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Opal corn snake concerns

brooksy

brooksy

New member
I got the corn snake in concern about 6 weeks ago. He is still a baby and I have never had such a small colubrid before (everything else was 6 months and older).
He ate good for the first month. But 2.5 weeks ago he regurgitated. I had fed him on a Thursday before I left for a weekend business trip. When I got back on the following Monday I noticed the reguritation and that the tub was cooler than it should have been (my pet sitter might have bumped the plug in, but they did not have anything they needed to do with the snakes at all, just misting and feeding some of my lizards) so I asked the person who had got him in for me what to do (he suggested to skip a feeding to let his stomach acids return to usual) which I did. The following feeding he took his meal like a champ.
A few days after this I noticed that his shed was partially stuck, but not stuck like how geckos (which I have more experience with). It is like the skin has separated but doesnt have any air in between the layers and it is suctioned to him. This makes him look like how old person skin is wrinkly.
I have since given him regular baths in hopes to help and started keeping him on damp papertowel, as suggested to me.
He has since refused one meal, but have been told that while the shed is stuck he may not eat.
Some people from another forum have suggested that is could be caused by parasites and others don't know what to suggest. If anyone has any ideas or has dealt with this, please feel free to give any input.
Oh and he is kept on papertowel, in a sterilite tub, with 2 hides (one hot and one cold) and a water dish. I have been told to add a humid hide (which I will do tonight, but am wondering what the best substrate is for the humid hide). And other than my weekend trip, his temperatures have been normal.
 
I have had a few hatchlings have that stuck wind sock skin thing before and it is just a phase & they wil grow out of it. One snake had that every shed for about 5 sheds in a row. First change the substrate to aspen. that will give him something to burrow around in to help sluff off the skin. 10 min baths once every 4 - 5 days helps. A few hours after bath time I will also let them sit in a deli container on the cool side "70*F+ ambient temp" with a damp paper towel kind of wadded up in there. Last deal if real bad and sticking after a week then i have purchased "Zoo Med Repti shedding aid". Place the snake in hand with paper towel and mist. Apply enough preasure so that the misted paper towel rubs the snake gently. let him crawl through you hand a few times untill you are sitisfied the stuff is all over him.

Stll try and feed on schedule. My girl who had ths real bad stll ate fine. She was just pissed at me all while in that terrible itchy clingy shed. If they skip a meal then fine. A baby can go many weeks with no food as long they are healthy and have fresh water so dont fret if a meal or two is missed because of this. just keep up with your feeding schedule.
 
Here is a photo that the OP had sent me so that I could post it on here as she couldn't post it from her phone. I'm at a loss for suggestions to help her out and I hope someone here might have some ideas, or at least be able to give some ideas of what the problem might be! Thanks for any help anyone can give her!!
IMG_20121108_231457resize.jpg
 
Yea that's what my classic saphira looked like when she had really bad sheds. What I did above helped her out and she is a full grown adult happy as ever and with perfect sheds now.
 
May I suggest the 'Snake o bath'? Place a wet washcloth in your feeding container, add snake and leave for an hour. The dampness helps loosen the skin and wriggling against the washcloth gives something to slough against. It's far less stressful for the snake than a waterbath, where they try to keep out of the water or are forced to swim.
 

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Good news all! She was able to help him get his shed off last night with Janine's trick and she told me he was back to his normal perky self shortly after :) Thank you everyone for helping her out, I was excited when she text me to let me know. She has a few of my babies and I know how much they all mean to her so thank you so much!!!
 
Thanks for everyone's help. I am so happy that he's cruising around like normal again. My only question would be how long to wait to feed him now? He regured 3 weeks back and then took the following meal no problem but then refused the next one. He was on day old pinkies in case that matters.
 
Sad news, Eli passed away this morning. I just hoped that last nights improvements would have meant he was on his road to recovery.
 
Oh gosh. I was hoping that since he got his shed off, he'd be all right. I'm sorry for your loss. :(
 
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