Possibly Injured corn snake?

Im sorry if this is in the wrong location, but considering this is about a corn snake I didnt really know where to put it.

I work at petsmart, my coworker and I were feeding the snakes, and this particular corn snake is an infamous biter. My coworker was grabbing him while I got another snake and he dropped it from about four feet. Initially I thought he would be fine because my ball python has fallen from my shoulder(Im 5'11") And was completely fine, but When I picked him up i noticed a "kink" about halfway down his spine that I hadnt noticed before. I took him into the back room to take a closer look and he didnt make any attempt to move for the next 5 or 6 minutes. He was flicking his tongue and moving his head, but didnt make any effort to move the rest of his body. I took him to banfield(the vet inside of petsmart) and had them look at him because I was worried he had broken his spine. They sent him back an hour later saying it was just a kink and that he would be okay and that I should observe him for a few days. I set up an enclosure in the back so he wouldnt be handled and hes been there for two days. I havent seen him move around in front of me, but he has been in various locations within his enclosure when I go back to check on him.

I picked him up today because I wanted to knoww if he could control the lower half f his body in any way. The front half of his body is perfectly normal and he can move it easily. But the lower half doesnt seem to have any strength. While he can move his tail, he cant seem to grab things with it or tighten his grip. at one point he moved in a way that flipped him belly up and it looked as though he had trouble getting back belly down. The loss of control APPEARS to begin at this "kink".

If It is a spinal injury I know theres nothing I can do. Im going to attempt to feed him in three days. He can control enough of his body to constrict pinkies,(not that it matters, theyre F/T anyway) But Id like to know if he has a good chance of survival if this is a spinal injury. he can move himself around, just not terribly easily. I am almost sure he would be capable of eating. Whether he does or not is up to him though.

Also, since he fell his temperment is completely different. Before we would explore a lot. He was fiesty, and stuck at the smallest movements. Now hes incredibly docile, and whie hes aware of you and smelling you makes no violent actions whatsoever.

That sucks, first and foremost. Not laying blame, just a crapper of situation. I'd be curious as to how qualified the PetSmart vet is to make a determination about the well-being of a corn snake, as the ones around where I live are strictly small animal (ie: dogs, cats) vets and NOT "exotics" (ie: rabbits, snakes, etc.). You could continue with what you're doing and make sure he's as comfortable as possible and just keep an eye on him. Depending where the "kink" is, I'd be concerned with him being able to pass urate/stools, not to mention if he has internal injuries or not.

I don't know the entire story but from what you said, it doesn't sound like the store is too concerned about him; he dies, they just get another one to replace him and write it off as a loss. You could ask if they'd let you take him in but then you're assuming 100% of the cost for his medical care and upkeep. Crappy situation, whichever way you consider it. I'd be concerned about internal injuries and whether the "kink" is a spinal injury or life-threatening. I dunno...good luck to you and he both, whatever comes of it!

I actually changed his bedding to reptile carpet so I could keep track of whether he was passing urates or not. He DID poop this morning though. It was a combination of both liquid and fecal matter though.Almost like when a bird poops/pee's. Any other snake poop ive seen has been a solid piece, not both solid and liquid. Not sure if thats a warning sign. Unfortunately I couldnt take him if I wanted to. I cant have anymore snakes until I move. Im hoping he doesnt have any internal injuries, and I guess im hoping that even if the spine was damaged, he could still have a decent quality of life. I mean if it doesnt kill him he would be the snake version of a cripple. Like I said he can get places. I just havent seen him do it and im sure it isnt easy. uhg I hope hes not in horrible pain.

That's great that he's able to pass stuff still! As far as solid versus less-than-solid, lol!: my corn tends to drop one or the other and there's no rhyme or reason to it that I've found. Kudos to you for going the extra step to keep an eye on him, rather than just writing him off and leaving him be.

I don't know about the pain part of things...I'm not sure how'd you be able to tell in a snake, short of him writhing or otherwise being aggressive or some other type of display. If you've done all you can at this point and he's still eating and passing as he should, maybe the store would discount him or give him away for free to a knowledgeable owner to keep so he could live out his days in a comfortable environment. Good luck!

Thanks. Ill talk to my boss about it. He's a flexible guy. Im just afraid theyre going to opt to euthanize, instead. Cross your fingers for me.

Will do and hope it turns out. Can't hurt to ask if they'd donate it to a classroom at a school or something, if he's functioning properly other than the "kink". Could be a good public relations move for the store, a tax write-off (all of $20 or so, lol!) plus educate younger kids on keeping/handling/raising herps. I dunno...hope it works out, whatever the outcome. Take care.

Just a status update, from what I can tell he's okay. He can move the front half of his body enough to make it around his enclosure. He IS defacating but it appears as though he has no control over it. He took a pinkie for me today as well. It went very normally until it hit his "kink" where it slowed down considerable. But he got it down, and is now resting in an isolation tank. IM going to keep on watching him to see if he can digest normally.