Nervous Newby Needs Help

[AnnieChris]

Hi everyone!

We have a new cornsnake - CeCe -that we gave our 7 year old son for Christmas. We are already very attached and happy she's here. She is about 6 months old and around 18 inches long.

(We don't really know if she is a she, but like referring to her that way. )

I bought her at the beginning of December and she stayed with a friend until Christmas. While she was there, she ate once a week for the first tow weeks, which was the schedule the pet store said she's been on. But then she refused to eat on her December 23 feeding. We brought her home on Devember 24. We tried to feed her on Christmas, but she didn't eat, and everyone said don't worry about it, it was probably the new environment and she needed time to adjust. Well, we left for a one week vacation (someone checking her temps and water while we were gone) and came back Monday night. She wouldn't eat last night either. So its been 2 and a half weeks since she ate. Now I'm worried!

She seems OK. She hides 99% of the time, but when I bring her out she seems calm and looks healthy. When I return her to her viv she wanders a little and then hides again. She seems to spend most of her time in the hide on the cold side of the viv. The temp on the warm side has hovered around 78% according the the strip heater placed about 1 inch above the substrate.

I wrote a book. Sorry!! But does all of this seem within the normal behavior range? When I tried to feed her last night I showed her the mouse (not against her face, but made sure she saw it) and left it for a few hours. According to me friend, CeCe wasn't difficult to feed when she was at her house.

Thanks in advance for patiently reading this and for your help!

Christine

 

[babbaloo99]

Hi Christine. Congratulations on your new snake. I think you will find yourself more attached than your son, as I did

I just wanted to ask if the snake has shed since you've owned it (or while at the friend's house). The reason being, she could be going into blue phase preparing to shed and some snakes will not eat during this time. You will know once her eyes become very cloudy, then they will clear up and within a few days she will shed. Sometimes owners can miss the cloudy eyes, especially on the lighter color snakes.

It is also possible that she is a bit stressed from the move. The best advice I have seen here is NOT to try feeding too often. Keep offering on a planned schedule (once per week). It has helped my hatchlings to place the food item into a smaller enclosure with the snake (like a deli cup, or some people use a paper bag), and then leave for a while or overnight. Try not to keep peeking in or the snake might not eat.

I am sure you will get some other advice as well. Some folks also recommend cutting the head open so the snake can smell the mouse better. (This is easiest done using a frozen, thawed pinkie).

Hope this helps.

 

[babbaloo99]

oops...

...I forgot to mention, that the standard recommendation is to leave the snake alone without handling it (pretty much secluded) for at least 3 days. This helps minimize stress due to moving.

 

[Quigs]

First off...Welcome to the forums!

You've found the best place possible for corn husbandry!

Question. Has your snake shed since you bought it? A hatchling on a normal feeding scedule will generally shed roughly once a month. Some a little more, some a little less.

If it hasn't shed yet, there is a good possibility it's getting ready to. Some of these little guys will refuse to eat during ecdysis (shed cycle).

You did not mention whether you are feeding f/t pinkies (frozen thawed) or live pinkies. Are they the appropriate size and are they fully defrosted?

Are the temps correct? Do you have a temp gradient (warm side and cooler side)?

What type of substrate are you using?

Do you have hides available on both the warm and cooler ends of the enclosure?

There is a number of reasons why a snake would refuse a meal. Keep in mind though, that they can go quite a long time without eating. I would not worry just yet!

Hopefully this helps you out a bit, at least to ease your mind!

 

[AnnieChris]

Thanks for replying!!

She hasn't shed since we bought her, and we could've easily missed the blue phase since we were gone.

So I should wait another week to try feeding her? That's so hard! I think one of the hardest things about a cat/dog person like me owning a snake is accepting the difference in feeding routines! I'm so afraid she'll starve!

Regarding leaving her alone to adjust: she was left alone for the week we were gone, but I'm wondering if now that we're back, we should take it easy as well. The house would've been very still while we were gone but now that we're back, there is a lot of activity. Do you think that could that make a difference?

When I bought her I also bought a breeding box to transport her in, and to move her to when we need to clean her viv. Maybe I should try to feed her in that because it is so much smaller? If so, do I out anything on the bottom?

I feel so stupid. Ther is just so much to learn. Thank you for your help!

Christine

 

[AnnieChris]

Quigs, thanks!!!

Her food is frozen (thawed) little mice. I just took what the petstore gave me...they are white, but very small. I think they are fully defrosted...I popped a few in teh microwave (literally!)...gross!! But then got it down so that they were thawed but not warm. Is that the right way?

I do have a warm and cool side with a hide on each end. The warm side usually says 78 degrees, but I don't have a thermometer for the cool side. Our house is always kept between 69-72. I have an UTH and a warming light. The warming light is on a timer, it comes on at 7am and goes off at 4:30pm. I have been concerned that the warm side isn't warm enoguh, but since she spends a good amount of time on the cool side, I assume it is OK?

The substrate is repti-bark. It is what they were using at the pet store.

Thanks for your help!!!

Christine

 

[gatorlink]

plastic thermometer strips unreliable

The temp on the warm side has hovered around 78% according the the strip heater placed about 1 inch above the substrate.
Christine

I'm also new to cornsnakes, had charlie for a week now. One bit of advice i can offer is do not trust those plastic strips the one i had was off by about 5 F. Get a "real" thermometer check the temp. on the surface of the substrate and beneath the substrate. There is a thread that i started last night with some advice i got from other members u may find it useful

 

[Quigs]

One bit of advice i can offer is do not trust those plastic strips the one i had was off by about 5 F.

Sorry Gator, I had a little chuckle on this one. I full on agree with you and however gave you that tidbit!

