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snake is not growing

A

AlexEarl

New member
hi, the first corn snake i ever owned (i got her in may) has not grown at all since i got her. in the past month and a half she has eaten fine ( she has missed a few feeds but also eating the best she has ever in my care) but the problem is she has not grown at all. she has no saggy skin and her body mass is fine compared to her size (and 2 different places have told me this [1 was a reptile rescue centre and 1 was a reptile specialist shop]). so i was wondering if anyone else has got a corn snake like this and do you think a trip to the vet with a stool sample is in order?

here is a picture i took of her around a month ago next to a piece of paper that is 5 cm long (i do not know when it was born and i do not believe that the place i got it from told me the truth on her age as it would be over a year old now if it was true)

thanks for any help as i am getting really worried about her now
 

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Every snake grows at it's own pace...Give us some more details on how you are keeping her; caging, temps on both sides, whats she eating and the frequency, etc...
 
I'd be interested in how much she weighs, and what you are feeding her, and how often.
 
i haven't got any scales which is stupid of me (i will be buying some soon) but last time i weighed her was in august and she weighed 12grams. seeing as she has not grown i suspect she still weighs around 12grams but i will double check asap.

her temperatures are around 89f on the hot side and 78f on the cold side (she has the same temps as my hypo butter and he is growing like a beast).

i try feed her every 5 days and give her 1 F/T pinky

below is the dates when she ate (i attempted to feed every 5 days but sometimes she refused which is why the dates are not in a certain pattern)

Date Type Location (i always feed my snakes in containers)

07-Oct-10 Feed 1 Pinky Container
13-Oct-10 Feed 1 Pinky Container
21-Oct-10 Feed 1 Pinky Container
26-Oct-10 Feed 1 Pinky Container
05-Oct-10 Feed 1 Pinky Container
10-Nov-10 Feed 1 Pinky Container
15-Nov-10 Feed 1 Pinky Container
20-Nov-10 Feed 1 Pinky Container
28-Nov-10 Feed 1 Pinky Container
10-Dec-10 Feed 1 Pinky Container

as you can see she had a steady period of eating between 5 oct - 20 oct and then all of a sudden she started refusing meals again

thanks
 
there is noway a fuzzy would even fit in her because she is so tiny. i guess it doesnt hurt to try but the chances of her eating it are slim to none, whenever i feed her she needs to be in her feeding container for a good 5 hours before she even looks at it
 
Some snakes just aren't meant to thrive, and there are a variety of reasons for it. In nature they become an easy meal for a predator...

If you think the fuzzy is too big wrap it in a paper towel and gently "roll" it between your fingers or palms...this kind of stretches it out, and breaks small bones in the process, aiding the snakes ability to get it down...

Poor feeders generally remain just that; a poor feeder that stresses their keeper, especially new keepers
 
i guess what i should do is get her a thermostat and try the fuzzy technique you just told me. have you ever heard of a snake like mine that is not growing?

also do you reckon a trip to the vet would be in my best interests just to give her a check over to make sure she has not got any physical problems

thanks for all the help so far though
 
I have a non grower as well. I've tried pushing her up to fuzzies over the past few months only to have regurgitate three times. I got her from a Petco and will never get another Petco snake, they are undersized and overpriced. I'd suggest feeding her one pink every five days, then offering two pinks if she can take the every five day feeding alright. After giving her two pinks watch her closely and note the days until her belly slims back down, give her two more days of rest and feed two more pinks using her digestion as the rate not anyone's feeding chart.

The Munson Plan works for some snakes, but not for slow growers.

Now as for handling, do it sparingly. I know it is hard to resist holding them, but the more she moves the more calories she burns. If you enjoy handling snakes so much, get a second snake that is breeder raised and nice and healthy to lavish extra attention on. Keep them separate, of course, in case there are parasites involved. As for the vet, it is an option if you have an exotic clinic in your town. As I do not I do what I can for my slow grower on my own. Good luck to you.
 
she was my first snake and i got her from a shop i will never go back to, they have bad reviews and iv ever heard that they have fed mcdonalds to a beardy before (im not sure how much of this is true but either way its despicable). i have 3 other snakes (including an overly entertaining western hognose) so this means i never handle her so she has the least amount of stress as possible. the only time i handle her is to put her in her feeding container and also when taking her out.

