I received my first snake today- a two month old corn snake (from BHB). The terrarium is 30 gal, quite large for a baby, I know, but there are two hides, one near the heating pad which is on the bottom of the right wall, the other with a (sturdy) wooden structure on top of it that the snake can get behind and use as another shady hide. There are two water sources containing partially tap water and partially filtered water. The substrate is aspen- it looks like tiny little wood blocks. (Pic of terrarium setup:
https://s21.postimg.org/7159b7iqv/20161007_210443.jpg ) In addition to the heating pad, there are a couple lamps that came with the tank that I've been messing with to keep the tank at around 80F. I know that the snake is stressed from being shipped to a new environment; I have instructions not to unnecessarily handle it for about a week. I am also not supposed to feed it until a week.
When he arrived, my mom was teasing me about being afraid of the little guy, so I picked him up and placed him in his enclosure. He seemed okay-tongue flicking a bit and wriggling himself around. He didn't do much, not that I expected anything extravagant but he seemed lethargic (it was about 11AM). I left the room for a few hours and he was behind the log every time I checked on him:
https://s18.postimg.org/xb4sy0urd/20161011_111201.jpg . I took a nap for several hours and when I saw him next (at around 6PM), he was comfortably under the warm-side hide.
Skipping to later in the night, around... say 10PM, I had seen him- chilling by his water dish and then I left the room. When I returned, about 15 minutes later, he was upside-down, not moving:
https://s16.postimg.org/aoa4ix50l/20161011_215923.jpg . Freaking out, I opened the top of the container and righted him. He opened his mouth sometime during all this, but as soon as I righted him, I went to get my mom. When I returned with her, he had a mouth full of substrate. She brought his upper body to the water so that the substrate could at least moisten for easier consumption, as he was far too small for us to be wrestling some wood chips out of his mouth. I looked online about the hazards of eating the substrate and from what I had read, snakes can digest all kinds of stuff, so I was relieved for the time being. Well, it's now 2AM the next day and the snake has done nothing but lay upside down for extended periods of time and move slightly. In a moment of desperation, after almost an hour of him being upside-down, I had opened the tank and righted him again. He was limp. I told my mom, who told me that I should wait until morning before calling him "dead". When I came back, he moved slightly, only rearranging his body. He has yet to move from his position in the middle of the tank:
https://s16.postimg.org/pvi5z8xzp/20161012_015051.jpg
I also believe he still has a piece of substrate sticking out of his mouth.
TL;DR - My corn snake has substrate in his mouth and was laying on his back for long periods of time. Doesn't move for hours on end.
What I want to know is: Why is my snake being all upside-down and still? Could he be choking on the substrate? Could he have some sickness? Can colubrids get IBD? Is it just the stress from the large enclosure and handling? Should I contact a vet or wait it out? Offer food sooner or wait the full week?
*I am a paranoid person.
Unmoving 2-month-old corn
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