Worried

[02CETA24]

I have two corn snakes and its feeding time for both. My snow corn snake took the food pretty well but my other wont eat. What should i do to encourage it to eat and is there something wrong? He is also sleeping a lot lately should he be sleeping a lot? Its got me worried.

[debeck3]

is he/she in blue (about to shed) cuz if so that could be the reason of it not wanting to eat but there could be other reasons too

[wade]

My first question would be how do you know he is asleep. You do know that they can’t close their eyes, right?

It is not unusual for snakes to skip a meal or even several meals. It is nothing to be concerned about. It is winter time and many snakes go off their feed during the winter, and become less active.

[danielle]

I think in order for people to help you need to include your cage temps, snakes age, and how long you have had them. Your snake could be in blue and not want to eat, maybe the food was too big, not warm enough, or something that guy isn't used to eating if it is new.

[02CETA24]

Well.......no hes not in the blue and he'll stay in one spot for a long period of time and not move im not sure if he is sleeping or just laying in one spot. Both my corn snakes are in a 11 gallon tank i beleive my husband is the one that bought the cage the heat stays at a steady 80 to 85 degrees. I dont know the snakes age the people at petco didnt give us an age for both. Ive had my first one for about a week and the other for a couple of days.

[danielle]

Do you have them in the same 11 gallon tank or did I just misread you? If so please separate them as the stress of a cagemate is more than enough to make them not want to eat. Also the new one may need some more time to settle in before it is ready to eat so I would just leave him/her alone and not handle for the next 4-5 days and then try feeding an extra tiny pinkie warmed.

[sober_serpents]

ok.. well the one who wont eat... if you;ve had it a few days- thats completely normal. Also, petco is good at selling non feeders. give the new snake a few days to get accustomed to its new home- it has new smells, sights, sounds. make sure you dont touch or bother a new snake when you get it. new snakes are easily stressed. after about 3-5 days offer a smaller than normal food item. leave the snake alone or in the dark preferably over night. try not to handle the snake if it has eaten for 3 days until it has digested its food. if it has not eaten, carefully put the snake back in its house and wait another 3-7 days and try again. it very well may be a non feeder or it could just be stressed and not interested in eating.
~kin

[danielle]

Also your UTH should only cover 1/3-1/2 of the cage as you need a cool side as well and believe me those things go well over 100 degrees so you will need a thermostat and rheostat combo to control the temp on the warm side and prevent burning/killing your snakes. Your cool side should be normal room temps in the seventies so your snake can cool down when it needs to since they can't regulate their own body temps well without having both options.

[02CETA24]

They both have been fine with each other i work with them 3 times a day the newest one i got took his food like no tomorrow. It took him seconds to swallow that explains why he striked at me yesturday. They both have been used to having cage mates. Yes same cage. The uth is on one side of the cage with the heating lamp so there is a cool spot for them. Im thinking the one that wont eat is smaller than the one i bought the other day. I guess the only thing i can do is try to encourage it to eat and give it some time and see where it goes from there if things dont get any better i will have to take it to a vet.

[danielle]

You should do a search on here about cohabbing snakes- its deadly long term. If snakes liked the company of other snakes they would live together in the wild; intead the big one eat the little one in the wild and this occurs eaier in a tiny cage with no way for the little guy to get away. Also "working" with your snakes 3 times a day when they are this new is stressful and not necessary. They need time alone to settle in and take a few meals in before they are handled regularily. A UTH and a heat lamp can put out a lot of heat so I hope you have a thermostat with probe and rheostat to monitor and control the temps.

[02CETA24]

I will keep that in mind. I will also research cohabbing snakes i just thought that when i got them they were with a whole bunch of them so i figured it would be okay. I do have one of those stick on things that determine the temp but i also want to get something else that helps with temp the heating lamp has put out a lot of heat so i have to check it on a regular basis. Lately i havent handled them all that much cause i do have a 3 1/2 year old and i know she scares them so i leave them in their cage so they are not so stressed

[02CETA24]

i will definately keep that in mind and research it i just figured that since they have been in cages with others before that it would be okay. Lately i havent messed with them all that often cause i have a 3 1/2 year old and her being all hyped up about having snakes for a first time and i know it scares them and stresses them out so i leave them in their cage so they are not all that stressed. The heating lamp does put out a lot of heat so i check it regularly to make sure its not too hot for them. I do need to get more thermostates to monitor the heat source and keep it under control.

[nrfitchett4]

get a thermometer with a probe you can put under the substrate($11.00 at walmart in SA). that is the best place to check the temp, right on top of the heating pad. I had to build a rheostat to use with mine to get the temp down to 85. I also use a heat lamp but it has a dimmer and is barely on, just because our living room tends to be dark.

[02CETA24]

I will have to wait till i get paid again and get the stuff for them i hope they will be okay til the first. They seem to be doing fine right now we will see.