My elderly corn snake keeps biting herself

SammyLou · 05-28-20, 04:52 PM

hi y'all. I have an 18 or 19 year old lavender albino corn snake who I have found twice biting her own tail and refusing to let go to the point where I had to run her head under water. She will chomp town on her own tail and writhe and twist up. She also has taken to soaking in her water bowl quite a bit though she just shed last week. I thought her enclosure may be too warm but I have checked it many times and it's well within temp range on both ends. Has anyone else ever experienced this? I have read that snakes will bite themselves in their death throes but that makes me so sad! I don't want her to die, and also her appetite is totally normal so I'm stumped?? THANK YOU FOR ANY ADVICE

ClockwerkBonnet · 05-28-20, 05:04 PM

Do you see any stuck shed on her tail? I'm just curious since you stated that she shed last week.

craigafrechette · 05-28-20, 05:25 PM

Hmmmm... Interesting behavior. I noticed my King biting himself a few times, but I just chalked it up to him being a crazy King. He didn't hold on either. He'd bite, almost like a good strike, but then let go. No food around so he couldn't have smelled prey and been confused.

He passed not too long ago. Now I'm wondering if the tail biting was a precursor.

I'll be watching this thread closely to see if anyone else has any input.

Best of luck with your corn. Positive vibes sent your way!

SammyLou · 05-28-20, 06:00 PM

As far as I can tell no. She shed in pieces this time but I checked to make sure everything came off because normally she just sheds one long piece. I know typically corns don't need their humidity monitored but it makes me wonder if her enclosure is too dry? Is that a thing?

craigafrechette · 05-29-20, 06:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SammyLou

As far as I can tell no. She shed in pieces this time but I checked to make sure everything came off because normally she just sheds one long piece. I know typically corns don't need their humidity monitored but it makes me wonder if her enclosure is too dry? Is that a thing?

To say corns don't typically need their humidity monitored is false. Although they are fine within the ranges of most of our relative humidity where we live. So, many keepers don't have to make any adjustments or tweaks, since where they live humidity is well within acceptable for corns.
However, this isn't one size fits all. You still want to maintain humidity in the 40ish range. If your humidity is consistently below that you may need to bring it up a bit.

chairman · 05-29-20, 09:03 PM

The most commonly reported cause of neurological issues in snakes is exposure to toxins. For example, provent-a-mite can cause neurological issues in hognose snakes. Is there any chance your snake was exposed to a chemical?

Just last week I lost my 12-13 year old corn snake to cancer. It was a tumor in the general area of his left lung/heart. There were no external symptoms, no changes in behavior, I wasn't even aware anything was wrong until the tumor grew just large enough to stress the heart and cause a large amount of swelling in the area of the heart (and residual edema in the neck/throat area).

Semi-related, I had a dog that developed tumors in his brain. The placement of the tumors caused occasional shifts in his behavior, causing him to do things he would never normally do.

It is possible that your snake has a small tumor near its brain that is causing neurological issues. A vet can confirm a tumor, but I'm afraid there isn't a treatment available (or at least no treatment that my vet was aware of).

SammyLou · 05-30-20, 06:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chairman

The most commonly reported cause of neurological issues in snakes is exposure to toxins. For example, provent-a-mite can cause neurological issues in hognose snakes. Is there any chance your snake was exposed to a chemical?

Just last week I lost my 12-13 year old corn snake to cancer. It was a tumor in the general area of his left lung/heart. There were no external symptoms, no changes in behavior, I wasn't even aware anything was wrong until the tumor grew just large enough to stress the heart and cause a large amount of swelling in the area of the heart (and residual edema in the neck/throat area).

Semi-related, I had a dog that developed tumors in his brain. The placement of the tumors caused occasional shifts in his behavior, causing him to do things he would never normally do.

It is possible that your snake has a small tumor near its brain that is causing neurological issues. A vet can confirm a tumor, but I'm afraid there isn't a treatment available (or at least no treatment that my vet was aware of).

It's super interesting you bring this up because my corn has cancer. She was diagnosed with a squamous cell carcinoma which was removed about 10 months ago and though the vet got most of it he couldn't get it all. I decided then that if I noticed reoccurrance (it was a lesion) or any major changes in appetite or behavior I would consult the vet again in regards to euthanasia.

I made an appointment for Monday and I am taking her. I have very little experience with snakes at the vet except for having her tumor removed as I've only had her for 10/11 mos. Do they do bloodwork or anything that might help illuminate the problem further in your experience? Thanks in advance for your advice! Though im a new snake mom I love Georgette very dearly and it will be very hard to let her go if the time comes

chairman · 06-02-20, 11:37 PM

Sorry for the delayed response. Hopefully your visit with the vet was informative.

From my limited experience, an x-ray to identify the location of tumors followed up with a biopsy (and the accompanying lab work) are used to diagnose cancer. I'd defer to a genuine medical authority for other available options.