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I might've accidentally injured my snake...

J

JjSnake

New member
I've only had my snake for 1.5 months now, and he was a hatchling when I first got him.

I was lifting up my snake's little cave/hide, and it slipped out of my hand and I think it accidentally fell on top of him! Ugh, I feel so bad about this. I'm not even sure if I hit him at all, and I don't know if there's any way to tell. I'm pretty sure he was very startled and lost some trust for me.

I was trying to examine him for injuries, and the strange thing is that he seems to have wrinkles along his sides. At first I thought that maybe the wrinkles indicate the area where he was hit, but then it seemed like the wrinkles are continuing all along both sides of his body. Maybe is that a sign of shedding? Maybe it has nothing to do with any injuries? His skin looks very dull, and he's been hiding a lot recently, so I guess I wouldn't be surprised if he was about ready to shed. But I've never heard that they get wrinkles like that before they shed.

Do you think the wrinkles are a sign of shedding? Is there any way for me to tell if I injured him at all?

I feel bad about this.
 
I should also mention: I was surprised at how big he got. It looks like he just went through some kind of a growth spurt. Could this also be a sign that maybe he was about to shed?
 
Do you have any pictures so we can better help you?
"Wrinkles" could mean a few different things, but again, it would be helpful to see what you're talking about.
 
Thanks guys.

I'm pretty sure he's not dehydrated, because he drinks tons of water every day. I am very diligent with making sure his water is always available and always clean. I actually just "upgraded" his water bowl last week from Eco-Terra's "small" size to the "medium" one, because he was drinking so much water. He still seems to finish all the water in the "medium" bowl within a few days. I just filled it up 2 days ago, and now it's only 1/3 full.

I would love to take pictures, but I think it might be best to leave him alone for a while. I think he's very afraid of me. Now he's hiding under his hide again, but he keeps peeking his head out and keeping an eye on me (which is unusual for him).

If he comes out and roams around, then I'll try to take some pictures.

Thanks again for the help.
 
I know that my Gopher snake gets wrinkly before he sheds... It could be that, but who knows, it may just be the way he was situated in your hands...

I brumate my corn snakes and it seems that while hibernating they still grow. It is very interesting. My anery actually grew 13 grams over the winter, when he was supposed to be sleeping..LOL
 
Double check the temps in the viv. If they are a just a few degrees too high, your snake can be getting dehydrated despite all the water he is drinking, which may explain why he's going through the amount of water he is. Wrinkled skin needs to be monitored closely for the cause as it is not a good sign.
 
Thanks a lot for the advice. I always monitor the temps of the cage, and usually it is near 82 degrees (with an IR thermometer). I lowered it to 78 "just in case". That should be good, right?

It's very possible that the water has simply been evaporating. I didn't think about that.

Here's something I was thinking about just now: I got him a larger water bowl about a week ago. When he had his small bowl, I know for sure he was drinking, because I saw him near the bowl frequently.

Before I upgraded the bowl, I've never seen these wrinkles on his skin.

Do you think it's possible that he doesn't like to drink from the new larger bowl? Have you ever heard of anything like that? I'm using the exact same water. All I did was switch from the Eco Terra small to the Eco Terra medium.

Thanks for the advice.
 
It's 82 where his hide is, which is on top of the heat mat. But the other half of the cage doesn't have a heat mat underneath it. I guess I never check the temperature of that other area, since I was more concerned with the area that was being heated.

Am I doing something wrong? I hope not!
 
Oh my goodness, he's actually shedding right now! I thought they weren't supposed to eat before they shed?!

I just gave him a pinkie 30 minutes ago (last time he ate was about 5 days ago), and now he's shedding with the pinkie in his belly! Is that normal? He seemed hungry, too! He's been growing very fast lately.
 
BTW, I'm positive he actually ate the pinkie, because I watched him do it. It's definitely in his tummy right now. Plus I've never seen him regurge ever.
 
I have a couple of snakes that have eaten and then shed a couple days later. It is generally look at as a no-no, if he doesn't regurge, then consider yourself lucky and keep a better eye on when he goes into blue. That way you have a better idea on when to watch for a shed. Some snakes don't care if you feed them right before a shed, some throw it back up, it all depends on your guy now.
 
Outcast - thanks for the tips!

He was moving very slowly when he was trying to get his skin off, but now it's all successfully off, and he's back in his hide. The entire thing happened so quickly! It's like he ate and then shed all within a 30-45 minute period.

I probably don't know how to recognize yet when he's going into blue. Hopefully I'll gain that "skill" later on. I've read about it - how their skin turns dull, and how you can see it sometimes on their eyes... but I don't know how to recognize it yet. Maybe if his skin wrinkles like that again, I'll take it as a sign that he's about to shed.

The biggest thing I'm curious about is if his wrinkles went away. That's what's scaring me the most. But I can't really check it out yet, because I want to leave him alone while he digests.
 
Sorry if I missed it, what morph is your corn?
Most of the time it is really easy to tell when they are going into blue because their eyes turn all grey. A few of my snakes are in shed right now, including a snow, if you'd like me to post some pics? (I'd get them up tomorrow night since the lights in the room are off for the night, and it's no fun dealing with angry shed snakes in the dark! haha)
 
My snake is an ultramel anery. Does that say anything to you about any unique qualities when going into blue? I'm pretty sure his eyes weren't grey yesterday when I was examining him. I was looking at his face closely, actually, because he was eyeing me from inside his cave, like as if he was very suspicious of me.

One thing I feel very bad about is that I think he lost trust in me when I accidentally dropped his cave on him. Do you guys know if he'll end up trusting me again? Does it take a few days/weeks? Am I supposed to handle him differently now that he's "cautious"?

I used to try to hold him a few times a week, but I'm skipping this week because I think he probably wants some alone time.
 
The day before they shed they will look almost normal. They get really, really blue about 4-5 days before they actually shed, and then they clear up for 1-2 days where they look nearly normal. I can tell with my older snakes (I'll try to get a few pictures when my anery is right about to shed) because it almost looks like there is a tiny layer of hair under their skin.

And he will be just fine. I would handle as normal. When I used aquariums, I dropped a weighted lid on my snake's head and actually dislocated his jaw (he fixed it himself), I was freaking out, crying cause I thought for sure he'd be dead, and then he was fine. He was a bit jumpy the day after, but he was the nicest snake I have ever had (he ended up escaping and running into the cats, so sadly I no longer have him).
 
Thanks for all the help, Ali! I really appreciate it. I remember you helped me a long time ago, too.

That's funny that you dropped the lid on his head, but he was still okay! That makes me feel a lot better. Thanks for sharing that story! :)
 
Since he has a higher chance of regurging now because he ate just before the shed, do I have to check underneath his hide for the regurge material? Or will they usually regurge in a visible place?

I've never seen a regurge, so I don't even know what they look like. I'm guessing it ain't pretty. :)
 
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