Noticed my gravid corn has a small sore swelling on her nose, she`s been digging around for a few days now and is due to lay any day. Is there anything i should do? Or just leave her to it? I assume it will go on its own after she`s laid and quit burrowing? I`ve never had anything with a rubbed nose before

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You could put a spot of tamodine on it just to keep it clean and help it heal. I had it with one corn this year and it was fine after one shed.

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Hi Spirit,

If I had the same problem with my snake, then yes I would treat the sore with a suitable choice according to the degree of the injury. Tamodine is ideal if you are only treating a minor wound, but if deep then is a BIG no no, as it can cause tissue damage and therefore hinder the healing process.

I learnt long ago that when there is a problem with a snake, then it is often pointless treating the symptoms unless you also look to, and cure the cause of the problem first, so lets question why your snake is rubbing her nose, and why Athravan's did, and countless others that I have read about on this and other forums. I think it's fair to say that Mum herself should know best what is ideal for her eggs and babies to be, and assuming you have placed an egg laying site in for her, I am again assuming that she is not happy with your choice, A) Perhaps the container or substrate within it is not to her liking. B) You have chosen an area that is not at the temp that she considers as right for her eggs. Rubbing of the nose at a time when eggs are due is a sign of a very unhappy and badly stressed snake, which needs your utmost attention now. I believe that Mum is saying things are not to her liking for her forth coming eggs/babies. I wonder how long we have in fact to get things right, as most lay around the 5th day after their pre-laying shed, and up to 10 at most for the others.

You could start thinking now about where Mum has spent most of her time whilst gravid, as she has so far judged this to be right for the eggs developing inside of her, which are developing further every day. I chose to take note of such temps with each Mum, and then continued incubating the eggs at Mum's chosen temp, and it was always a good choice as far as having strong hatchlings that fed well for the most.

Whilst discussing this snakes dilemma, it brings me to another thread started by a member about their silly snake laying 2 weeks early, and the eggs drying out. Well, while this next comment will make me unpopular, I feel justified in making it for the sake of the gravid snakes to be in the hope that it could avoid stress for some of them. It is known in general for all animals including us to not always produce our babies on time, and often earlier than expected, so it's not the snake being silly, but down to the failure of the provider/ manager of the accommodation for that animal, to ensure every thing is in place well beforehand in order to be prepared for such things as early egg laying and birth. It is always best to have the egg laying box in situ at the start of the breeding program too. This allows ample time for Mum to get used to the container, and if she refuses to use it, it also allows the snakes owner the time to find out why it's not in use. It could be down to the box, the substrate, or the colour/shape, or the position within the viv. Whatever the reason, by placing the container in early, you will have the time to investigate and hopefully cure the problem, if there is one, and be assured of the fact that you have assisted your snake well by giving her what she feels happy with for the sake of her up coming eggs/babies. A contented Mum will not be going round causing injury to her self. One that does is shouting out loud about how stressed she is, and it requires your urgent attention to put to rights. Having said that I have come across a few snakes that were stressed right from the start of being gravid and proved to be unsuitable choices for breeding full stop, so chose not to ever place them in a further breeding program unless they showed the signs themselves of wanting to.

Mo.

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"If you talk with the animals they will talk with you and you will know each other. If you do not talk to them, you will not know them and what you do not know, you will fear. What one fears, one destroys."
Chief Dan George (1899-1981)

Thanks folks.

It is by no means deep, its literally a little swelling on her nose that looks a little sore.
Mum hasn`t been moved or had any temperature changes since mating...in fact she hasn`t had any changes for 12 months. She`s got a choice of 2 laying boxes, which are in all season as hides anyway, one at each end with different substrates in each, so other than that i`m not sure what else i can offer her. Vermiculite has been the chosen substrate of the other girls and she does spend most of her time in the tub.

To be honest, i don`t think being restless when close to laying is a sign of a "very unhappy and badly stressed snake" nor one crying out loud that she is stressed to the extent she causes personal injury to herself.
As with most species that i know of, including humans, restlessness is just a normal sign that laying/birth will occur soon. I think its wrong to imagine that labour for any animal is painless and stress free, i`d have a hundred kids if it was...but it is natural.
Her prelay shed was 10 days ago, the other girls all laid between 10 and 15 days of their sheds, so no, there isn`t much time to play with, but i feel the more i mess with her environment now, the more stressed she will become.

Thanks for the opinion, but tbh unfortunately i don`t agree with some of the points raised.

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It's a shame you bring it up here instead of on the right thread.... If it is a strange coincidence that someone else has experienced the same as me this week, I apologise for jumping the guns, but perhaps you could talk to them instead of commenting on other threads...

I apologise now to Spirit for the hijack of this thread, which I did not intend. Over 10 years of breeding and over 1000 hatchlings produced, I have never had a corn snake lay 2 weeks early. I have always used the same enclosures, the same tubs. This snake laid in those temperatures, and that enclosure last year, and the year before, on time, and without fail. Her box was all ready for her, in the appropriate place as it is with all my females - over 20 successful clutches this year. She's not an old snake but is certainly experienced with breeding, and knows what to do.

To suggest that birth giving is entirely dependant on circumstances controllable by the owner is in my opinion, not valid. Does a human have premature labour because the owner lived incorrectly? Sometimes, yes... but certainly not always! You cannot predict the health or actions of any animal down to the very last possibility. My snake showed no signs of stress, nor any imminent signs of egg laying, right down to eating a few days before. As I said in my original post, the snake ate immediately after laying, exhibiting no signs of stress at all, and I had concerns about the fertility of the eggs when seeing them anyway - infertility IS a reason to lay eggs at incorrect times, as is simply poor luck or unknown health reasons that can't be predicted.

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Well she laid 18 good looking eggs last night so hopefully now she`s done it will sort out with a drop of tamodine!

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Het hypomelanistic sunkissed babies now hatched.

Also coming soon: sunkisseds, het amber blood motley poss het lavender and amel

PM if interested!

Congrats!

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