# Corn Snake Impaction



## Edith70 (Feb 17, 2021)

Hello all, 
My corn snake Edith (around 5 years old) is suffering from a pretty bad impaction, likely caused by night temps being 70 F. The last time I fed her was early November, and since then, she hasn’t really pooped at all. She still urates like normal, but there’s a definite bulge in her body (see picture).
I took her into the ER, and they said she was stable, but they couldn’t really do anything unless I have an appointment. The nearest appointment is the _4th of January. _This worries me. She hasn’t eaten since Nov, and the warm soaks I’ve been giving her seem to just stress her out.
Any recommendations? Should I stop the daily soaks? Anyone dealt with something similar? I just want my snake to be ok, but I don’t know if the vet appointment will be too late.
Any advice is appreciated.


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## wilkinss77 (Sep 23, 2008)

Edith70 said:


> Hello all,
> My corn snake Edith (around 5 years old) is suffering from a pretty bad impaction,* likely caused by night temps being 70 F. *The last time I fed her was early November, and since then, she hasn’t really pooped at all. She still urates like normal, but there’s a definite bulge in her body (see picture).
> I took her into the ER, and they said she was stable, but they couldn’t really do anything unless I have an appointment. The nearest appointment is the _4th of January. _This worries me. She hasn’t eaten since Nov, and the warm soaks I’ve been giving her seem to just stress her out.
> Any recommendations? Should I stop the daily soaks? Anyone dealt with something similar? I just want my snake to be ok, but I don’t know if the vet appointment will be too late.
> ...


More likely not, as that's a perfectly normal night temp.


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## LiasisUK (Sep 30, 2019)

Yes as above the temps are fine, corn snakes can live at very low temps, 10c (50f). They can digest food at this temperature.

I am unsure if this is impaction, it is hard to tell from the image exactly what section of the animal it is higher up than where I would expect impacted fecal matter to be. I'd say it is more likely to be something kidney related and needs to be examined by a vet ASAP. 
Can you not tell them it is more urgent or contact another one? Seems odd you have to wait 2 weeks for an appointment, any of the vets I use can usually do next day or the very latest within 3 working days.

I'd say the daily soaks are pointless.


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## Edith70 (Feb 17, 2021)

LiasisUK said:


> Yes as above the temps are fine, corn snakes can live at very low temps, 10c (50f). They can digest food at this temperature.
> 
> I am unsure if this is impaction, it is hard to tell from the image exactly what section of the animal it is higher up than where I would expect impacted fecal matter to be. I'd say it is more likely to be something kidney related and needs to be examined by a vet ASAP.
> Can you not tell them it is more urgent or contact another one? Seems odd you have to wait 2 weeks for an appointment, any of the vets I use can usually do next day or the very latest within 3 working days.
> ...


When I visited the ER, they said they didn’t have the sufficient staff to treat her and I had to make an appointment…And ofc, the appointments are booked for a while. The only other exotic vet in my area is just doing ER visits, so I’m worried it’s the same thing, and I’ll just waste another couple hundred. Here’s another picture with the area circled. It’s easier to tell in person, on her stomach there’s a slight stretch of scales. Should I try and feed her again?


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## Edith70 (Feb 17, 2021)

LiasisUK said:


> kidney related


She has been drinking a lot of water. When I took her to the ER, they said she was dehydrated which I thought odd. They gave her some shots to help with that temporarily.


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## Swindinian (May 4, 2020)

Best thing to avoid/reduce impaction is hydration and exercise.

Indeed if she is/was dehydrated that would have put a lot of strain on the kidneys (and other organs).

Don’t feed her until the swelling is resolved/vet advises otherwise.

Feeding puts additional strain on organs. A corn could go weeks/months without food, so feeding is not the priority now.

If bathing causes a lot of stress, then focus on daily fresh water, in clean bowl, plenty of hides for seclusion and rest.

Book the vets, then call round for other options. A non specialist could examine and seek advice from specialist vets, as an alternative.


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## LiasisUK (Sep 30, 2019)

Edith70 said:


> When I visited the ER, they said they didn’t have the sufficient staff to treat her and I had to make an appointment…And ofc, the appointments are booked for a while. The only other exotic vet in my area is just doing ER visits, so I’m worried it’s the same thing, and I’ll just waste another couple hundred. Here’s another picture with the area circled. It’s easier to tell in person, on her stomach there’s a slight stretch of scales. Should I try and feed her again?
> View attachment 370294


Oh that's very high up, I highly highly doubt that is impaction at all. Still possibly kidney, or potentially liver related issue.


