corn snake with a fused spine

Question
Hello!
We have a corn snake who is around 9 years old and 4-5 feet long. She stopped eating her mice about 2 1/2-3 months ago. She has always been very regular, eating on a monthly basis. We took her to a vet that specializes in reptiles and he took and x-ray. He said about 5 inches of her spine is fused together (it's something like arthritis in humans). She wouldn't eat because the mouse is large enough to cause discomfort in that area. We're going to try feeding her pinkies instead to see if she'll eat those. My question is: How much pain do snakes actually feel? If she starts eating pinkies again, will she still be in pain? Is there any type of pain medication to put in the pinkie to ease her discomfort (if it even exists)? She shows no indication of being in pain. She's just as active as ever, and during the examination when the doctor found the fused part and tried to move it, she didn't lash out at all. She was perfectly peaceful. If we can't get her to eat, putting her to sleep would be more humane than starvation. The disease will gradually deteriorate. But if she can eat pinkies and be comfortable for a few more years, we love her and would much rather keep her around as long as possible. Thank-you so much for your help. It's greatly appreciated.

Answer
Hello Holly,

Assessing actual pain levels in animals is always difficult and behaviour changes remain a primary indicator. Heartrate, breathing rate and blood pressure can be used in higher animals. Reptiles will certainly "pain guard" which is avoiding an activity that produces pain, even one as strongly ingrained as feeding. I have witnessed snakes thrash and attempt to bite at a painful area on their body so her continued normal movement sounds like a favourable sign that she is not in extreme or constant discomfort.


Metacam is a common and safe pain reliever used in veterinary medicine, including reptiles and obviously your vet would be the best judge of when that may be required. I would certainly try the smaller food item route first as you are suggesting. Pinkies are quite a drastic size difference from adults and she would have to eat several of them to make a meal. I would be tempted to start with a small hopper first and move down to large fuzzies if it seems necessary. I would think that it is the resulting bulging or stretching of the fused area that is the source of discomfort so anything just small enough to avoid that should work. Spreading these slightly smaller food items out by feeding one every couple weeks may help as well rather then doubling or tripling them up all at once to make a full meal.

At nine, she is nearing her senior years but many of my corns have lived well into their mid to even late teens. If this is indeed her only health issue then it sounds like a surmountable hurdle and with a little accomodation with her feeding and possible medical help from your vet then you should be able to enjoy her company for a few more years to come. Best of luck with her.