid that she's possibly injured herself while out and is stressed out because of it and that's what's causing the hyperactivity, but she slept totally fine the first day I got her back.

I bought cameras to keep a check in on her when i'm gone and I haven't seen her settle in one of her hides for the past day. She's constantly on the move.

Her husbandry is all fine, temps are normal and she has plenty of foliage to hide in and plenty of decor in her tank such as a big branch, a hammock, a half log tunnel, etc. She has a large tank as well so i'm not sure about boredom or stress from lack of space/hiding places. It's never been an issue before.

I looked up this behavior and apparently it's common behavior in males that are ready to mate and that this time of year is mating season for Corns? Is this true? I've noticed she gets a bit more active and does some glass surfing around February but has never been this active, especially in the day.

Important to note I never actually have had confirmation Koka is female, I kinda just picked it and went with it lol.

So I suppose it's entirely possible she's actually a male. Perhaps the coldness during the escape sent her/him into a sort of brumation and that's why he/she could be suddenly feeling extremely frisky after warming up? I could be totally wrong as I'm not experienced with brumation or breeding at all.

Sorry for the wall of text, just been a paranoid snake momma lately as this whole ordeal shook me up and it's still a few days till the vet appointment, just wanna make sure she'll be OK till then and it's not a call for emergency.

Also thank you, blacktip. I felt very happy and very lucky to find her within a few days. I've heard they can go missing for up to a year or even forever!

I'm assuming that Koka is at least a few years old based on your join date so it could be that she is actually a he and he is lusting for a girlfriend. My 10 year old male has been his typical restless self for the last couple weeks now.

If that happens to not be the case, my two year old escaped for a week last year as well. The first day after I found him and put him back in his cage he disappeared in a hide for a day and then similarly became restless for a few days before settling back into his normal routine.

I understand your concern, but I don't see anything that would be so urgent that you couldn't wait for your current vet appointment.

blacktip said:

I'm assuming that Koka is at least a few years old based on your join date so it could be that she is actually a he and he is lusting for a girlfriend. My 10 year old male has been his typical restless self for the last couple weeks now.

If that happens to not be the case, my two year old escaped for a week last year as well. The first day after I found him and put him back in his cage he disappeared in a hide for a day and then similarly became restless for a few days before settling back into his normal routine.

I understand your concern, but I don't see anything that would be so urgent that you couldn't wait for your current vet appointment.

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Phew, thank you blacktip! I'm feeling very relieved to hear that you had a similar experience with over-activity after an escape, and for confirming it's totally possible Koka is just a frisky male as she is around 4 - 5.

Quite small for her age but I believe her previous owner fed her just pinkies to keep her small when she should have been about 2 mouse sizes up by the time I weighed her, she's grown a lot after I began feeding her correctly but still not near the size of an adult, suppose it's not size that counts but age in regards to displaying mating behaviors however

Anyways, thank you all again for putting my mind at ease, I've always been a bit of a worry-bug, especially over Koka. At least the appointment is tomorrow!

Will let you all know how it goes.

Hey all! Me and Koka have just come back from the vets.

So Koka is a boy! A "very healthy" boy! The vet was brilliant, checked him all over from mouth to tail and probed him just to see if there was a possibility he was gravid and turns out he's a boy!

He was so calm until the vet had to open up his mouth and he gave her a little hiss! Which I never heard from him before, it takes a lot to annoy Koka apparently lol!

So I am one surprised but relieved snake momma, only shocking news I got today was that my little princess is a little prince! Other than that, he's all healthy!

Thanks again for keeping my mind at ease until the appointment guys, I really appreciate it!

Glad the only surprise was one of gender identity! Now don't be surprised if he decides to go on a feeding strike this spring!

hypnoctopus said:

Glad the only surprise was one of gender identity! Now don't be surprised if he decides to go on a feeding strike this spring!

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I have heard they can do that! But of course Koka will still choose his food over a mate Just fed him a mouse tonight and for that he's (hopefully) forgiven me for letting him be poked and prodded last night lol.

So glad to hear that Koka was given the A-OK.