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## Elly66 (Feb 27, 2021)

Unlikely to have anything to do with the nighttime temperature, I don't provide any heat at night and never have in 25+ yrs.
As others have said, it's doubtful this is general impaction and definitely needs a vet to find out what's going on. Have you tried just calling the other exotics vet, as they may well slot you in? Even a general vet should be able to cover the basic.

I'd stop bathing the snake and do as much as possible to keep it stress free. Just allow access to fresh water and don't try to feed it until you know what's wrong. The snake is a good size and can go without food for quite some time.

On a different note, your corn is a stunning colour.


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## Malc (Oct 27, 2009)

Elly66 said:


> On a different note, your corn is a stunning colour.


Very reminiscent of the natural colouration of a Great Plains Rat snake....


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## Edith70 (Feb 17, 2021)

Edith70 said:


> Hello all,
> My corn snake Edith (around 5 years old) is suffering from a pretty bad impaction, likely caused by night temps being 70 F. The last time I fed her was early November, and since then, she hasn’t really pooped at all. She still urates like normal, but there’s a definite bulge in her body (see picture).
> I took her into the ER, and they said she was stable, but they couldn’t really do anything unless I have an appointment. The nearest appointment is the _4th of January. _This worries me. She hasn’t eaten since Nov, and the warm soaks I’ve been giving her seem to just stress her out.
> Any recommendations? Should I stop the daily soaks? Anyone dealt with something similar? I just want my snake to be ok, but I don’t know if the vet appointment will be too late.
> ...


UPDATE: thanks for all of you who encouraged me to call around. I got a vet appointment this evening and got x-rays done. You all were right, it was not impaction. It is likely a tumor so there’s not much we can do. I appreciate all your advice and I hope I gave my girl the best life she could possibly have had.


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## ian14 (Jan 2, 2008)

Edith70 said:


> UPDATE: thanks for all of you who encouraged me to call around. I got a vet appointment this evening and got x-rays done. You all were right, it was not impaction. It is likely a tumor so there’s not much we can do. I appreciate all your advice and I hope I gave my girl the best life she could possibly have had.


You now have to make that awful decision.
I'm sorry to hear this.


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## Malc (Oct 27, 2009)

Sorry to hear that the diagnosis is not great. As Ian says, you have to make the decision to put her to rest or let nature take its course. The only problem with the latter is we have no idea of what pain she is in, and a natural passing may be long and suffering.


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## LiasisUK (Sep 30, 2019)

Edith70 said:


> UPDATE: thanks for all of you who encouraged me to call around. I got a vet appointment this evening and got x-rays done. You all were right, it was not impaction. It is likely a tumor so there’s not much we can do. I appreciate all your advice and I hope I gave my girl the best life she could possibly have had.


Glad you managed to find somewhere, but I am sorry the news is not good  

I would still offer her some food, a smaller than normal prey item in case the tumor blocks the food moving through the body.


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## Edith70 (Feb 17, 2021)

Edith70 said:


> UPDATE: thanks for all of you who encouraged me to call around. I got a vet appointment this evening and got x-rays done. You all were right, it was not impaction. It is likely a tumor so there’s not much we can do. I appreciate all your advice and I hope I gave my girl the best life she could possibly have had.


Thank you all for the support. It means a lot—I have one last question. I now have the option of immediately putting her down or trying antibiotic shots. The vet clearly thinks it’s a tumor, but on the off chance it is some kind of infection, I’m willing to try. Problem is, to show effectiveness, they need a month. My concern is that Edith hasn’t eaten since the beginning of November. Will she starve? The last thing I want to do is prolong her suffering.  She still has no interest in food.


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## LiasisUK (Sep 30, 2019)

Not feeding her for a month won't kill her. Unsure when the pic above was taken but she doesn't look underweight. Your call at the end of the day. But no I don't think a month more with no food will kill her. They can go a few months without feeding if healthy weight.


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## Malc (Oct 27, 2009)

As a Royal python owner it does make me chuckle when corn snake owner's worry about their snake not being fed for 4 weeks...  

As the above post says, a couple of months without food is fine, especially over winter as for some they would naturally ease off the intake of food. My Bairds Rat snake hasn't taken a feed since 1st October and she is fine, decent shape and active. So @Edith70 you have no need to worry


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