it is relieving to know i am not the only one with a slow grower :) i would be very happy if she lived a long time and didn't grow (it would be better if she grew but it doesn't matter as long as she's healthy and happy), its just the anticipation of whether she will survive or not.

i was planning to breed her with my male corn snakes but i guess that is a massive no go but gives me the excuse to add another snake to my collection :)

hopefully she will be fine (would be pretty funny to have a healthy midget snake)

thankyou for the help
 
Best of luck if you do a search on Nimue you'll find my slow growing vanishing stripe. I too had thoughts on breeding her once or twice for genetic reasons, but now I will not. I had to get a second snake for playing. He is younger and now twice her size and about to step up to double fuzzies.

After three regurges I'm not expecting Nimue to last longer into next year, if she does it'll be wonderful, but completely unexpected. I've decided not to put her down, she'll be with me as long as she fights. I've learned a lot from her. Feel free to send me private notes if you need advice or anything.
 
i greatly appreciate your help, im not going to attempt to feed her fuzzys because if she regurgitates im 100% sure it would make her even worse. i guess the best thing for me to do is wait for her to pass the current pinky and take a sample into the vet and hopefully they can assist me in this problem.

is Nimue very active? as mine is and is constantly out roaming her viv
 
She is very active in the early morning and early evening. I have a silk vine in her tank she climbs and hangs on. She's curious and will inspect my hands when I spot clean, feel her hot side, or refill her water dish. When she's hungry she'll jump onto my hand and constrict my wrist, it's a struggle to untangle her squirming body to get her in the feeding tub. She's only bit me once, though. She's never refused a meal and pops most of her pinks in the constricting process. I love her spirit.

Unlike her zest, my male snow, Balthazar, will eat out of my hand and I can pick him up after feeding. Nimue get gently slid out into her habitat.
 
haha she sounds very active :) and i saw it in the reptile shop and they didnt even know they had it, so i whipped out my bank card and took him home. hes been annoying ever since with his constant loud digging in the morning :p although he is very entertaining i must admit.
 
Hognose alarm clock. My husband wanted to get one, but I want more corns. I grew up playing with wild corns and other rat snakes in the Gulf region. They're much nicer than the bull snakes out here. I did get musked really bad once from a Texas rat I saved from an older boy who wanted to kill it. I never smelled the stench but everyone around me complained enough. I had to bath in vanilla oil for weeks before my friends came near me again. It never dampened my love for snakes though.
 
unfortunately we only have 3 types of snakes in england and theyre very rare to find. although we also get slow worms which are pretty cool but iv only ever seen one. guess thats why in the past 5 months iv ended up buying 4 snakes and im still tempted to buy more
 
Skip the mice all together. Start feeding rat pinkies. I noticed a growth spurt in both my corns (particularly the one who was being fed pure rat for about 6 feedings) when I started feeding rats.

I agree with getting a stool sample to a vet though. No to very little growth from May to now is ridiculous, and I am certain it's not your fault due to lack of feeding. My Apotos has gone from eating small fuzzies in Feb when I got her (she was about 4 months then) to eating hopper size mice now (now 14 months).
 
As mentioned, each snake will grow at it's own pace. I have had some slow growers and while they are frustrating, if you are persistent and the snake continues to eat well, it will eventually reach a point where it's growth rate will take off. I currently have an aztec snow female born in 2007. She has always eaten extremely well but when she reached about 25 grams, she stopped growing and stayed at that size for over a year. Something kicked in earlier this year and she shot up to 100 grams and I am confident she will continue to grow well, although I doubt she will ever be a large snake, probably maxing out around 250 grams. She may surprise me, but only time will tell.
 
I would NOT feed a fuzzy to a 12-gram snake. Is she eating regularly now? I would slit the pinks. Cut five or more slits down the back, through the skin, including through the skull. You _might_ be able to offer her 1.5 pinks, if the pinks are the same diameter as her widest point. If you have big pinks, I wouldn't do that until she is more like 16 grams. But for sure do the slitting. It ought to make a huge difference.

How often does she poop after you feed her? My small snakes generally poop the next day, or two days after. You could also consider alternating four and five day feedings, if she is a willing feeder. If so, I would not do 1.5 pinks until she puts on a few more grams.
 
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