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Help!

Ophelia

Ophelia

Nemo me impune lacessit
Hi guys,

My blizzard corn who is about 10 weeks old, we've have it for about 4-5 weeks now, it wont eat (seems scared of pinkie) i've tried everything but force feeding it. It drinks alot, and hasnt shed yet. Its got about 3 or 4 dark marks through it (its easy to see due to being blizzard). and its got a small lump about 3/4's of the way down on the top of him. Im worried.

Please help!

He also hasnt defecated yet, but it pee's
 
We need some more info...

What kind of setup do you have for him? What are the temps in his enclosure? When you say you've tried everything, what does that include? Have you contacted where you got him from?
 
I've tried

*feeding him in his "hide"
*leaving the pinkie with him overnight
*defrosting pinkie in water/out of water
*braining pinkie
*putting snake in separate tank
*putting towel over tank
*waving pinkie infront of snake

I havent tried live pinkie yet.

Setup

small tank
32 degrees celcius temp (ave)
hide, water bowl, heat mat
 
Don't condition it

I know you have enough to worry about already, but I want to give you somthing else to consider. In your attempts to get her to eat, it is important that you don't try to feed her "too often". When your snake refuses to eat and pinks are continually placed him/her, you can actually condition your snake to refuse food. I would say that at this point it would be much more important to discover the reason she doesn't want to eat (ie. environmental conditions, stress, parasites) than trying to get her to eat. If you can correct the underlying problem, he/she will probably start eating again without much help from you.
 
i'm wondering that too (about to shed), sometimes mine will refuse to eat and just be plain grumpy when they're about to shed. and apparently with blizzards or snow corns it's difficult to tell when they're "in blue".
i would take a break, dont bother the snake for a few days, in case it's stressed or getting ready to shed and then try feeding again.
 
Ophelia said:
Its got about 3 or 4 dark marks through it (its easy to see due to being blizzard). and its got a small lump about 3/4's of the way down on the top of him.
Click to expand...
Guys, I don't know and am no expert but one of the two sentences above would take me to the Vet (not me-me, me taking the snake ;) ).
I know the marks can be mites which can be medicated but the lump, hmm....:shrugs:

Oh, Ophelia, is he cold to the touch even though his tank is at the correct temperature?
 
whoops..forgot about the lump...you say it's on top? does it look like a cyst or something? or does it look like he had just eaten something? either way, i'd think maybe a vet should take a look...
 
Ophelia said:
Its got about 3 or 4 dark marks through it (its easy to see due to being blizzard). and its got a small lump about 3/4's of the way down on the top of him.
Click to expand...
The dark spots could easily be the heart toward the front end, the gall bladder toward the back end, and a meal.

The lump on the back sounds like a spinal kink. These can appear "spontaneously" in hatchlings, and a lot of hatchlings that get those kind of kinks do stop eating.
 
Does this kink just mean it's spine is kinda out of whack? is there a chiropractor for this sort of thing? :eek1:
if a hatchling has a kink, can it swallow food and digest it? or does the kink cause a blockage?
sorry, so many questions, but i've never heard of this, and i have a tiny hatchling. no kinks though, but just very tiny. i'm kinda afraid to even handle him too much because i'm afraid to hurt him. plus he's eating after every poop anyway, not much time for handling at the moment. he's about as big as a nightcrawler. and i wouldnt want to cause him any "kinks".
 
Tyger,

Kinks can be caused by many things including improper incubation temps, malnutrition (as with non-feeders), and trauma. Sometimes, the kink will appear to get better, but will still show up on an x-ray. Unfortunately, there is nothing that can be done to treat a kink. If the kink is not too severe, the snake can eat and digest properly.
 
I caught

a yellow rat snake some years ago with a kink in is back. He was 5 feet long and ate like it was free. But there is no way to know if it was a birth condition, or an injury he obtained later in life.
I would go back to where I got him and/or take him to a vet.
 
I've been attempting to feed him every 4-5 days, the "kink" hasnt always been there, only came up in the last week, he doesnt seem too bothered with it. He feels cold to the touch always even though the tank is at the right temperature. He is still very active, and is drinking so im not at the panic stage yet. Just want him to eat!
 
Don't worry if your snake feels cold to the touch. If your temps are correct, the snake will feel cold because our skin temp is approximately 90'. Anything cooler than that will feel cold to us. If your snake were to feel warm, it would be TOO warm.
 
That sounds as if he's going to poop. What kind of substrate is he on? You may want to put him on paper towels, if he isn't already. That way, you will be able to see what the poop looks like. It can help determine if something is wrong.
 
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