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deleted
15 Posts |
 Posted - 29/01/2011 : 20:08:06
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My cornsnake, Strawberry Champagne, is a yearling. He's been a voracious eater since he was brought home and has always been very excitable when it comes to being handled or being awake at all. There's never a moment where he stops looking for a way to escape from his tank and after he rouses himself, he never stops using your hands as a living jungle gym.
But for some reason, as of a few nights ago (if not just this last night), all of that seemed to change. He is refusing food at the moment. He seems very lethargic and barely seems aware of his own environment, let along curious of it. He's barely smelling at the air at all, whether in his vivarium or out of it. Instead of curling his muscles or even tensing them at all when he's picked up, he simply goes limp and it's really starting to scare me.
We took him to an Emergency Veterinary Care Center last night, and they said that he was fine, that he wasn't dehydrated and, despite a fair amount of muscle loss, that he wasn't by any means emaciated. The only thing that they supposed was wrong was the temperature (we had no heat lamp and the house is kept far too cold - even for our liking). We changed all of that, bought a heat lamp, and have done whatever possible to try and make him comfortable.
Yet as of this morning he seems even weaker and more lethargic than he was last night. Whenever he tries to move, he only ends up curling himself up backwards and his head is constantly lolling back and forth in a way that only reminds me of seizing. Whenever he's slithering backward, too, he always seems to have his head pressed back against his side when he does it.
I don't understand what's going on and whatever it is, it's really starting to scare me, even if the vet said that there was nothing to worry about. It really doesn't seem like it.
Help? |
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SexyBear77
Fully Grown Corn
United Kingdom
3796 Posts |
Posted - 29/01/2011 : 21:04:10
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Hi there. Sorry to hear about your snake.
In this case pictures and videos would really help. We need to see the movements you are describing. You also need to start weighing him every few days to monitor his weight loss.
Put a product called Reptoboost in his water, or if you can get hold of some, give him a bath in Poweraid, the sports drink. 1/4 drink to 3/4 water, heated to around 25-27c. This will give him an energy boost and help get some essential vitamins and nutrients into him.
Thats all I can offer for now until video or pics. |
9.11 Cornsnakes
1.1 Hogg island boas
1.0 Dwarf Burmese python
Location: Watford
Website- http://rassnakes.yolasite.com/ |
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deleted
15 Posts |
Posted - 29/01/2011 : 22:27:22
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-6XpfjDkKM
Took a bit to figure out the camera, and there's a lot of mumbling and shakiness, but I managed to get the footage. There's not a lot that pictures could tell that the video wouldn't, though. He's also starting to become prone to writhing in a way that makes him lay belly-up, something that seems abnormal by means of a normal snake and is certainly a behaviour that I'm not accustomed to with him. |
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lotabob
Fully Grown Corn
United Kingdom
4334 Posts |
Posted - 29/01/2011 : 22:48:13
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| Poor little snake you can see its like his balance is off or something. Unfortunately emergency vets are very unlikely to specialise in exotics, best bet is to try find a specialist exotics vet as soon as possible. |
Anery Corn snake SPOT. Royal Python, DUKE. Hogg Island Boa, SANKE. Albino House Snake, HAL.
Harlequin Crested Gecko HARLEY
Albino Horned Frog WAKA
Chilean Rose Tarantula TRIXIE. Brazilian Salmon Pink Bird-eating Tarantula SAM. Orange Baboon Tarantula BORIS.
Giant Asian Forest Scorpion, SALLY.
Giant African Land Snails, SHELDON & MICHELLE.
Budwing Mantis, MAIA
Dubia Roach Colony. Silkworm Colony. Mealworm Colony. Waxworm Colony. Fruit Beetle Colony.
MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL http://www.youtube.com/user/alocheeky |
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SexyBear77
Fully Grown Corn
United Kingdom
3796 Posts |
Posted - 29/01/2011 : 22:48:52
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| Hmmm, that footage is pretty tricky to interpret, but certainly towards the end the movement seems abnormal. My first thought is some sort of neural problem. He also seems very small for a yearling. I would get him back down the vet, make sure its a reptile specialist. |
9.11 Cornsnakes
1.1 Hogg island boas
1.0 Dwarf Burmese python
Location: Watford
Website- http://rassnakes.yolasite.com/ |
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deleted
15 Posts |
Posted - 29/01/2011 : 23:00:31
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We made a point to go to an exotic animal specialist hospital, but I agree that we should probably take him back, especially since he seems to have only gotten worse and still hasn't fed. When he was weighed last night, he is currently about 9 grams, but there's a portion of skin near the lower part of his tail that's just a folded flap, which is proof of the muscle loss that seems to have come about far too quickly for it to have been normal. He wasn't behaving quite this badly last night, either, just lethargically.
