soaking to kick start feeding?

[tommyhuck]

Hi Everyone, I have another question concerning a couple of corn snakes I received that were almost homeless.

I've had them just over a week and both seemed to settle into their new homes. When I got them they were actually sharing a tank and thanks to these forums I broke them apart and put each in a separate enclosure. One is a red albino and the other a black albino.

Friday was feeding day for the rest of the pack so I figured I would try and feed the two new comers as well. The red albino took its mouse quickly and easily and all was well.

But the black albino didn't act as though it was hungry so I didn't worry too much but I brought it into the local pet store to show it to the owner who was curious about it and he said that if I were to soak it that it would probably eat. He also said it looked a little dehydrated. So taking his advice I soaked it for about ten minutes in tap water and lo and behold it ate.

Can anyone tell me why? To me the snake didn't look dehydrated. The skin wasn't wrinkled. Her eyes were not sunk in. Am I missing something?

Since I've taken over these two snakes some things have changed in their living environment that could be to blame. I've separated them into two enclosures instead of one. I've replaced the pine shavings the previous owner was using as substrate with Aspen which I use for my other snakes. I've given each of them a water bowl that they could soak in and placed two hides in each enclosure so they each have choices. The biggest change I could think of is the temperature. When I got these two snakes the house they were in was somewhere around 65 degrees F and they had no light or uth. It was friggin cold. Now I keep them around 81 / 82 degrees F on their warm side and 77 / 78 degrees F on the cool side. My home temp is set to 78 degrees F.

Could any of these changes be to blame for her not wanting to eat? If she was dehydrated, how am I supposed to tell?

Sometimes my mind is working faster than my typing hand so if anyone needs clarification let me know and I'll try to explain better.

Thanks in advance,

 

[bitsy]

For some reason, sometimes the vibration of a car journey sometimes kickstarts them - I suspect carrying it to the pet store and back is more likely to have caused the feeding response to kick in. Another trick is to put them on or next to a washer or drier for a few minutes. Some folks actually tub up their non-feeders (in escape-proof containers) and take them for a half hour drive to see if that works.

The warm side floor should always be in the mid-80s. If they have the wrong temps, then it interferes with their digestion - either too hot or too cold can have that effect. So getting the temps right could also have done the trick in getting it started.

We usually advise not feeding or handling for the first week, as they're most likely to be stressed and refuse during this "settling in" period. That could have been both why yours refused at first and then fed a little later.

So there's a lot going on with these new arrivals and several factors could have been involved in both the refusal and the subsequent eating of one. I don't think I've ever heard of soaking to start them off, but I'd never turn down a new trick for the arsenal!