Houdini corn! - Page 2

Will0W783 · 04-26-10, 11:38 AM

It can't hurt to take him to your vet, especially since he just returned from being loose in your house for a long stretch. The thing I would be thinking is possible respiratory infection since I doubt the temps in your house walls or wherever he was were adequate for him to thermoregulate.

HerpAm85 · 04-26-10, 11:45 AM

to be honest, when i took him off my friends hands, i noticed a wheezing when he was breathing? he has been kept in orchid bark, i use aspen for my other corn, and he's fine, so i have thought a resp. infection myself.
Would this stop him eating? I'll call the vets tomorrow and have him checked out then, thanks

Will0W783 · 04-26-10, 12:02 PM

Oh yes, a respiratory infection would stop eating. Because of the anatomy of the windpipe, when snakes get RI, the windpipe (glottis) tends to get sticky with mucus and they have trouble breathing. They will stop eating because swallowing compounds the problem and all their energy goes into trying to fight the infection. If you've heard wheezing, clicking/popping, seen any bubbling from the mouth or nostrils, those are sure signs. The vet will give you antibiotics to inject into the snake and will explain how to give the shots- very shallowly, in the first 1/3 of the body, on the sides. You will also want to raise cage temperatures a bit warmer and increase humidity. The heat helps stimulate the immune system and the humidity helps with breathing.

HerpAm85 · 04-26-10, 02:38 PM

Yeh i think thats what it definately is then, ive seen ,like, bubbles coming from his nostrils, i'll get straight on to a vets tomorrow, he already had the Resp. Infection when i had him, and thats been about 4 months now, so it needs sorting, is it life threatening or serious in anyway? i take it is, because of starvation? Any ideas what would of caused it, maybe his substrate, the bark?? thanks for your time yet again, matt

shaunyboy · 05-01-10, 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HerpAm85

Yeh i think thats what it definately is then, ive seen ,like, bubbles coming from his nostrils, i'll get straight on to a vets tomorrow, he already had the Resp. Infection when i had him, and thats been about 4 months now, so it needs sorting, is it life threatening or serious in anyway? i take it is, because of starvation? Any ideas what would of caused it, maybe his substrate, the bark?? thanks for your time yet again, matt

left untreated its life threatening mate,sounds quite advanced what with bubbles coming down his nostril.an r.i. is usually caused by a drop in temperature.now you've got him set his tank up at the correct temperatures.take him to the vet he will give you the proper medicine for him.between 4 to 8 weeks later (depending on how bad the r.i. is) and you should have a happy healthy snake.all the best with the treatment.
cheers shaun

its an adult corn so i wouldnt worry too much about the length of time its not ate for,snakes have been known to go a year without eating.as soon as the respitory has been cleared up he should start eating.as willow said most snakes wont feed when they have a bad r.i. as its difficult for them to breath while eating.

HerpAm85 · 05-01-10, 06:55 PM

Ive taken him to the vets, the vet says the snakes seriously underweight and in a bad way, he took some samples, feaces and blood, they come back fine.
So ive got a course of meds to give the snake, injections, once every three days and been out to buy a better heat source, the vivs approx. a steady 36 degrees in the warm end and a 28 degrees at the cool, should be ok temp wise? The snake has been through his 'Blue' stage recently, and now gone back to normal, but his skin has not shed yet, ive noticed from watching my other corn, the snow, that it normally takes 24-48 hours after he's come out of the process to actually shed, its now been 3 days and only parts of him, where he's been handled by myself and the vet, have started to shed, is this something i should worry about, or will he just shed when ready? ive spray water in his viv regularly to keep it a little humid.
Thanks for answering all my questions, you've been a great help,
sincerely, matt

HerpAm85 · 05-01-10, 06:59 PM

oh sorry, almost forgot, ive got to try and feed him after the course of anti-biotics are over, with a scalped mouse, if he doesn't take after a week of trying, then back to the vets! im thinking about getting them both insured lol, its going to cost a small fortune in vets bills!

Will0W783 · 05-01-10, 07:01 PM

I don't think you can get pet insurance for snakes, can you? Anyway with pet insurance for reptiles, you are guaranteeing you will spend at least the premium every month, whereas there should be entire years where the snakes will not need any vet attention. My advice is to get him through this rough period and make sure he never gets out again and you won't need insurance.

HerpAm85 · 05-02-10, 03:49 AM

Yes i suppose, there probably is no need for insurance, once he's over this R.I, everything should be fine with both of them, but he was ill before he escaped, thanks for help again, ill post again when he's better

Will0W783 · 05-02-10, 07:05 PM

Hope he gets well really quickly for you. It's always so frightening when they're sick.