Thanks for the advice. Now that it's not five in the morning, we'll probably get on taking him to the exotic animal specialist. #9829; |
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SexyBear77
Fully Grown Corn
United Kingdom
3796 Posts |
Posted - 29/01/2011 : 23:05:10
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| Best of luck and keep us posted. |
9.11 Cornsnakes
1.1 Hogg island boas
1.0 Dwarf Burmese python
Location: Watford
Website- http://rassnakes.yolasite.com/ |
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n/a
deleted
15 Posts |
Posted - 29/01/2011 : 23:26:12
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This state drives me crazy.
The nearest exotic pet care hospital is closed for the entire weekend. The only other one in, for what we can tell, the entire state, is almost an hours drive away, and their earliest appointment is on Monday morning. We took the bathing-in-powerade advice, which he appeared to at least kind of enjoy, but his fits seem almost seizing in nature and only seem to be getting worse. However, it looks like when we just leave him in his vivarium, he mellows out and basks without a lot of movement, so we'll hope that he'll stay alright and just keep trying to feed him until our appointment on Monday... |
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lotabob
Fully Grown Corn
United Kingdom
4334 Posts |
Posted - 30/01/2011 : 00:10:28
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| Oh thats terrible they wont see you sooner. The best thing you can do I suppose is keep him warm and hydrated until then. Wet a face towel with warm water and squeeze out as much of the water as possible and put it in his enclosure with him, the moisture in the air will help keep him hydrated. |
Anery Corn snake SPOT. Royal Python, DUKE. Hogg Island Boa, SANKE. Albino House Snake, HAL.
Harlequin Crested Gecko HARLEY
Albino Horned Frog WAKA
Chilean Rose Tarantula TRIXIE. Brazilian Salmon Pink Bird-eating Tarantula SAM. Orange Baboon Tarantula BORIS.
Giant Asian Forest Scorpion, SALLY.
Giant African Land Snails, SHELDON & MICHELLE.
Budwing Mantis, MAIA
Dubia Roach Colony. Silkworm Colony. Mealworm Colony. Waxworm Colony. Fruit Beetle Colony.
MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL http://www.youtube.com/user/alocheeky |
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deleted
15 Posts |
Posted - 30/01/2011 : 04:05:49
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| I looked up more information about his condition, and about neurological disorders in corn snakes. All of the ones that met his symptoms ended... sadly, and all of the information files said that it was untreatable and the vet's response would be euthanasia. If he makes it to Monday morning, we'll probably still take him in to the vet, but things aren't really looking so good right now... |
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deleted
15 Posts |
Posted - 30/01/2011 : 08:25:33
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He's getting worse.
One of the times that we were handling him and giving him his little Powerade bath, we noticed that his head is lopsided, the left side swollen right behind / above his mouth. If all of what we've been reading is true, he probably caught some kind infection from either his food or his vivarium that metastasized into a brain tumor, explaining the neurological problems he's suffering from. Since the vet can't do anything about neurological problems in snakes, if he's still with us on Monday, we're probably just going to take him in to get put too sleep so he doesn't have to keep suffering (if he's even aware of it). |
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SexyBear77
Fully Grown Corn
United Kingdom
3796 Posts |
Posted - 30/01/2011 : 10:35:16
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| Don't rule him out just yet- it might be an infection that has found its way into his bloodstream. Strong antibiotics MIGHT sort it. |
9.11 Cornsnakes
1.1 Hogg island boas
1.0 Dwarf Burmese python
Location: Watford
Website- http://rassnakes.yolasite.com/ |
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n/a
deleted
15 Posts |
Posted - 30/01/2011 : 19:02:06
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| Will do. We're still waiting to take him to the vet on Monday. He seems at least a little bit better this morning... Most slithering, less thrashing. |
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lotabob
Fully Grown Corn
United Kingdom
4334 Posts |
Posted - 30/01/2011 : 19:46:13
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| Maybe he is truning a corner and coming back round. If the vet was right and he is just dehydrated it takes a little while to rehydrate them. |
Anery Corn snake SPOT. Royal Python, DUKE. Hogg Island Boa, SANKE. Albino House Snake, HAL.
