New Snake Issues

[flapjack]

Hi I recently acquired a new male corn snake.He's 6 and I got him from a girl at work.

When we got him, his Vivarium came with a heat lamp and heat pad, the temp was set to about 82 but the thermostat temperature gage was at the cold end if the tank so it was relying on the heat travelling from the hot end to the cold before regulating when the tank was hot, resulting in the whole tank being extremely warm.

We found that his scales on his stomach were quite dry and cracked, so we removed the lamp and put the heat pad on the floor of the Viv, with the temperature gage at the hot end, which has appeared to have helped his skin a bit, however, he has not eaten since we have got him.

I believe he ate about a week prior to us getting him, which means its been around 4/5 weeks.

However, my question is, how long can a snake go without food and how will we know when he feels like eating as we have wasted about 4 mice and fuzzies trying to feed him.

Do you think the change in his environment has played a key part in him stop eating and possibly the fact we have a female cornsnake as well, although kept in a separate tank as she is quite a bit smaller than him.

[Nanci]

Are you positive he is a male? Some male cornsnakes go off feed for several weeks in the spring when they are thinking about mating. Does it seem like he's lost weight, or is he as active as you'd expect, just not hungry?

I don't think the change in temps to a more correct range is hurting, only helping.

What method are you using to feed him?

Nanci

[flapjack]

He was sexed when the girl got him, and I believe he also checked by a vet when he got mites previously.

He doesn't appear to have lost weight and has become more active since his tank has changed as we put some vine and bark in for him, in general he seems really healthy, just completely ignoring food.

Ive tried putting if in the Viv with him, putting him in a large box with it, covering the glass of the Viv with a towel to make it completely dark, I've even tried holding him directly facing it and he just looks at it a bit and then turns away.

I was thinking about trying him on something else like rat pups or even chicks, just to see if the change in food type would entice him

[Nanci]

I'm betting it's spring mating behavior!

I would try putting him in a container and leaving him at least several hours. In the evening. In a quiet place, covered. With the back of the mouse slit. You could try overnight once. If that doesn't get him, then I'd start offering him a mouse, by that method, only not overnight, every 14 days.

Also it would be helpful for you to get a gram scale so you could know for sure what's going on with his weight. I've been told about a 25% loss of weight is when to start worrying.

Nanci

[suecornish]

Could it be possible that he is getting ready to shed. Smokey is a Snow and it's hard to know when he is getting ready to shed. He rejected his last feeding and last night there was a beautiful, complete shed.

So, maybe he is getting ready to shed.

[Nanci]

Sue, it's been 4-5 weeks.

Nanci

[zakee846]

i always hear on this site of people asking why their cornsnakes dont eat, and they always receive the reply of maybe becasue its spring. well if you are a noob, would it be better to just get a female so that you dont have to worry about it not eating, becasuse then if it is ur first cornsnake then you might think that it has another problem and such, but if you had a female, then if it wasnt eating then you would know that it has a problem and you would be able to take it into the vet. anybody agree with my logic. (of course i wouldnt know)

[suecornish]

Sue, it's been 4-5 weeks.

Nanci

Yeah, you are right. Smokey is our most tempermental snake but in looking at his log the most he's gone between feedings is 9 to 13 days since we had him. Maybe it's a combination of things; missing ex-owner ( :rolleyes: ), poor scale condition, smells female, etc.

Smokey's prior owner said he feed them every 4-6 weeks. So maybe it just takes time for this one to settle in. (You got it, they were boney when we got them. My husband has fatten them up but Smokey is the finicky one and Konig is the pig)

[Nanci]

i always hear on this site of people asking why their cornsnakes dont eat, and they always receive the reply of maybe becasue its spring. well if you are a noob, would it be better to just get a female so that you dont have to worry about it not eating, becasuse then if it is ur first cornsnake then you might think that it has another problem and such, but if you had a female, then if it wasnt eating then you would know that it has a problem and you would be able to take it into the vet. anybody agree with my logic. (of course i wouldnt know)

That's why you have to take into consideration any weight loss, is it as active or more active than normal, has it been a regular eater up to this point, has anything with its husbandry changed, etc. It certainly also wouldn't hurt to take it to the vet, because internal parasites are a cause of anorexia (no appetite.)

Males and females both have sex-specific potential issues- neither is guaranteed to be without them.

Nanci

[flapjack]

Thanks for the info folks.

Ill try the feeding thing one more time tonight, then i think it will be to the vets over the next day or so, bettter to be save than sorry.

I just wish he was like our female Red, she eats her food like its her last meal.

[Nanci]

Once he starts refusing, you should only be offering the food at 7-14 day intervals, otherwise he's just learning that there is a ready supply of food, frequently, so if he isn't in the mood tonight, he can have another chance tomorrow. It's better to let him get good and hungry.

Nanci

[Roy Munson]

Males and females both have sex-specific potential issues- neither is guaranteed to be without them.

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Nanci again.

Very true. If someone intended to buy only one snake as a pet, and they asked me which sex would be best, I'd probably advise them to get a male. :)

[suecornish]

Quote:
You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Nanci again.


Please explain what this means. I've seen it several time.

[Roy Munson]

Quote:
You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Nanci again.


Please explain what this means. I've seen it several time.If you rep someone, you have to rep 20(?) DIFFERENT members before you can rep that person again. If you haven't, you get that message from the system when you attempt the rep. Including it in a post is a way of saying: "I tried to rep you, but the system wouldn't let me." :)

[suecornish]

If you rep someone, you have to rep 20(?) DIFFERENT members before you can rep that person again. If you haven't, you get that message from the system when you attempt the rep. Including it in a post is a way of saying: "I tried to rep you, but the system wouldn't let me." :)

Thanks. I was just wondering.