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Q:
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new snake owner here, corn snakes
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I just got my first snakes ever. two corns. may17 th.
I didnt expect them to already be close to a year old due to the size( i dont have exact dates but the charts i got with them the people had thim since sept and october)and they got them from someone else who sold them some problem eaters.
My Amel is a picky eater, i wasn't told this. I didnt even bother to ask since it didnt occur to me. from her chart she will eat every week to every two weeks(mainly every 2). she is tiny! they have no record of a shed for her and her last weigh was 7 grams i think. She is tub/tank aggressive until pulled out then she settles down alot. i kow its cute being small and striking but when older i doubt it will be.
Im not sure if this is normal or not on her size, eating habits and weight. I want her to grow and be healthy.
We got a gold dust moltey at the same time from them and she looks to be double in thickness than the amel. Eats 2 large mice pinks in a sitting and actually pops her head out of her bedding when i walk by like she wants more(funny snake). i think you can view their info on my profile.
She has had asf live and f/t mainly and now on reg mice. Even still herfeed tracking says the same every week to every 2 weeks. Should i just try a smaller size pink and see if she will take it or stick with what the previous owner has down on the chart.
Sorry so long, im just new to this and a snake who refuse feed is not what i expected.
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Member Comment
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5/21/2013 12:41:27 PM
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Sonja K. Reptiles
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Often times it can take an animal to get settled in. Make sure her needsare being met. What are your set ups - temps, etc.? There's no need to worry yet. it's only been a few days.
For the first 2 years, I'd feed once per week. I often hear every 5-7 days with colubrids.
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Member Comment
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5/21/2013 12:48:28 PM
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Sonja K. Reptiles
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*take an animal a bit*
If the seller was feeding only every 2 weeks, it's likely (s)he was only maintenance feeding them, and you will not want to go forward in that manner.
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Member Comment
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5/21/2013 1:44:44 PM
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SapphireTigress
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Snakes refuse to eat all the time...dont worry about it unless the snake starts losing weight. Like Sonja said, feeding every two weeks was likely to keep the snake at that small size, while keeping it alive. I heavily disapprove of this type of feeding. I would recommend offering a prey item the same size around as the thickest part of the snakes body once a week. If fed properly and healthy, your snake will most likely take off in growth because it is now being fed the proper amount of nutrition! Some snakes fed on a a "maintenance" schedule will remain stunted for life though. I think it depends on how long they were fed that way and how old they were.
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Member Comment
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5/21/2013 2:10:21 PM
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aSnakeLovinBabe
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of my old customers came in to tell me she was adopting a 10 year old Cali king. I helped her get things ready for it. When she actually got the snake and brought it in and asked... Shouldn't he be bigger? And here this ten year old snake was only the size of a yearling Cali king... A fuzzy eater. Here we come to find out it had only been fed one XS pinky every 4-5 weeks. Poor snake. I had her feed it on a much more advanced schedule and within a year and a half that snake was BIG! I couldn't believe it. Now it's every bit as large as most Cali kings. I do not approve of feeding in that manner, but it's good to know that animals that were fed in that manner can recover as if nothing ever happened.
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Accepted Answer
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5/21/2013 3:13:14 PM
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Two Corny People
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Some snakes have attitude just because they have not been handled enough or are still getting used to their new surroundings. Give the snake a few more weeks and then we recommend handling daily to get them used to you and your routines. We agree with what was stated above - the smaller of the two has probably been on a "maintenance diet" which is not recommended by many breeders but is much better than not feeding the snake at all. Here are a few links from fellow friends and breeders that might help answer some of your questions.
http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=95298
http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=129732
http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28341
If you are not already a member, cornsnakes.com is a wonderful forum for corn snake owners - lots of knowledgeable people willing to help you out and specific topics regarding corn snakes. The biggest thing right now is to give your snakes some time and avoid the urge to handle or feed them too quickly before they are fully adjusted to their new surroundings.
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Author Comment
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5/21/2013 3:59:14 PM
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cardozafam13
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tank wise Aspen bedding which they burrow in it like crazy and i know my gold pops her head out at times. Temps is house temp. ranges mid 70 at night and raises th 80-85 during the day. if i use any heat source it would raise the tank temp to 90+. i did test runs before i got them( was orig getting a ball python but temps and humidity wasnt good enough. so couldnt risk its health).
