I would love to say that everything and everyone is ok but that is not the case. True mostly nothing has changed, but the particular animal that is in decline is one close to my heart. Ares, just an old normal corn snake, is my second oldest snake in my collection. However he has had on and off health troubles throughout his life. From years of obesity when he was on loan, a reoccurring respiratory issue that stemmed from dusty dry coconut fiber and dry Aspen bedding for too long (this has been relieved by housing him on bioactive planted substrate now), needing multiple deworming treatments around new snakes at the place he was loaned, and then when I got him back having to treat him due to ill snakes at that place. I do believe his current digestive issues that he has right now are a direct result of having to deworm him too often too many times in his life. He is the only snake in the collection who is not absorbing the nutrients of the food he is eating and subsequently is losing weight at a drastic pace. It had been slower at first, just a few years ago he was a lean bread loaf shape but required double the food intake than the rest to upkeep that size.
Typically I only do a deworming preventative treatment for newcomers in quarantine, animals coming back from loaned places, and a group deworming if more than one snake is showing visible symptoms. I had a case way back where my whole collection of corns got these large intestinal worms from bad mice and had to treat back then.
Ares is still eating double the amount that everyone else is but getting more and more thin. After fecal samples taken more than a few times from him and my other corns over the past year and a half I'm positive there are no visible parasites. He also tested negative for microscopic intestinal parasites. Mind you this is an "exotic" vet who told me Ares was a female way back when he was like... two years ish? I didn't find out about his real gender until I learned much more in college and probed him. These vets say that they can't do any real testing on him since they don't have an official reptile vet. Considering his age and how his condition has declined more quickly over the last 6 months the general unofficial consensus with the "interns" is euthanasia as I thought. Granted this visit was over a month ago and it's the only vet place saying they treat snakes despite being labeled an exotic vet. I mean why did they even do a general check up on him way back when he was young in the first place? Just told me it was a hybrid corn and rat snake, that it was female, and healthy then let me leave. Absolutely ridiculous.
So I'm sad to say that I will likely have to be the one to dispatch him. My last ditch effort was to try feeding him very small but many pinkies so that they were easier for his body to digest. Even these seem to go through him and still look like lumps of pinky.
I had to physically do invasive species work with birds and snakes at school that required ethical euthanizing practices. I will be crying my eyes out though. This snake has no idea, probably dislikes me and just wants to hide, but all his life he helped me through stress and pain simply by allowing me to free handle him. He unknowingly helped me through middle and high school bullying. Through stressful college and my first ex. He is my first real pet, and my first snake. I have had him for over 20 years now. I have a few of his babies and he sired a few clutches in his life that survived to go on in life. I had hoped I would have him for longer but his quality of life at this point is not good. I almost wish that he would do what some dogs and cats do and just refuse food. But the b--tard still wants to eat everything. He never missed a meal in his whole life not even during breeding season or shedding. I have had him since he was a juvenile and he was the best friend I had for a long time.
So this will be the last update for Ares. The last geriatric corn I'll have after this will be Casper. She is far more healthy than Ares is so I believe she will be around for a long while still. Everyone else is fine and I think I will not be putting anyone into brumation this year.
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