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Sick corn

Z

zkaren420

New member
Hi I have a very sick Okeetee corn. His name is Lucifer. I have had him for three years now. When I bought him he was very active and alert with a healthy aggressive feeding nature. I have him in a nice sized tank with aspen bark, a warm side at 85 degrees and the cool side at 75 degrees. He has two hides. One at each end of his tank. I use a heating pad for the warm side.
His problems started out about 6 months ago when he began roaming constantly in his tank. He never went in his hides ever. Then he started laying on his side, pressing his head into the corner of his tank, keeping his mouth open for long periods of time and even leaves his tongue hanging out sometimes, laying in one spot out of his hides for days at a time. He has to be coaxed to eat, or he just ignores his food. He is no longer active at all but just lays there. Even if I take him out of his tank he just lays there. He just shed and it came off in pieces. I've had him to the vet twice. They took blood and examined him. The vet gave me some antibiotic to inject to see if it would help. I don't see much improvement. I thought it might be stargazer syndrome but I'm not sure.
Can anyone give me some incite on what might be wrong.


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It's not stargazer. If it was, you would have seen the symptoms from day one, and the symptoms don't sound like what you're describing.

I'm sorry I can't really help you, but unfortunately it sounds like he's on his way out.
 
How are you heating his tank and what are you using to measure and control the temperatures?
 
I use a reptile heating pad at one end of the tank. I use a thermometer made for a reptile enclosure.
92649c1196136c32231a7f4f091bef23.jpg



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I'm not a vet, but if you're saying he's having bad sheds and he lays with his mouth open. It sounds like the humidity is to low. He may just be dehydrated... Hopefullly thats all it is
 
Welcome to the forum. Sorry that it is on such a sad reason......

Do you have some pics and/or video of this behavior ?
 
zkaren420 said:
Ok thanks BLKfly I'll try to up the humidity.


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Click to expand...

Hi Karen! How ya been?

Sorry I'm late to the party and WELCOME to the forum, but I think you're misunderstanding - UNLESS I AM! :nope: - because it's doubtful a corn would be in the condition you described due to a LACK of humidity. I have 3 adults who thrive in screen-mesh enclosures, which I initially purchased when I understood most colubrids, specifically corns, to live their everyday existences with the use of only one functioning lung. Whether or not this helps them or not, except for a few stubborn, non-eating hatchlings, none of my corns have EVER been sick or have displayed signs or symptoms even remotely similar to what you have described Lucifer to be showing. That said, I would contact a reptile vet like YESTERDAY, because even while you wait to check any corrections you make in his environment, you might want to have an appointment with a herp expert as a back-up (you need to stress that this is an apparent EMERGENCY)! The issue with the mouth being open and his tongue sticking out sounds potentially fatal if not acted upon quickly!

Sorry it appears as if your little sneaky one happens to be circling the drain. I sincerely hope you make it on time in order to save his life.
 
Axis1 he's been to the vet twice, they obviously didn't help. Hopefully someone here can figure it out, I'm just trying to eliminate anything possible. No matter how improbable it may seem. Where's your positive attitude buddy :)
 
BLKfly said:
Axis1 he's been to the vet twice, they obviously didn't help. Hopefully someone here can figure it out, I'm just trying to eliminate anything possible. No matter how improbable it may seem. Where's your positive attitude buddy :)
Click to expand...

Hi there BLKfly! How ya been?

Is it that evident I'm not having a great day? :nope: (OOPS! :eek1: Sorry if something is showing? I actually checked the mirror and there's no boogers!). OK, so maybe someone DID piss in my cornflakes this morning, but that's just work-related stuff and irrelevant to this particular situation. Maybe I missed "THE VET" or even forgot that part of it because of the signs (symptoms are subjective and describe what is felt as opposed to what is seen) described in Lucifer's case. I'm only reacting (admittedly, as opposed to responding) to a snake that is described as having its mouth open with it's tongue sticking out and also lying on its side. If any or all of the preceding is actually occurring I believe that emergency care is warranted. Therefore, even if a vet has been involved, (if it were MY snake) I believe a second opinion should be sought and QUICKLY! Obviously the first OR EVEN SECOND vet might have missed something critical. These signs in a snake describe the presence of something life-threatening. I typically have a positive attitude, I would HOPE, and while I love to joke and insert humor whenever and wherever I can, this appears to be a critically urgent situation that is potentially beyond Karen's abilities (don't mean to refer to you in the third person Karen so please chime in whenever you can).