Harlequin Crested Gecko HARLEY
Albino Horned Frog WAKA
Chilean Rose Tarantula TRIXIE. Brazilian Salmon Pink Bird-eating Tarantula SAM. Orange Baboon Tarantula BORIS.
Giant Asian Forest Scorpion, SALLY.
Giant African Land Snails, SHELDON & MICHELLE.
Budwing Mantis, MAIA
Dubia Roach Colony. Silkworm Colony. Mealworm Colony. Waxworm Colony. Fruit Beetle Colony.
MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL http://www.youtube.com/user/alocheeky |
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Newbie
Yearling
950 Posts |
Posted - 30/01/2011 : 19:49:56
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| So sorry to see your snakes unwell, hopefully the vets will have positive news, my thoughts are with you and Strawberry *hugs* |
1.0.0 Carolina Motley Cornsnake - Vin, 0.1.0 Brazilian Rainbow Boa - Rio, 0.1.0 IJJ Carpet Python - Luna, 0.1.0 Dwarf Sunfire Reticulated Python - Helia, 1.0.0 Royal Python - Jasper, 0.1.0 Spaniel - Jess; RIP Gypsy - a beautiful girl through and through, 0.1.0 Rabbit - Binky, RIP Indy, Jan 2010 - Aug 2011, and Ace, Jan 2009 - Aug 2011 |
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n/a
deleted
15 Posts |
Posted - 30/01/2011 : 23:02:19
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Thank you all for the support.
Sadly, Champagne passed away within the last few hours. But it was nice to have support through all of this. Thank you very much for all your help. |
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lotabob
Fully Grown Corn
United Kingdom
4334 Posts |
Posted - 30/01/2011 : 23:32:45
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| Aww I'm so sorry to hear that. Poor little guy. |
Anery Corn snake SPOT. Royal Python, DUKE. Hogg Island Boa, SANKE. Albino House Snake, HAL.
Harlequin Crested Gecko HARLEY
Albino Horned Frog WAKA
Chilean Rose Tarantula TRIXIE. Brazilian Salmon Pink Bird-eating Tarantula SAM. Orange Baboon Tarantula BORIS.
Giant Asian Forest Scorpion, SALLY.
Giant African Land Snails, SHELDON & MICHELLE.
Budwing Mantis, MAIA
Dubia Roach Colony. Silkworm Colony. Mealworm Colony. Waxworm Colony. Fruit Beetle Colony.
MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL http://www.youtube.com/user/alocheeky |
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gmac
The Scottish Admin
United Kingdom
5319 Posts |
Posted - 30/01/2011 : 23:34:09
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| shame about that, sorry for your loss |
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Kehhlyr
ǝʞɐɔ sǝʌoן
United Kingdom
8173 Posts |
Posted - 31/01/2011 : 00:01:01
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Sorry to hear that he passed away.
Just for the info though, can you let us know what state/area you're in?
Gmac and I helped someone VERY late (to us anyway) one night find a specialist reptile vet that was within a stones throw of their house, and managed to contact them as well.
WE might not be successful, but it might be worth knowing for future reference. |
-=Kehhlyr - The Resident Loon
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n/a
deleted
15 Posts |
Posted - 31/01/2011 : 00:10:05
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| We live in Salt Lake County in Salt Lake City, Utah. We took all night looking for an exotic animal care facility; none were open on Sundays, one was open on Saturday (but the appointments were booked and they didn't do emergency care), and aside from that, we couldn't find any other exotic animal hospitals in the entire state. |
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thistle
Sub Adult
United Kingdom
1757 Posts |
Posted - 31/01/2011 : 02:30:48
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I'm so very sorry!
It sounds like you tried everything you could to save Strawberry Champagne.
Your tribute to Strawberry Champagne in your signature is lovely. |
2.0.0 Dogs (westie Angus, shih tzu Archie)
0.5.0 African Pygmy Hedgehogs (Harriet, Amelia, Matilda, Jemima, Maisie) RIP Hector
0.4.0 Guinea Pigs (Isobel, Effy, Mrs Mack & Sheila)
1.0.0 Lutino C0ckatiel (Sammy)
3.0.0 Corn Snakes - CB10 Amel (Barnaby), CB11 Anery Lavender (Bailey), CB10 Caramel Motley (Bradley)
0.1.0 CB11 Western Hognose Snake (Maggie) |
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Behavior & Feeding
