How Much Should I Charge???

[ken347]

so after alot of thinking and another failed attempt at feeding my snake ive decided i cant keep him cause i cant get him to eat ( i know i can put in the work and i have ive tried everything and he has refused it all ) so ive decided to sell him and try to find someone who can properly get him to eat and treat him right ( hes vicous and tries to bite everything he sees ) ive got one offer for fifty dollars after a hour hes a four foot snow corn and i paid a hundred for him the guy said i wont get more than fifty cause he wont eat. so im here to ask all of you what you think. is fifty a reasonable offer? or should i wait for someone else. also please dont say i can keep him or anything i already feel like s*** for getting rid of him i just cant properly care for him and think he would be better off elsewhere.

 

[firfly]

Just out of curiousity, how long has he gone with out taking food? If you dont mind me asking.

 

[ken347]

going on two months

 

[bitsy]

A non-feeding adult male at this time of the year isn't that unusual. At two months he should be starting again any time soon if it's a breeding season fast.

Check your temps on the warm side floor - too high and they can get very antsy and it interferes with their digestion so they might not eat. Turning it down might solve all of your problems.

Other than that - a non-feeding adult biter? In my view you'd probably struggle to give him away. That's a charity case for a limited number of experienced people, not a sale into the pet market. Sorry.

 

[firfly]

I am not a pro but it could just be that time of year with him being male and all, there are quite a few reports of fast going alot longer with male corns this time of year. If you want to sale him, not trying to discourage, just think I would maybe wait it out ,so I could sale him for what he is acctually worth.

 

[firfly]

Faster typer than myself Bitsy.

 

[ken347]

ive tried temps and everything he will kill mice but wont eat them i thought it was breeding season too but hes starting to thin out and hew hasnt bit me but he tries to

 

[Ricky87]

I don't understand how he's biting everything, but not eating...I suppose if you feel like you're unable to get him to eat than personally I would say your best bet is to find a good home first and work a price after that. I wouldn't let price affect how you re-home him if you can't get him to eat. Best case scenario is that you find someone to take him on in which case price should be of little concern. Just my opinion, but at this point getting money in return is not something I would be focused on.

 

[bitsy]

Another problem is the fact that he's starting to lose condition. You're essentially looking to rehome a Corn that has a (possibly) obvious health problem.

However I do applaud you for realising that he needs to move on. Sometimes the best thing is to recognise that the snake needs something different than you can provide. It's a hard decision but usually the correct one. Are there any reptile rescues near you? I agree that you're unlikely to get money from someone who has the experience to recognise and deal with his potential issues. Because he has possible problems, I wouldn't sell him as a pet.

 

[Cat_Eyed_Lady]

This kinda sounds to me like a back-handed way to sell a snake without a shiny. I might be wrong but its MHO.

if its true? Sounds like husbandry is way off and needs to be looked at closely.

 

[bitsy]

If it is, this thread isn't making a very persuasive sales pitch! It would certainly be doing more harm than good in terms of a cash sale.

 

[Susan]

It also sounds as if this poor snake has needed to see a vet for quite some time as a medical issue definitely needs to be either confirmed or ruled out.

 

[ken347]

i never thought he would need a vet since i had the pet store check him (family owned not petco or anything)

 

[ken347]

also i know my husbandry isnt all that great this is my first snake after all and the guy who offered money has had snakes for years before so he knows alot but im gonna try tomorrow to feed my snake one more time but this time a pinky thinking maybe its just the hair on the mice bothering him.if he refuses again ill take him to get checked out my question now is he is very aggressive and despite not eating he still has pooped i cleaned the first time but he pooped again and wont let me in the cage to get it is there any recommended was on how to handle a aggressive snake just so i can refill his water and clean the cage up ( Hes not out of water but is running low i check it everyday and wanna replace it) usually i wait for him to go in his hide but he is barely ever in his hide hes REALLY active im gonna get a new digital thermometer to check the temps maybe the one i got is defective than ill work from there. i really dont wanna give him up considering i did spend months trying to get him but if after all i try i still feel he would be better off a little more experienced ill sell him for the fifty and start over with a hatchling this way i can slowly learn from experience

 

[Carinata]

What's your setup like? If you know your husbandry isn't very good, why would you even buy a snake? If your snake is in an environment it's not happy in it won't eat and will be aggressive. Put some gloves on and refill the poor things water atleast...

 

[Susan]

i never thought he would need a vet since i had the pet store check him (family owned not petco or anything)

From experience, most pet stores don't have a clue about the proper care for the reptiles they sell, let alone how to identify a medical problem if there was one. The fact that the snake will kill the mice but not eat them could indicate a medical issue, such as an infection in the mouth. That and the weight loss tells me it's time for the snake to see a vet.

And if you are having problems with an adult snake, getting a hatchling may only end up being a worse scenario for you as they are much more delicate, suffer from even more issues, especially feeding issues, and are often more difficult for inexperienced herpers to keep despite the fact that corn snakes are the easiest and best snake for beginners.

Is it possible to post a photo of your snake? All the aggression issues just do not sound right for a corn snake, even an aggressive one. And we would like to see just how much weight the snake has lost and can tell that by the appearance/condition of the snake.

 

[Nanci]

When you say he is aggressive, what do you mean? Can you describe his behaviour?

 

[Cocoa3Ghost]

Have you check his mouth for mouth rot and also another thing try changing substrates I know it sounds weird but my corn wouldn't eat for four months tried everything from cutting open the rats head to smaller prey to scent it would not work for the life of me then just happened another one of my corns got scale rot from the wood chips leaving slivers under her scales so I switched all my tanks onto coco frisk and within a couple days after doing so he ate!!

 

[ken347]

ill try getting pics once he is still and i said my husbandry isnt that good ive done all my research here and im not the best but i atleast got the basics and nancy aggressive i mean as in if i go in the cage he automatically twitches and quickly goes into the striking position waiting for me im gonna re check everything tonight and offer him a pinky see if he can atleast eat that while i figure out what exactly is wrong and ive seen no evidence of scale rot or mouth rot

 

[Floof]

As far as the "aggression" goes, just pick him up and put him in another container so you can service his tank. Snakes react to your behavior. For many snakes, if you reach in with confidence and pick him up without hesitating or showing your nervousness, they won't strike. Even if he does, corn snake bites aren't all that bad. And if getting bit really freaks you out, you can put on gardening gloves and long sleeves to protect your arms/hands.

Anyway, I agree, you should consider taking him in to a qualified reptile vet for a health check, to make sure there's no underlying condition causing his feeding refusals and his hyper-defensive behavior. Or, at least, make sure the person you sell him to will.