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applejacks

New member
So...

I bought a cornsnake from an exotic pet store in south florida. The woman that fed the animals told me that she fed them three crickets every other day. That didnt sound right to me, but what do I know? So, the next day after I got him, it was time to feed him. I dump three crickets in his cage and he completely ignores them. He lets them jump on him, walk all over him, everything. The next day, they're still there. I dont get it. Does he not want crickets? Is he not hungry (could three crickets really make him full for two days?) Oh by the way, she wasnt sure how old he was, but he is about 12-13 inches long and the thickness of half my pinky finger.

And another question. A friend of mine had a corn that she fed pinkies. Hers was the same size as mine...would eat one pinkie a week...but wound up eating himself. Seriously. Is this heard of? He started eating his tail, working his way up, and then choked on himself. ... what in the world?
 
Sounds like you got some bad advice from a pet shop.
Crickets are almost certinely not the right meal for a young corn snake.
Not all that nutritious compared to a plump little pinkie.
If the lady at the pet store has been trying to feed the corn crickets then the age of snake would be hard to determine by size.
It sounds like a quite young snake.
Maybe a month or two.
Your best bet would be to get some frozen pinkies and get one out to defrost.
Place it in a cup of warm water for a couple of minutes and then pat dry with a paper towl checking it has completetly defrosted.
Place the snake in a small feeding tub and put the thawed pinkie a couple of centimeters away from it's nose.
You are at the perfect place for advice.
There are lots of people here with a lot of experince keeping corns(not me) who are always willing to help.
Good luck.
 
I thought that he looked way to skinny to be as long as he was, so I figured the crickets was a horrible idea.

I know I have to take him out of the cage to feed him, but what sort of 'feeding tub' should i place him in? How often should I feed him a pinkie?

Thanks for the reply.
 
A small deli cup is usually good.
So it's just him and the pinkie with nothing else to think about.
I'd go with every five days.
people can and do go with every three to four,but if he has been miss fed for a while it is proberly best to start with the smallest pinkies you can find,and do feeds every five days untill he is settled.
Oh and i've never heard of a snake eating it's self(though they do sometimes eat each other!)but i'm sure it proberly has happened.
Not something you should worry about though
 
I've definitely seen photos of Corns that have "eaten themselves" and died. Just a feeding response gone mad I guess. Very rare indeed - your friend was incredibly unlucky.

Pinkies are the way to go though. Crickets are a bad idea.
 
I'd have to say a snake that has been underfed could have smaller meals but more frequently, you could try a very small pink every 4 days to build him up a bit, until he's ready for normal pinks?
 
I will definitely give that a try. So there are even different size pinks?... I have a Petco, Petsmart, and PetSupermarket around my house. Should they all carry them? Would they only carry live or frozen as well?
 
I think it depends on how standardised your supplier is, but My usual petshop has a range of each size bagged up, so pinks in the same pack can be day-old to nearly peach size. It makes feeding a whole lot of snakes on different food size much easier for me
 
I apologise beforehand if this post sounds rude or mean. That isn't my intention... but... this sounds a lot to me like you didn't do any homework whatsoever before you bought this snake. Two minutes on the internet can tell you that corn snakes eat mice and DO NOT eat crickets. It's not hidden information. Yes the shop keeper told you that, but at the stage of research you should be at before you even consider buying an exotic animal, you should KNOW that that is wrong. It is clear you have very little idea about the diet and digestive habits of a cornsnake.

I suggest you go back to square one and start reading for the sake of this animal.

I apologise and I expect I will be frowned upon for being so harsh, but I just feel that while the pet shop was wrong for telling you that, you also have a responsibility to have your own basic knowledge of corn care to hand, and if you weren't sure you could have questioned why her snakes are so skinny, or done some asking around before you bought the animal.

Get the snake on to frozen/thawed pinkie mice. I would feed around every 5 days while the snake is underweight, and slit the backs of the mice because there is some evidence that it helps the snake digest and grow faster. Good luck.
 
First of all, if you read my post, it says that I knew that crickets didnt sound right because i did A LOT of research on corn snakes before deciding to get one. I just didnt know if they had started them on it, if i should continue or since the crickets were alive, if i should feed him live pinkies.

Second of all, they didnt know how old the snake was, but only bought it two weeks ago, so I knew he was young, and I know that they are born up to 14 inches, so hey, he was in the right size and weight. So before you sit there and tell someone they are undereducated about something just because they wanted other opinions from those who have cornsnakes, make sure YOU know what youre talking about.