This little sneaky one appears to be circling the drain QUICKLY judging by the description. I'm not saying any of this to be provocative or judgmental in any way. I have lost snakes due to my own carelessness (like not ensuring the lid was locked securely or once allowing one to hang out on my rearview mirror! Duh! :eek:). So if anyone deserves criticism, I DO, so that's not what I'm doing nor attempting to get across. All I'm saying is that what Karen's describing in terms of Lucifer sounds extremely serious, like 11 on a scale of 1-10!

Just sayin'. :my2cents_01:

No intense offended. :poke:
 
BLKfly said:
Lol how dare those bastards do that to you. Hope your day gets better bud and Lucifer too :(
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Thanx BLKfly! Yeah, HOW DARE THEY? Bastids!

BTW, how's Lucifer Karen? It's been quite some time since your last post. How long has your snake been sick, for lack of a better term? I AM sincerely concerned, despite any rants indicating otherwise. If you stick around, you'll be able to confirm the veracity of my statement. I hope you do either way. Just wondering what's going on with your little sneaky one?
 
axis1 said:
Hi Karen! How ya been?



Sorry I'm late to the party and WELCOME to the forum, but I think you're misunderstanding - UNLESS I AM! :nope: - because it's doubtful a corn would be in the condition you described due to a LACK of humidity. I have 3 adults who thrive in screen-mesh enclosures, which I initially purchased when I understood most colubrids, specifically corns, to live their everyday existences with the use of only one functioning lung. Whether or not this helps them or not, except for a few stubborn, non-eating hatchlings, none of my corns have EVER been sick or have displayed signs or symptoms even remotely similar to what you have described Lucifer to be showing. That said, I would contact a reptile vet like YESTERDAY, because even while you wait to check any corrections you make in his environment, you might want to have an appointment with a herp expert as a back-up (you need to stress that this is an apparent EMERGENCY)! The issue with the mouth being open and his tongue sticking out sounds potentially fatal if not acted upon quickly!



Sorry it appears as if your little sneaky one happens to be circling the drain. I sincerely hope you make it on time in order to save his life.
Click to expand...



Hi axis1: I have had Lucifer to the reptile vet twice and he was put on antibiotics for two weeks. He doesn't keep his mouth open anymore or leave his tongue out but he just lays there still. Even if I take him out. I have a boa and ball python that I've never had problems with.



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OK. Now that we have that cleared up (appreciate the response & hope you understand my concern based upon your report) did the vet give any time period for recovery or recuperation? If he/she gave an antibiotic, did he/she state what type of infection your snake was battling and if there as an expected time period where the animal would appear the way it looks? It may just be the normal course of an illness. Or it may not. Not enough information in your posts. I didn't mean any harm and you certainly don't need any further stress from anyone with what you're dealing with, but details and accompanying pix or video as requested earlier by daddio might provoke further dialogue from someone who may know what's going on. I sincerely hope Lucifer continues to rebound from the brink!

Now that we've come this far, please keep us updated!
 
axis1 said:
OK. Now that we have that cleared up (appreciate the response & hope you understand my concern based upon your report) did the vet give any time period for recovery or recuperation? If he/she gave an antibiotic, did he/she state what type of infection your snake was battling and if there as an expected time period where the animal would appear the way it looks? It may just be the normal course of an illness. Or it may not. Not enough information in your posts. I didn't mean any harm and you certainly don't need any further stress from anyone with what you're dealing with, but details and accompanying pix or video as requested earlier by daddio might provoke further dialogue from someone who may know what's going on. I sincerely hope Lucifer continues to rebound from the brink!

Now that we've come this far, please keep us updated!
Click to expand...







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