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Selecting mature snakes

KevinK

KevinK

New member
Woo Hoo!

I saw an add in the paper for 2 cornsnakes and a complete viv setup for $80. The lady didn't know much about them except that they're 3 feet long and coral or pink colored. I'm going to check them out this weekend, and I'd appreciate any advice on selecting a mature snake.

I'll be checking their eyes, noses, mouths and vents for discharge, checking weight vs. length (kind of a "does this snake look and feel normal for it's size" thing), feeding schedule (what fed and how often), poop consistency and color, physical damage or abnormalities, and external parasites.

If I do get them, I'll be providing seperate viv's immediately and
a vet checkup as soon as I can. I'm gonna quarrantine them for a while just to be safe.

Is there anything else I should be concerned about before purchasing?

My addiction is worsening!!


Kevin
 
Greetings,

I'm a newbie but It sounds like you've covered most of your bases. I think you might want to have a vet checkout some fecals before buying. As I understand it, Corn's can 'appear' perfectly healthy but in reality have problems only detectable by a vet?

Cheers,
Jason
 
You want to make sure you see a vet who accualy knows something about snakes. A lot of normal vets are useless.

Alex
 
not useless as they can apply something just limited as they don't have herpetological training, they'll still probably know what's wrong i.e. respiratory infections, mouthrot, mite/tick infestation still best to try and find a herp vet though:)
 
Exactly what I was gonna say Rach! My vet isn't herp trained but can still send fecals away to be tested so that I know if my snake is parasite free etc. He can also apply his knowledge and determine whether it's a GI infection (sore belly) or mouth rot. For more advanced things he would call a vet friend that specializes and get the answer for me, or read up about it.
 
Thanks for the vet info!

I had the opportunity to visit a local emergency vet clinic and while I was there I asked about herp-trained vets. There was one lady who volunteers at the clinic that is trained and sees a lot of herps.

I took the 2 snakes I have now to her office for a routine look. The vet seemed really knowledgable and was interested in my snakes. I'll be taking the new snakes to her for a check-up as well.

How about GSE? Should I get some and use it while the new guys are quarrantined, or just if they're sick?

--Kevin
 
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