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newbee with shedding and eating problems

G

gregory

New member
hi there all, i really need help?
Ive got two corn snakes aged 3 months old ones a candy coen snake and is orange/red/whitey colour and the other a king daddy corn snake hes blck/grey/white and checkered underneath.
The candy one hasnt shed since ive had it?the black has shed 4 times
The candy has never fed,ive had to force feed it since it was 6weeks as it refuses food no matter what!ive tried ,leaving it un disturbed for days,no joy,then left it in a sandwich tub with a pinky,no joy,sat for hours trying to get it interested,no joy. At the minute she eats the head,legs and some body all cut up, weve developed a routine hse opens wont take but will let me push it down, i always try her normally before forceing her, shes tiny like a worm to my black daddy,hes huge! and now its been 13 weeks and she has never shed?the feeding i can deal with but im worried about the shedding? she has bathed herself a couple of times and her skin has always looked like its ready to sehed since we had her,but never comes off?my big daddy shed today and the honeycomb pattern the skin is is like hers all over?
how can i get her to shed and feed by herself? some people have told me shes just a 'non-feeder' and i should put her in the freezer!but i refuse to do that, i dont mind feeding her but its not natural?
PLEASE HELP?????[/COLOR]?:cry:
 
They shed as they grow. As the Candycane isn't eating, it's not growing, so the lack of a shed is logical. You don't need to keep bathing her. If a shed gets stuck on, they tend to go pinched and wrinkly and the old stuck skin can be ragged and torn. It doesn't sound like she's trying to shed and as she hasn't eaten in thirteen weeks, I wouldn't expect her to.

My first thing with non-feeders is to leave them in a small container with the food overnight. Some nervous eaters need absolute quiet and dark before they feel safe enough to eat. Many won't eat whilst being watched until they get older and more confident. Here's an FAQ containing loads of hints and tips for reluctant feeders:
http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28342

There's no need to consider euthanising her as long as she's still active and alert, and showing no other signs of distress.

Was she eating before you got her?

Also, check the temperature at the warm side of her tank. It needs to be around 85 degrees on the floor - too hot or too cool interferes with their digestion and can put them off eating to begin with.

Are they housed together? This can stress Corns and if so, keeping them separate would be a good idea. Stress can prevent a Corn from eating as well.
 
Hi yes thanks but she has eaten in 13 weeks, i have to force feed every 5 days she has almost a whole pinky in pieces that is, but still no growth? i do understand what your saying though, the bigger she gets she will have to shed eventually, but she is very active has been with the other snake for 9 weeks, although my sniper is 10 times the size now, he was only a little larger when we got them both.
They sleep together in their skull everyday,she drinks etc fine, but it seems when shes feeding her neck just behind the head has no muscle?if you know what i mean, she struggles to get food pass, once passed she wiggles and squeezes the rest all the way down but she has not attack or grab n swollow action?
 
Keeping them together is probably the major stressor, especially if one is ten times the size of the other. You need to separate them as soon as possible, in order to eliminate that as the possible cause of the refusals. Just because they share space, doesn't mean that they are OK with living together. It just means that this particular place is the best one in the tank for their needs.

If she can move her head and neck normally and swallow water, then I think she's unlikely to have the type of muscular problem which would prevent her from eating. However only you will know this, from your hands-on contact. If you do suspect that she has this type of problem, then she may never eat independently. In this case, you could only confirm/deny by getting a vet check. An X-ray may reveal some kind of vertebra/spinal damage. Judging by the reaction of mine when I've needed to do it, force-feeding is very unpleasant for a snake. If confirmed, it will be a judgement call as to whether you and the vet feel she can have a decent quality of life if this has to be done as long as she lives.
 
With the size difference you are risking the little one being eaten by the larger one too......
 
I think looking at that size difference, there really is a risk to the little one. You can use something very basic for housing hatchlings - one of the smaller "Really Useful Boxes", which are the only brand in the UK which seem to consistently have escape-proof lids without extra clamps or clips. You can buy them at most places which sell plastic storage tubs (Staples, for example). Drill some air holes in it and you can kit it out just like any other type of tank or viv. Make sure that the heat source is controlled by a thermostat to the Corn's safe maximum of 29-30C (mid-80s F) and it will never get anywhere near hot enough to melt the plastic.
 
You don't have to do anything, but honestly the best advice is to seperate them. Corns are soitary by nature, hatchlings can and do cannibalize, the stress of competing for the best hides etc can affect them badly.
Did the little one ever eat voluntarily, before you got it?
 
no we got her at 2 week old she was unwanted! was told she had shed but not ate yet?i left it till she was about 9 weeks before i fed her, the whole 7 weeks spent trying many different ways, ive tried seperating her but she was very unhappy and just layed still, when theyre together she very lively, the share the skull, have a new bigger one they love, also two other hides a 3ft tank,branch etc every snakes dream but she just not right?
check out my album for pics of them together to see size difference
 
I did, which really convinces me the bigger one could end up with her inside it!
Although some people co-hab corns, when there are problems seperating them is often the best first step. Is there any way you can get a live pinky to try her on? I had a non-feeder, here's her story if you click on this link
http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30056&highlight=saga
So I've got a bit of experience of just how hard it is getting some corns to feed. In the end I had to breed my own mice to finally get Lil to eat washed live ones!
 
No, it certainly isn't ok to raise a male and female together. The female won't be ready to breed until she's about 3 years old, but males mature quicker and females bred early are more likely to die from egg binding!
Corns are solitary by nature. They don't 'like' each other, or cuddle, or miss each other when seperated. Some snakes such as garters gather into groups to breed, corns don't. Rattlesnakes den together over the winter, corns don't.
Seperating them is the first step towards helping your non-feeder and preventing her becoming dinner.
 
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