Suprise of the corn kind

RAD House · 04-10-16, 10:07 PM

As some of you may know I lost two snakes around the same time. I was really torn up about it at the time and it still bugs me to this day. The first snake was a California red sided that had a bad reaction to P.A.M. and unfortunately was not able to recover. The second was the first snake I ever bought, a corn snake named Maize, who got out of his enclosure. This was in late August or early September. We found a shed in November but have not seen any evidence of him since. I held out hope we may find him but as winter went on my optimism dwindled.

Yesterday a picture of him came up on my computer and it bummed me out a bit. Well anyways I walked downstairs this afternoon and what do you know he is just hanging out of the floor. I snatched him up very quickly and he did not even flinch. It was almost as if he was ready to be caught, but more likely he is just weak from not eating. He was in pretty rough shape. Dirty, very skinny and had not shown noticeable growth in length since we lost him.

I put him in a warm water bath for about 45 minutes and he drank quite a bit of water. I am tried to feed him a mouse fuzzy. He showed interest but had trouble getting it down so I am going to try a smaller size. I hope he will be able to recover from this whole ordeal. Any tips would be appreciated.

dannybgoode · 04-10-16, 11:45 PM

So glad you found him Meso. Not much advice I can give on nursing him back to health I'm afraid though but definitely get him properly hydrated above all.

trailblazer295 · 04-10-16, 11:55 PM

No tips but congratulations on finding the little guy. Hope he pulls through, first snakes are always special.

**Tsubaki** · 04-11-16, 12:11 AM

Congratulations on finding him again! With a lot of rest, proper husbandry and small meals to start with you're on the right path

Sylphie · 04-11-16, 02:02 AM

So glad you found him! Try the smallest pinkies at first for sure, as he need to start his metabolism slowly. And like Tsubaki said, a lot of rest and proper husbandry and he should be making recovery quickly. I hope he'll make it! We found our lost japanese rat snake after a month, but he didn't make it and died a few hours after finding him. It's still making me sad, so I know how you felt.

Rattlehead · 04-11-16, 10:00 AM

Amazing news Meso. Best of luck!

RAD House · 04-11-16, 10:22 AM

Thanks everyone. We are ecstatic and amazed he made it nearly 8 months on his own, as a 40 to 50 gram juvenile. It really makes you wonder what he did to survive, especially for food. I have never seen any evidence of mice in our house, which I know does not mean they are not there. Lizards and amphibians are all but non existence in my area. This leaves the option of insects with the small possibility of a few pinky mice.

Of course he squeezed down the larger meal as I defrosted the smaller one, so I hope he can digest it alright. Other than that he is getting more active and responsive every time I check on him, which is a good sign.

macandchz · 04-11-16, 10:32 AM

meso, congrats on finding him! do you have a vet you can call that might give you some advice on getting him back to health? wonder where he was all that time? maybe under the floor boards.

RAD House · 04-11-16, 10:45 AM

There is a room right next to their cages that allow access behind the walls and into the floor above so he could have been literally anywhere over that time period. When he showed back up he was directly in front of the door for this room.

I think for now the plan is to hydrate, feed and observe. In my opinion vets tend to over treat, sometimes at the expense of the animal. Unless he takes an unfortunate turn I will be treating him at home.

SWDK · 04-11-16, 04:55 PM

Congrats on getting maize back! I've lost a carpet Python for several months and found it out of the blue. It too was very weak, skinny and super dehydrated. Giving water baths in warm water is good idea for the next few days at least. Hydrating at this point is very important. I wouldn't try to offer food too frequently. Try a small pink in a few days. It takes water to digest food properly and with the snake being very dehydrated it might not be ready to start eating just yet, but you never know. Best of luck!!