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I need help please

crotalis40741

Mtn. Folk Serpents
Joined
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Location
london, ky, USA
A few weeks ago i purchased some 2010 hatchlings, and about a week or so one died, it was odd five days before she died she ate and was fine then just looked dehydrated and starved and just died she never regurged then this week another one died the same way but this one did regurge. I live in rural ky and the vets told me they dont deal with reptiles. I do have a vet supposed to call me in the morning but i dont know. later this evening one of the males regurged for the first time but is acting ok and one of the other males regurged yesterday but isnt showing the symptoms the females did yet. I dont know what this is, but it kills them quick. they all have seperate housing, they all drink the same water as the rest of my collection, i raise my own feeders so all my snakes eat the same mice pool, the temps are good, i have them all in a separate room from the rest of the collection but i did put them in there after they had been here for 3 weeks but none of my other snakes are showing any signs of ill health, and i have other 2010 hatchlings in the reptile room. any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
thank you
 
They are in locking sterlite tubs at 81 deg on the warm side, or were, the breeder told me to take them off the heat. thought they were dehydrated. each has its own container at 6 quarts a container. No problems with water, i raise the mice which i have been doing for 2 years with all my snakes. They are isolated in a different room from my adults but from what some have told me it sounds viral and may be too late for all of my collection.
 
The temps certainly seem fine (if the reading was accurate on your thermometer/thermostat). Unfortunately nothing leaps out at me as being the cause of the symptoms. Maybe someone else can chime in with suggestions.

For the time being, I'd just make sure you religiously practice good hygiene when cleaning after, or handling, every hatchling.
 
Yea to me it sounds like something that came with the snakes from the person you got them.
Generally speaking, corn snakes are the most hardy I have seen. The only thing I can think of that would make them die so fast is a virus from the breeder.
 
Just out of curiosity, are they on the small side for their age?
What temps were you using before you were told to turn off the heat?


Take a fecal sample to a local vet, or take a snake in for a fecal smear - they don't have to "see reptiles" to analyze it. Probably the worst case scenario, with regurging colubrids, is cryptosporidia.

**Edit - just reread your post - what are the temps now, since you turned off the heat.
 
I am really not sure if they are small for thier age, to me all the snakes i have ordered seemed small when they came in. They are about 17 inches long. From everything i can find out about crypto it can take a long time to kill a snake. I am not an expert on it though. I have contacted an out of state vet to see about getting some tests run, the ones here have all told me they dont deal with reptiles. They have been kept at ranging from 75 to 82 since i have had them. I do have other 2010s from other sources that have been kept the same way and are fine. If i have done something wrong with them I would really like to figure it out, but at the moment i cant think of anything that would have caused this.
any ideas and info would be greatly appreciated.
 
What size prey did you feed them?
Personally, I would probably put the heat back on, with the warm side in the mid 80s (if you can do that and still provide a decent temp gradient with your current setup), and offer only a single nestling (ideally, hairless) rodent at least 2 weeks after the last regurgitation.

With some species (I can't address corns directly), regurgitation easily becomes a cycle if not broken quickly. A little probiotic is beneficial in restoring normal flora and getting things back under control....but that's just a band-aid if there is something nasty going on inside.
 
It can take a long time.....but these aren't adults and don't have the same reserves & tolerances.
Had any of them gone to the bathroom? Was it "normal" looking?
 
They have been on pinky mice since here, and until this week i have not had any regurges at all. They are fine for feeding then a few days later look terrible and die, barely move that day and just die. just dont make any sence at all.
 
The pooh for the most part has looked normal the male that regurged yesterday went it was clear with like brown stuff in it, looked like stuff suspended in egg. didnt really have a smell to it. the first female that died ate never regurged and then just died a few days after she ate last, they are eating small pinks every five days.
 
Mucousy stool is one of the symptoms of crypto...though the scenario you just described certainly doesn't sound typical. How many meals did they keep down?

Any chance there could be anything else going on? What are you using for disinfection?
I may be misreading things...were they initially with your other snakes? (No lecture coming, just trying to get the full picture.
 
the stools didnt look like mucous, they all had had seven feedings here and kept them all down. the stool just looked clear with egg white like consistency. had some brown looking stuff inside it. no smell to it really.
I know i messed up i only had them in quarintine for 3 weeks, my other snakes are fine seems like even my other 2010s that i got way before these. all the snakes have been housed in separate containers and the tubs get washed weekly with a mild disinfectant.
I raise my own feeders and all the snakes are fed out of the mice i breed.
thank you for replying
 
Four died and two lived, I gave the two away. I had testing done and nothing conclusive showed up but salmonella and ecoli. Don't know if you are following the BOI but the breeder has admitted to not feeding correctly this time around with his hatchlings dying again. The way it is looking on those they are to the point of thier bodies eating its self. The two that did live are still small from what I am told by thier new owners. But I really don't think we will ever know for sure what is going on completely. It is just a sad and sickening situation.
 
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