But if your strip thermometer was only off 5 degrees, you are amoungst the luckier ones!

There happens to be one of those thermometers on a tank in my rodent room. I just ran in there to check what it said after reading your post.

It's reading 76-78 degrees right now. I also took my temp gun in with me and got a reading directly on the thermometer. Temp gun says the surface temp of the glass is 63.7 degrees.

Those thermometer strips are junk!

www.tempgun.com

I've tested mine against varies digital thermometer and it's dead nuts! Not bad for $20...maybe it was $25...lol

 

[Quigs]

Christine,

We've already established that the stick-on strip thermometers are junk, so temp reading are more than likely not accurate!

I'd suggest at very least, you go out and purchase a digital indoor/outdoor thermometer. They are pretty cheap ($10 - $15) and relatively easily found at most hardware store, grocery store, department stores, etc.

Like I said in my previous post, I also use a temp gun, in combination with with the digital thermometers. They're are kind of fun anyway, I test temps on everything around here...lol

Anyway, the temps you are reporting seem awful low, especially with both a UTH AND a light! Get a decent thermometer and we'll go from there on the temp situation.

(sorry, I just reread your post and you didn't decipher what kind of temp gauge you are currently using. FYI, the analog (dial type) thermometers are just as inaccurate!)

As for the f/t pinks...

They should not be white. Are they white after you retrieve them from the microwave? I'd be willing to bet you are cooking them while you are trying to defrost them.

Microwave is generally not a reccomended choice. Not only is it easy to cook them, but they can just as easily EXPLODE! Just think, you thought just putting pinks in the microwave was gross! Wait'll you have to clean up the REAL mess!

There several preferred way to defrost, some prefer different ways. First one, you can take the pink out of the freezer and let it sit out for awhile and defrost at room temp. This usually doesn't take all that long with pinkies, although when you get up to sizeable mice it could take a fairly long time!

Another method, to which I prefer. Take the pink out of the freezer and put it in a plastic cup, coffee cup, shot glass, etc. Run your hot tap water where you can just barely stand the heat. From my experience (with help of my trusty temp gun) this will be around 100 degrees Faherenheit. then fill the cup that the pinkie is in and wait a couple minutes. If the water cool rather quickly, you may need to dump the cool water out and repeat with the warm water. Some people choose to place the pink in a ziploc bag before putting the whole thing in the warm water. Myself, I don't with pinks, I just drop them directly in the water. With older mice with hair, I use a plastic bag so as the mice don't become completely soaked.

Either method you choose, you will need to touch the pinkie. Remove it from the water and carefully but firmly press the middle of the pink. You are checking the internal organs for any cold spots. If it feels cold, repeat above again. It won't take more than twice though if you are using water hot enough. Keep in mind though, you are defrosting, NOT cooking!

Reptibark is alright, I prefer shredded aspen but that just a personal preferance.

On a final note, you should go out and purchase the book 'The Corn snake Manual' written by Bill and Kathy Love. this can be obtained from amazon, most book stores, many pet stores, etc. It can also be gotten right from Kathy Love herself! www.cornutopia.com

You will find this book to be the very best corn snake husbandry book on the market! My copy is a couple years old, ragged and tattered and still refered to often!

 

[gatorlink]

Sorry Gator, I had a little chuckle on this one. I full on agree with you and however gave you that tidbit!

But if your strip thermometer was only off 5 degrees, you are amoungst the luckier ones!

Thats what happens when your'e a 1st time parent, everything freaks you out. LOL. Anyway I got a question about my snake's belly. Ive only had him 1 week took him out so that i could handle fhim or the 1st time today. I noticed a dark discoloration on his belly but inside, not on his scales but above his ...... where they poop. I know this description is not the best but does this sound familiar to anyone

 

[JTGoff69]

Sounds normal to me. His being an amel you will see the poo before it actually comes out. I have an amel and two butters and you can see all of it before it ever clears!! LOL

 

[EvilRix]

Take the pink out of the freezer and put it in a plastic cup, coffee cup, shot glass, etc. Run your hot tap water where you can just barely stand the heat. From my experience (with help of my trusty temp gun) this will be around 100 degrees Faherenheit. then fill the cup that the pinkie is in and wait a couple minutes.

Hi, just a quickie regarding defrosting meat using hot water...

If meat is for human consumption the safest way to defrost it quickly is by sealing it in a water tight bag, placing it in a bowl in a sink and then constantly running cold water over it until it is thawed. This doesn't take much longer than using hot water, but has the advantage that it doesn't help to facilitate the breeding of bacteria during the thaw process as much as using warm water. I don't know if snakes can get food poisoning, but if they can this might be a safer bet to consider.

Hope this helps.

 

[Joejr14]

Hi, just a quickie regarding defrosting meat using hot water...

If meat is for human consumption the safest way to defrost it quickly is by sealing it in a water tight bag, placing it in a bowl in a sink and then constantly running cold water over it until it is thawed. This doesn't take much longer than using hot water, but has the advantage that it doesn't help to facilitate the breeding of bacteria during the thaw process as much as using warm water. I don't know if snakes can get food poisoning, but if they can this might be a safer bet to consider.

Hope this helps.

That's a nice tidbit, but snakes need to eat food that would normally be at body temperature, which for mice I'm going to assume is above 90 degrees. If you dont use hot water there is no way to heat the pinkie up to a correct warm temperature for feeding.

Also, with humans, you're cooking the meat, which is going to kill bacteria off anyway. And furthermore, if you're defrosting something large like a big roast---using cold water is going to take many many more hours than warm or hot.

Basically, stick with a hot cup of water for defrosting a pinkie. You might also try a live one if it refuses to eat again, but it seems like the problem is that you've been cooking the pinkie instead of defrosting it.