Dekay's Brown Snake with... Tongue Injury?

[royalreilly]

Aw, poor little snake. I've never come across a snake like that before: if there are no forks to the tongue, then obviously some is missing, and if it doesn't go
completely inside the mouth, that's a different issue; snakes can have an infection of the glottis, for example, which can make the tongue difficult to flick, so they
may flick it slowly, which is something I've seen before, or I suppose it might just be stuck as this one seems to be? I'm not sure about his prognosis, because
snakes find & recognize their food by scent, & to do that, they need their tongue tips. The tips of a snake's tongue pick up molecules (of scent) which are
transported to the Jacobsen's organ in the roof of their mouth, in order for them to identify what they're smelling. They might still be able to smell a little bit
nasally, but I think it would be a real hindrance without their tongue tips. The one good thing is that he seems to be surviving...I mean he doesn't look like he's
starving & if you didn't see a fresh injury, it's possible that he's coping???

But he may also have some sort of mouth (glottis) infection too. In fact, the problem might have started with a mouth infection, and when his tongue stuck out
for too long, the tissues may have dried out, causing the loss?

I feel so bad for the little guy!! I'm going to just keep hoping that because he had no apparent fresh wounds he's been living like this for a while and knows how to survive. I just don't think he would've even had a better chance in my care, or probably any captive care. I don't think I could've even gotten food for him... they mostly eat worms and slugs apparently, but he was sooo tiny! Dekay's brown snakes are known for being small, but I think this one may have even still been a juvenile.
I've just got to hope he's out there doing okay now