dehydration?

[Leocadia]

My 8 month old snake is refusing to eat and in some areas his skin is pinched on the side. He isn't shedding and he hasn't gone blue, but his water dish was out of the tank for a little while (almost 5 days)... I thought he only needed it when he was going to shed. Any help?

[Roy Munson]

My 8 month old snake is refusing to eat and in some areas his skin is pinched on the side. He isn't shedding and he hasn't gone blue, but his water dish was out of the tank for a little while (almost 5 days)... I thought he only needed it when he was going to shed. Any help?

Corn snakes need access to water at all times. They also have humidity requirements that a waterless enclosure is unlikely to provide.

Something about your post is setting off my troll alarms. If I'm wrong, and you are just an uninformed keeper, then go buy a book about corn snake care, and read it twice-- quickly! Read the FAQs stickied to the tops of the "Husbandry" and "Health" sub-forums as well.

[Leocadia]

yeah... i've never had a reptile before, so I am dangerously uninformed. thanks for the help.

[Roy Munson]

yeah... i've never had a reptile before, so I am dangerously uninformed. thanks for the help.

So you're not a troll. Good. Here's what I'd do in this situation:

1. Provide a water bowl large enough for the snake to submerge itself in. Change the water every four or five days. Place this water bowl at the midpoint between the warm and cold side.

2. Provide a "moist hide" in the same region (at the midpoint). Fill a lidded tupperware container of approximately 3x the snake's volume with moist (but not dripping) paper towels or sphagnum moss. Cut a hole in the lid that is approximately 2x your snake's diameter.

3. Double-check your temps. Cool side should be mid 70s; warm side should be mid 80s.

4. If you don't think the enclosure is humid enough, restrict ventilation.

[Leocadia]

I'll do that. Thanks. (I feel horrible for doing that.)

[Leocadia]

I replaced the dish and made a damp hide. Why does his jaw go out when he's in the water?

By the way, what do you mean when you call someone a troll?

[Roy Munson]

I replaced the dish and made a damp hide. Why does his jaw go out when he's in the water?

By the way, what do you mean when you call someone a troll?Wow, you're fast. A troll is a person who posts on an internet forum with the objective to be disruptive or waste the time of legitimate members. How'd you construct a moist-hide so quickly? Whatever. If he's drinking, that's a good sign.

[Leocadia]

Oh, so the jaw motion is drinking? See, I never thought they could drink... show's what an idiot I am. And i happen to have a very nice mom who lets me cut up her containers. Wetting paper towels wasn't very hard either, although now I'm wondering if I did it right.