We have had our corn snake ?

Question

we have had our corn snake for about a week now and it has been about two weeks form the last time he ate a pinkie we tried last wednesday and he did not eat it when should we try again he has all ready got rid of what he ate two weeks ago last Wednesday so when should we try to feed him .... hope all can understand this if not let me know he is tiny about 12 in long thanks

Answer 1

Just a thought, but, does your Corn Snake have  a place to hide in whilst consuming the pinkie? According to my notes Elaphe guttata guttata is very particular about not just what it eats but also where it eats it's prey. They can be fed twice a week, but once is more likely. I presume that there is, at the very least, an old shoe box in the enclosure into which the snake can go to have some privacy, Y/N? There should be two hides for the snake. One at the 'cold' end and another at the 'warm' end of the pen. Don't forget the old rule of thumb about feeding snakes: Feed it something that is about the same diameter as it's body, and then don't handle it whilst it is digesting it's dinner, or else it is likely to regurgitated the food. Should you need to take the animal to a reptile vet make sure to have a faecal or vomitus specimen with you for the purposes of examination.

Good luck with your snake. (No photos?)

Answer 2

There are a few reasons your corn snake might not be interested in eating.  You have only had it a week and have tried to feed it twice in that short period of time.  It has also been getting used to a new environment.

Leave the snake alone for at LEAST a week before you try to feed it again.  Do not handle it at all during this time.  Leave it completely alone.  Let it settle down and get comfortable.  Check the temperatures and make SURE it has some good "belly heat" to help with digestion.  A good  UnderTank Heating pad (UTH) from a reputable company like Zoomed is an excellent way to provide it with belly heat.  Has it got a hide?  Has it got a "hot" side and a "cool" side?  

Here is a link to an excellent caresheet on corn snakes:

http://www.anapsid.org/corn.html

This should help answer any questions you may have.  :)

Good luck and happy herping!

Answer 3

First of all, did you feed the last Pinkie the snake ate, or are you relying on information from the pet store? Selling and caring for reptiles is part of my profession so here are my recommendations.

Feed a live pinkie. It shouldn't be as wide around as the snake. If the snake's eyes are cloudy, it is getting ready to shed. If the pet store told you the snake ate, do not believe them. We let the customer watch their snake eat before we make the sale. Lots of pet shops want the tiny snakes to eat frozen pinkies but this is not good because the baby snakes eating patterns do not get as well established. Important to establish live feeding of at least 2 pinkies spaced-1 pinkie about every 3 days-per week. As the snake grows, so does the size of the prey. The f***s should be brown with some white, the white is the calcium from the bones. There should be no yellow in the f***s. Young snakes cannot last long without regular feedings. You shouldn't force feed a snake unless you have done it before because it could easily kill the snake. I will watch for any replies from you.

Answer 4

well are you feeding live or frozen? the core temp of frozen must be as if it were alive<sorry don't know the temp. but if it the least bit off normal body temp the snake wont eat. also it may be starting to shed. check eye color, possibly be bluish if going to shed. if you get the temp warm enough i mean warm. still won't eat. i would take back to the place you got it. you may have a sick snake.