We had a customer relinquish a Cornsnake a few months ago because he had wounds on the lower third of his body. They were so bad past his vent, we thought he might require amputation of his tail. To our experienced eyes, it looked like the snake had been chewed on by a rodent. As you can see from the pictures below, the damage was deep, nearly to the bone. To aggravate matters, the owner continued to keep him on aspen bedding which adhered to the scabbing as his body tried to heal. While the owner admitted feeding live, they denied leaving a rodent unattended with him. For a rodent to do this much damage, it had to have been in his cage for several days.

A very good friend of ours took him in for rehabilitation. She soaked him in a vet grade antiseptic, cleaned out his wounds and set him up on paper towels. Within a few weeks his wounds began to heal and he began feeding again. He has healed beautifully considering the damage done. It is unlikely his coloration will return in the areas of the worst wounds. This snake would have never had to suffer if just a moderate amount of attention had been made during feeding. It is also ill-responsible to allow an animal to get this bad before seeking treatment.

I hope this post encourages owners to take more care and if their is a problem, don’t wait to seek help.