Yes, its true, I dont know as much as the people up here, i only know what i read...which is why i wanted to ask those with not only the research knowledge that i have read (and a lot of things in the looking up i did were contradictory like frozen vs live)...i also wanted to ask those that have been through it with multiple other corn snakes.
 
applejacks said:
First of all, if you read my post, it says that I knew that crickets didnt sound right because i did A LOT of research on corn snakes before deciding to get one. I just didnt know if they had started them on it, if i should continue or since the crickets were alive, if i should feed him live pinkies.

Second of all, they didnt know how old the snake was, but only bought it two weeks ago, so I knew he was young, and I know that they are born up to 14 inches, so hey, he was in the right size and weight. So before you sit there and tell someone they are undereducated about something just because they wanted other opinions from those who have cornsnakes, make sure YOU know what youre talking about.

Yes, its true, I dont know as much as the people up here, i only know what i read...which is why i wanted to ask those with not only the research knowledge that i have read (and a lot of things in the looking up i did were contradictory like frozen vs live)...i also wanted to ask those that have been through it with multiple other corn snakes.
Click to expand...

You will note that I apologised on my post and made it clear that I did not intend any rudeness to you. You will then, I am sure, conclude that I was in actual fact trying to help out you and your snake, because I wouldn't have said what I said if I didn't give a toss about the welfare of your snake.

If I offended you, I'm sorry. But I don't think this is the same thing as asking opinions. As an owner of a snake, you should not be saying "Hey, should my corn eat crickets?" What conclusion should I have drawn from that? Even if you researched day in, day out, it doesn't sound like that and I only know what you tell me.

I'm not looking to discuss this, so I leave this thread. Good luck with your snake. :)
 
applejacks said:
So...

I bought a cornsnake from an exotic pet store in south florida. The woman that fed the animals told me that she fed them three crickets every other day. That didnt sound right to me, but what do I know? So, the next day after I got him, it was time to feed him. I dump three crickets in his cage and he completely ignores them. He lets them jump on him, walk all over him, everything. The next day, they're still there. I dont get it. Does he not want crickets?. Is he not hungry (could three crickets really make him full for two days?) Oh by the way, she wasnt sure how old he was, but he is about 12-13 inches long and the thickness of half my pinky finger.
Click to expand...

applejacks said:
First of all, if you read my post, it says that I knew that crickets didnt sound right because i did A LOT of research on corn snakes before deciding to get one.
Click to expand...



If you did A LOT of research on corn snakes and knew that crickets didn't sound right, why did you give them to him anyway? Then you said you don't get why he isn't eating them.

Well, had you truly done A LOT of research, you would know why he isn't eating them. Honestly, what an animal eats is the first thing you should be finding out before getting one. Corn snakes don't eat crickets. They eat mice. The most basic of research reveals this fact.
 
SEriously people. Lighten the hell up.

The reason I was asking is because I didnt know if since he had been being fed crickets at the pet store and ATE them, if I was supposed to just suddenly change his diet, or continue for a little bit, slowly weening him. Ive never heard of a cornsnake eating crickets, but when someone tells me that that is what they were feeding the one that i buy, it raises questions. which is why i asked. chill out!
 
applejacks said:
SEriously people. Lighten the hell up.

The reason I was asking is because I didnt know if since he had been being fed crickets at the pet store and ATE them, if I was supposed to just suddenly change his diet, or continue for a little bit, slowly weening him. Ive never heard of a cornsnake eating crickets, but when someone tells me that that is what they were feeding the one that i buy, it raises questions. which is why i asked. chill out!
Click to expand...

Well, we are surely guilty of "jumping all over your case"... :rolleyes:

You are missing the point. If you supposedly did LOTS of research, there shouldn't BE any question as to whether or not they eat crickets, under any circumstances no matter how many different ways you try and put it. You expect us to believe you have researched corns, yet you don't even know what they eat?

As for your post here...

applejacks said:
(who might I add jumped all over my case for even trying the crickets. Good thing the people who answered your post are a little nicer).
Click to expand...

Please show me the parts of mine or Becky's posts that were rude or unpolite to you.

As I stated previously, by posting what we do we are trying to HELP your snake. Perhaps you are the one who needs to be politer and have a better attitude.
 
So just because i did research on the animal, thats supposed to mean that i am not supposed to listen to someone that i would think would know more about them that i do?

I thought the lady would know what she was talking about. you know, its possible for a person to second guess themselves or something they read when someone who is supposed to know more tells them otherwise.

So drop it. I fed him a pinkie. The end.
 
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