View Full Version : Need Some Advice
Need Some Advice
Pal-O-Mine
04-12-2009, 09:30 AM
Okay so I bought my first corn snake yesterday at the Havre De Grace show. He's a male Okeetee that's about eight months old. I want to give him a few days to settle in. But he also hasn't eaten in 10 days. I've been trying to hold the handling to a minimum but he seems fine with being picked up and touched. I want to feed him SOON but I don't know how much stress I can throw at this little guy.
What do you guys think????
Devon
Nanci
04-12-2009, 09:43 AM
Can you give him at least four days of NO handling? That's only two weeks without a meal, and they often do that just due to being in shed. You want him nice and relaxed for his first meal.
Nanci
04-12-2009, 09:45 AM
The last new snake I got was an adult kingsnake. A long-term pet of a friend. So I thought, it's a kingsnake, all he did was drive 15 minutes to my house (and be upset and put into a whole new environment) and he's an adult, a "voracious feeder" or so I'm told, so I'll just feed him tonight! And he refused. So then I had to worry a whole week till the next feeding day. I let him have a real week-long settling in period, and he has eaten fine ever since.
henry2009
04-12-2009, 10:20 AM
Well i just bought a snake yesterday myself. I gave my corn a yesterday to get used to his hide. I fed him this morning, and he ate it fine no problems, and put him back in his hide. I dont see a problem. I guess it depends on the snake.
Susielea
04-12-2009, 02:50 PM
Well i just bought a snake yesterday myself. I gave my corn a yesterday to get used to his hide. I fed him this morning, and he ate it fine no problems, and put him back in his hide. I dont see a problem. I guess it depends on the snake.
Yes it does depend on the snake BUT, there are some corns that will quite happily eat an offered meal straight after being shipped/transported and will then go on to regurgitate that meal because they are so stressed and uptight from the move :eek: Which is one of the reasons why it's advisable to allow a settling in period with no handling before offering the first meal ;)
Pal-O-Mine, Nanci gave you good advice :)
Caryl
04-13-2009, 11:41 AM
Pal-O-Mine, Nanci gave you good advice :)
So did Susielea.
If you're like a lot of us were with a first snake, you're worried that it's going to be miserable because it's "starving." It can help to recall that snakes have a metabolic rate about 1/5 of a humans. They settle in slowly, which is why experienced keepers give them days to settle in rather than hours. They digest meals slowly, which accounts for the "no handling for 48 hours after feeding" guideline. They rebuild digestive juices slowly, which is one reason why it's important to prevent regurges and to wait 10 days afer a regurge before feeding. And they get hungry slowly, as well. Hunger is the body's response to a need for more fuel. With a metabolism that runs at about 20% of yours, your snake's need for fuel is much less that you might've thought at first. Don't worry, Your snake isn't starving.
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