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Introduction and malnourished snake

kevall1

kevall1

New member
Hi everyone. I'm new here. I just picked up my 3rd corn snake last night from a very nice family on Craigslist. Unfortunately, they weren't very knowledgeable snake owners(the terrarium was far from clean). The snake is over 3 years old and he is very skinny. The man told me he gives him one 5g fuzzy every Sunday. He wasn't handled very often so was pretty pissed off when I weighed him. Anyway, he weighed in at 176g. I know he should be eating about 13g-20g weanling based off of my chart. (I use the one from BHB). My question is, would it be ok to start him on the appropriate size or should I make a gradual increase?
 
Hello and welcome!

A gradual increase is best, as too much, too fast can shock the system of a malnourished snake.
 
Thanks Tavia. He's due to eat Sunday and that works out great for me because that's the same day my other snakes eat but I feel like I should feed him now. Would that be a bad idea?

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Hmm, it's probably best to wait until Sunday, let him get settled into his new home and everything. But I probably wouldn't be able to resist feeding him right away myself.
Either would probably be fine though.

There are a couple members on here that have taken in a fair number of underfed rescues and could advise you better than me.
 
If s/he's severely malnourished, it's better to gradually increase.
However, if s/he's just skinny and not looking like it's on the verge of death, you can generally jump up to the smaller end of the spectrum of the size it should be on. I recently took in a slightly skinny snake and was able to immediately begin feeding her on the appropriate sized meal without issue.
 
jessmarie said:
If s/he's severely malnourished, it's better to gradually increase.
However, if s/he's just skinny and not looking like it's on the verge of death, you can generally jump up to the smaller end of the spectrum of the size it should be on. I recently took in a slightly skinny snake and was able to immediately begin feeding her on the appropriate sized meal without issue.
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Thanks for the advice. I wouldn't say he's near death or anything. He's definitely too thin though. He's so far behind right now. I think I'll bump him up about to hoppers for a couple of feedings first.

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kevall1 said:
Thanks for the advice. I wouldn't say he's near death or anything. He's definitely too thin though. He's so far behind right now. I think I'll bump him up about to hoppers for a couple of feedings first.

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Click to expand...
That would probably work out great.
 
Just an update. I was able to get Gus (that's what the kids named him) to eat a 14g mouse this past Sunday. Also, other than a little nip to me and one to my 14 year old daughter he's really calming down. He's a little nervous when we get him out but once he's out he's really sweet. When I first got him he struck anytime I put my hands in the enclosure. He would even strike the glass if I walked too close. Here is a video of him now. https://youtu.be/jri7JtDGtYo

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