She told the the Amel is very aware of the "outside" activity. In july we are ordering a rack type system. i think she would be happier like that, more closed off space that isnt as open like a tank. I just dont know how to get the feedings closer for her because her size is just not right to me, while the other is doubled. Im going to have to buy a divider because they are co housed and the amel size worries me vs the golds
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Author Comment
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5/21/2013 4:04:43 PM
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cardozafam13
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i think ill try a smaller size mouse. Gold is eating Large pinks and can easily take a rat pink from the looks of it. Ill have to get ahold of my cousin since she has a mother load of F/T for her snakes
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Member Comment
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5/21/2013 4:27:00 PM
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Author Comment
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5/21/2013 5:10:09 PM
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cardozafam13
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im going to attempt to get a few Small mice pinks from my cousin and try a smaller meal every week vs a large pink. her chart is crazy with the size of the feeders. i dont get why go back from one size to another and back again. doesnt that just make a normal feed schedual mess up some due to the pink sizes? im no expert but wouldnt a smaller meal be digested different from a larger one?
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Member Comment
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5/21/2013 5:27:21 PM
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Author Comment
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5/21/2013 6:44:52 PM
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cardozafam13
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as far as i konw of yes. the feeding chart can be seen from my prifile for the amel. over half the feeding was ASF live or f/t. My cousin advised me to feed mice pinks and if it refuses again she will see about pulling a asf pink from her coloney since some are about to pop before the mice do. She breeds ASF, mice and rats for her mass collection of snakes and lizards. her 6 ft redtail boa still freaks me out lol
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Member Comment
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5/21/2013 8:18:21 PM
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Member Comment
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5/21/2013 8:18:49 PM
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Sonja K. Reptiles
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I would stick to trying with regular mice. In what manner did you offer so far? There are a variety of methods to get young animals to feed.
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Member Comment
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5/22/2013 12:30:03 AM
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skoodles06
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I had 2 corn babies that I tried everything with when it came to feeding ( braining,parts etc) and they didnt thrive and eventually passed. I have a sand boa that i have to put in a paperbag with the f/t mouse and that is the only way he will eat . Try that with a pinky maybe ?
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Member Comment
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5/22/2013 2:01:51 PM
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NWHeather
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All very good advice listed above.
You just got them a few days ago, right? First, leave them alone for a week, especially babies. They need time to settle in. You don't want to handle them or try to feed them during this time.
Do not offer more than 5 days apart. If you offer too frequently, it can stress them out, & make it hard to feed them. You can feed babies every 5-7 days. (You might need to space a feeding out tow about two weeks, if the baby is still refusing to eat, but not on a regular basis).
I agree to start feeding f/t mice. ASF's can be hard to come by some times & they're a lot more expensive than mice. Corn snakes do not need any prey larger than an jumbo adult mouse, they don't get big enough to need rats.
Babies are often defensive. This doesn't mean they're cage aggressive. They think everything is trying to eat them, so they can often be defensive.
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Author Comment
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5/22/2013 3:35:34 PM
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cardozafam13
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The Amel is in full on shed, so this explains her behavior perfectly.She looked a bit funny yesterday to me when i was making sure of no break outs( the latches are bad and i cant find a better quality for my tank). I dont know her previous sheds since they don thave it listed. so i dont know if this is her 2nd or 3rd. I was going to attempt feed friday but now im going to wait until she is done. Might explain why she wasnt coming out when the gold was.
Friday marks her 2 week time to eat. I will attempt to feed once shed is done, I have large pink mice( just looks too big) thats what they sent with the snakes sice i paid for about 3-4 feedings worth. If that dont work my cousin is giving me a live asf pink from her colony( Awesome to have a cousin who breeds them lol)
I found a site where i can buy ASF frozen if she refused the mice and not the asf. Price is about the same i would pay for reg at a local pet shop or like a few others online for reg mice. I attempted a thawed warmed pink with tongs, rubbing on her nose and making it seem "alive" that didnt work so i left it in the tub(in a dark room). Still nothing.
My corns are housed together, I have read forums about the risks. My cousin has housed hers together when she had a small collection and she did it with no problems. Now she uses a rack system for her breeders and collection/rescue snakes. THIS is not a forever housing situation. we are buying a rack later on in the months.
To Skoodles> if no luck she will be given to my cousin who knows how to deal with problem feeders and has helped many people bring their animals back to life. This snake sadly is one that came from a breeder who sold it to the people i got it from. She is labled a problem feeder(by the orig breeder) and i was given the thought that this was hatchling when i asked if anyone knew where i could get some corn snakes. these guys are almost a year and i dont see these as hatchlings.
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Member Comment
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5/22/2013 7:51:37 PM
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Sonja K. Reptiles
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Another option is to get some dirty bedding from your cousin's ASF colony and use it for scenting regular mice pinks.
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