eating after shedding

[flyingsparrow]

My little corn snake just had its first shed since we have had him (about two weeks) and didnt eat because of the sedding process. Now im wondering how soon will he want to eat. I tryed feeding him already but with no success

[K. Rene]

How old is your snake? Where did you get him? When was he fed last? My snakes always eat whether they are in blue, just shed etc. (the hatchlings are a little more tricky) How is your set up? heat? hides? humidity? a lot of things can make them not want to eat. We'll help as much as we can, just give us a little more info. (pics are always good too ;) ) Welcome to the forum, glad you came here for advice.

[flyingsparrow]

I got the snake at petsmart. He is about 15 inches long so im assuming he is young. He last ate on the 14th but i was told he would need to eat every four days. He shed yesterday. He is in a 20 gallon tank with a red heat light on top and a heat mat underneath on opposite sides of eachother. I did this on advice of the pet store. he has a piece of broken pot he likes to hide under and a log thing they sold me that he doesnt like. i have no idea about the humidity. im starting to feel like i have no right to have this snake yet...:( i guess there is still alot to learn. I was reading about the temp they need and i checked it and it was too hot so i turned off the red light. i dont know which heating sorce would be better for him. he has some sticks too.

[flyingsparrow]

well, after turning off the red heat light, he became very active so i tryed feeding him in separate small container like it was advised on here and he is scarfing down a pinki now. so i need some advice on my set up and heat sources please!!! and thank you!!!

[Dee Dee]

Using a heat mat is imo better than a lamp. Snakes need under belly heat to digest meals properly & there is also the issue that snakes can burn themselves on lamps if they're not properly protected. They are not good at moving away if an object is too hot for them & will instead just stay there & burn. A lot of people on the site steer clear of heat lamps for these reasons. 1 side of your tank should remain unheated as snakes can't thermoregulate themselves & need to use their environment to regulate their temperature. Imagine if you couldn't sweat etc & were put in a room with radiators on full time with no fans or air con. Your in safe hands with this site. I'm relatively new myself & have received tons of great advice. I would advise you to read the threads marked 'sticky' as these will answer lots of questions you have & for anything else never be afraid to ask. The people here will generally answer any question even if they've been asked 1000 times before :) Good luck with your new corn & don't ever feel like your a bad owner or shouldn't be allowed to have him/her. We all gotta learn. I still get those worried moments myself so your not alone.