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Hello. I am new to this forum and corn snakes! :)

jrbrat619

jrbrat619

New member
Hello. My name is Jen and I have the most precious little corn snake...I named her precious ;) She was found curled up in a patch of grass in a back yard. She had a visible scab on her neck and was very very small. I have had her for a week and it was love at first sight!!!!

I have concerns about her health though. This is how I came about this forum. The scab on her neck appears to restrict her ability to swallow food. I have tried feeding her pinkies (live and f/t) She didnt take the live one because I had not set up a heat lamp yet. Once the heat was set up I tried feeding her a thawed frozen pinkie she took it within seconds. Problem was she could not get it past the scab area on her neck and struggled. She eventually spit it out. I tried again the next day giving her just a pinkie head... same thing. She cant get it past where she has visible injury. I have been putting antibiotic ointment on it and it does not seem to be an issue other than dry patch that is preventing her stretching. She wants to eat which I find as a good sign and gives me hope. She also drinks plenty of water and is active. She is very thin and does not seem strong when she wraps around my hand. I just dont know what i can do to get some food in her. Should I just wait and try again? Any advice for a new corn snake owner?

I am so in love with her. I don't want anything to happen to her. I want her to be healthy. I have never had a snake before but I have always loved them! She is going to be a spoiled little princess if I have anything to say about it ;) <3

Love, Jen
 
Welcome to the forum. I am still a novice. You could try to split the mouse in half side ways make it thinner. Are you trying 1 day old pinkies? They are tiny. Other than that you might take her to the vet to see if their is damage in the inside or scaring
 
I just learned about 1 day old pinkies and didn't know there was a difference until last night. I will definitely try one of those. I have this awesome reptile store in my area that know their business. I think I will wait a couple more days before I try feeding her again. I will try splitting the pinkie down the center. I have been surprised with myself and my ability to get messy with pinkies haha! Anything for my Precious! If I cant get her to swallow by next weekend I will take her to a vet. I will watch her in the meantime and see if I need to take her sooner. She seems just find right now other than not being able to swallow. Thank you!
 
Yes, wait 3-4 days between feedings. any closer it can cause them stress. Good luck. My husband just got me a tiny reverse okeetee and I had to go buy the 1 day old pinkies for her. You would be amazed as what you can handle to get your scalebabies to eat and just how much you worry about them.
 
Welcome to the forum! Can we get a picture of this snake along with the neck area? If I am understanding your original post, this is a wild caught snake?
 
Welcome! Well, I sure hope she's fine. I would make sure you check her for mites since she's been outside and have a vet visit for a parasite check once you get some stool.
 
Since you are in California.. are you sure she is a corn snake? You wouldn't find corns naturally out there, so she'd have to be an escaped pet! Either way though, I hope that she does well for you! I had a garter snake for a few months a while back that I found laying in the street all hacked up and unable to slither without flipping over, so I brought her home, warmed her up and I washed her injuries out daily and put fresh neosporin on daily. Eventually, she scabbed up quite well, began to eat fish ravenously, and escaped! Once I found her I decided it was probably time for her to go back outside, so one warm week I took her down to the park and let her go. So anyway- a success story from a fellow wild snake rescuer! I hope she does well for you, corn or not!
 
Here is Precious. A couple pics with her scab and then two where her scab has come off where I am applying antibiotic ointment. Yes, wild caught here in san diego. I thought it might be someones pet... she is so small though... Everyone has told me that she was a corn snake. As soon as I saw her I knew she was.

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Yep! She definitely is a corn snake! Good thing you found her! Have you tried to soak her and just trim off the excess pieces of skin/scab? She sure is a pretty little thing!
 
Oh good. I was starting to second guess that haha! I have not soaked her... she gets really upset when I touch that area too. I was thinking of placing her in a container with a wet cloth and letting her move around in there and through it. I just want to wait a couple more days to not stress her out too much.
 
she probably doesn't like you touching the area because it's painful- that may be why she won't swallow past that point. If you give her day old pinks, I would even consider cutting those in half (the long way, nose to tail) and giving her one. They're easier to cut when still frozen.
 
I will be giving that a try in a couple of days. I just want to see her swallow something and keep it down. I will feel better. She has me worried. I get teased often by my family and fiance because I am so "obsessed" with her and I have only had her for 6 days LOL How old does she look? Can anyone tell by the pic?
 
Doesn't look like a scab though- looks like a stuck shed to me o.e
 
Either way, It'd be better to cut off the dead skin. A vet visit is in order I'd say, for a checkup as well.
 
I definitely second a vet visit. You can also ask the vet about tube feeding her a little something to help at least get some nutrients into her.
 
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