Hatchling slow to digeest?

[Brich]

Of our first clutch of 22 hatchlings (mom snow; dad amel, het anery) all but 2 are voracious eaters. see:

http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=60276

We have placed all but the two we decided to keep, the two non-eaters (they are a whole different story), and a puzzling snow who eats but doesn't seem to digest very well. The pinkies linger as dark lumps that are starting to merge into something worrisome. The siblings seem to digest their pinkies to translucency in less than a week, while this guy does not. It hatched 8/3, shed 8/21, and has eaten 8/21, 8/30, 9/8 and 9/24. It seems active and well hydrated. In the photo you can get an idea of what I mean.

Since these snakes have several recessive traits, they are obviously pretty inbred. I suppose it could be missing some digestive enzymes. Is this something anyone has seen before?

We keep all of the hatchlings in 9" x 6" x 4" supermarket salad boxes with water dishes fixed in place, paper towel and half toilet paper tubes. We have had them on a shelf with rear heat at about 85F measured at the back of the shelf. Last week it got cold here so I moved all of their cages inside a larger tank with UTH, again adjusted to about 85F.

Thanks,
Ben

 

[torsten]

vets trip needed?????

that does not look health.

perhaps some other more experianced breeders may be able to explain it or help further.

 

[Nanci]

That is scary. Has that hatchling ever pooped? Is everything down there normal looking- is there an opening?

 

[Brich]

It does not have any obvious anatomical defect. It has been passing a reasonable amount of clear liquid that dries white, but no real feces. While the masses are palpable, the abdomen posterior to the masses is not deflated. It has grown more than its two non-eater sibs, who have each had three force-fed half pinkies, but not as much as the healthy ones who have had 5 pinkies. So clearly it has been extracting some nutrition but it does not seem able to fully digest the carcasses. I probably would have euthanized it if it did not otherwise look so well.

 

[Brich]

Update

Today he regurgitated his pinkie from last week. It does not seem like a good sign.

On the bright side, the pinkie was really just a head and barely recognizable at that. Moreover, the dark lump is a lot softer and he still seems active and looks otherwise healthy. We decided that more exercise might help so we moved him and (his sibs) to larger Sterilite tubs.

 

[Brich]

RIP

In the end this guy had to be euthanized.

 

[plausibledenial]

Sorry to hear of his passing, but it really seems as though you went above and beyond for the little guy.