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problems with 1st snake

R

rockysnake

New member
hi i brought a 12 week old hatchling corn snake on the 13th of jan 07

i was told in the petstore that it had last eaten on 10th of january and that i should feed it again in 5 days.....

the snake(rocky) has been fine and i have enjoyed a few handling sessions with him and appears to be passing excerement fine, which led me to belive he must be getting hungry again....

so tonight i tried to feed by putting him in a seperate tub with a pinky and leaving him to it
he sniffed the pink and poked it with his nose a little but then did not seem interested.... i am very worried now as this is my 1st snake and i dont want him to die becuase i cannot look after him....any suggestions?

also i have now left the pinky on a cardboard square in his cage to seem if he wants it is this a good idea? how long should i leave it in there
 
Search the Health/Feeding Issues forum for a thread entitled "the saga continues...." It contains a TON of information on ways to get your snake feeding properly and how to keep it nourished and healthy until it decides to feed voluntarily.

There is also a health and feeding FAQ that will properly aswer your question.

Any other question regarding basic care and husbandry can be answered by following the link in my signature.

On average a young snake feeding on pinkies should eat every 4-5 days.
 
okay thanks for the help.... ive had a look throught the posts and just wonderd is it a good idea for me to leave the pinky in there overnight on this peice of card?
 
I think a better plan would be to place your snake in a small feeding container, or staple him into a paper bag, with the pinky, and leave for several hours, or overnight, in the closed viv. The idea is for him to have nothing to think aobut except the pinky. If he's in his viv, he can just go off under a hide and completely forget about it. If he's stuck in a container with it, sooner or later he may feel like having a bite.

This is exactly what I have to do with my adult corn. Sometimes it takes her two to four hours to decide she is going to eat, and prior to that she is circling the feeding container, looking for a way out. I just cover the container with a T-shirt or towel and leave her there in the dark. I restrain myself to checking only every hour or longer.

Nanci
 
Iagree with Nanci. If your snake has nothing to distract it's attention away from the food in it's face, it may just spark an interest to feed. Not only that, if you are using an aspen substrate, when your snake finally does decide to feed, it may not do so on the plate or cardboard. If it drags the food off of the cardboard, you run the risk of impaction from the ingestion of the substrate.

You might also try cutting your pinkies before feeding. After thawing them completely, take a small pair of fingernail scissors or something similar and put 3 or 4 small, superficial cuts along the back from the base of the neck to the base of the tail. The cuts should be "V" shaped with the apex of the "V" pointing towards the tail. They should also just go through the skin. This not only aids in faster and more complete digestion, it allows a stroinger odor of prey to waft through the enclosure and may entice a stronger feeding response from your snake.

Good Luck and keep us posted.
 
thanks guys i think ill try that cutting the mouse tonight before i go to sleep...

the only think im worried about putting it in a container if it needs a drink?do u think this is a problem?
 
also i will just add after i tried to get him to feed inside another contrainer he did circle round the cage and also went for a drink as nanci said her snake does?
 
I would recommend trying to feed a few hours before you actually go to bed. Give the snake a good 5 or 6 hours alone with the food before you go to bed. This way, if it decides to eat, you can put it back in it's viv, and it can drink. However, if it doesn't eat, you can leave it overnight. I don't think one night while feeding is going to cause any serious dehydration issues, as long as the snake isn't dehydrated to begin with. Dehydration is not something that just occurs in a short period of time like one night. It is a problem that developes over time with constant lack of water. On top of that, your snake does digest and re-hydrate from the water content of it's food, to a certain extent. If it eats, it will get some hydration, though fresh drinking water is still a necessity
 
im pretty certain i watched him drinking like 3 hours ago maximum anyway....

then only thing is now i dont want to move him and distress him more because he appears to be settled in a corner now...
althought if i do it now i could give him like 3 hours before i go to bed and then check
 
great news ... ive just had a quick peak inside the lunch box i am using for his feed box and he has the pinky about halfway in his mouth....

i put 3 small cuts in the pinkys back and it appeared to do the trick for him
lol i guess hes a little bit blood thirsty
thanks for the advice guys
 
My snake is a strong feeder. The only issues she has ever had was when I fed her a meal that was MUCH too large, and she got "stuck" at the shoulders, and spit it out. But I still cut her prey to aid digestion, and I do the "pinky dance", even though I don't really need to, just to keep her "striking skills" in play.

While she will eat voluntarily a frozen/thawed pinky that is just sitting in the bottom of her feeding bin, I give her the stimulation of the "pinky dance" to entice an actual strike at they prey, just to keep her stimulated and "sharp".
 
rocky is just curled up under his favourite peice of tree bark now...

with any luck he will be fine with that meal hes got a nice bulge in the middle of his body now

is it usual for them to become very sluggish after a meal?

would you suggest i just keep a eye on him now? i know hes not supposed to be handled until 48 hours after eating

and i keep calling him a him or he when im not even sure what gender he is
 
He's fine. Every meal is like Thanksgiving!:eatpointe
(If he had pants, his zipper would be open.) Just let him be.

And it's ok not to know which sex it is... until it's time to breed.:grin01:
 
yeah i can imagine what it would be like if i had a bulge in my belly like that
or if i ate some thing that was as thick as my body... then again i would probly try....

yeah i aint to botherd about the sex of him or her as i dont think im going to breed anyway....
 
Perfectly normal. It requires energy to digest, and he is probably conserving his energy to work on that huge meal in his gut. I'd be sluggish, too, if I only ate once every 4-5 days and my meal was bigger than my body.

As far as sex goes...I don't know the sex of mine for sure, either. I call her a her, and my daughter swears she's a him. Whatever...we just don't discuss it ;).
 
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