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Ingesting aspen...again

A

angelcornsnake

Angelcornsnake
Hello, I haven't been here for a few weeks because Daisy has been doing great for whoever remembers my introduction :).

She's 5.5 months old, she'd twice in since I got her, she's been feeding weekly without problems. She's lovely to handle too.

I've been feeding her in her enclosure as instructed by the breeder and because i feel it's mimicking snakes feeding in the wild plus I avoid disturbing her after feeding.
I put kitchen towel down and most times she'll eat on it but twice now she dragged the pinky in away and took in Aspen too. The first time I took two pieces out if her mouth with the tongs. I think I scared the hell out of her but she continued feeding. The second time, tonight, I wasn't quick enough and by the time I saw it it was too late. It was a hard piece of spiky aspen.

Now I'm worried again. I've read other threads but they're old and I didn't want to revive them. Your thoughts of reassurance would be much apreciated. From now on I'll put more kitchen towel but is she ok now? How bad really is aspen when ingested by a baby snake?

Thank you in advance

Daisy June 17, a butter motley corn snake
 
She will "Probably be ok." But there have been cases of Impaction and difficulty due to swallowing foreign substances.

I don't use aspen myself, partly for that reason, plus I feed in a separate container with a Paper towel lining.

I have not personally had a snake to swallow aspen, but here are some references you might want to read about it:

https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070702165707AAL6KqN
http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=111995
http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/snakes/1053140-snakes-eating-aspen.html
 
As long as she is defecating she will be okay. If you only have one or two corns the easiest way to feed them is with tongs. But don't drop the pinkie into the aspen. Hold it up until the corn starts to swallow it. When they get to the tail you can release it. Other than that, if you want to drop the pinkie inside make sure it's completely dry, so there is less chance of aspen sticking to it. I have used Tupperware containers with a hole cut into the side and prey placed inside. The corns quickly discover the pinkie and usually swallow it casually.
 
Karl_Mcknight said:
She will "Probably be ok." But there have been cases of Impaction and difficulty due to swallowing foreign substances.

I don't use aspen myself, partly for that reason, plus I feed in a separate container with a Paper towel lining.

I have not personally had a snake to swallow aspen, but here are some references you might want to read about it:

https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070702165707AAL6KqN
http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=111995
http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/snakes/1053140-snakes-eating-aspen.html
Click to expand...
Thank you. I will keep an eye. Not much else I can do at the moment :/

Daisy June 17, a butter motley corn snake
 
Twolunger said:
As long as she is defecating she will be okay. If you only have one or two corns the easiest way to feed them is with tongs. But don't drop the pinkie into the aspen. Hold it up until the corn starts to swallow it. When they get to the tail you can release it. Other than that, if you want to drop the pinkie inside make sure it's completely dry, so there is less chance of aspen sticking to it. I have used Tupperware containers with a hole cut into the side and prey placed inside. The corns quickly discover the pinkie and usually swallow it casually.
Click to expand...
Hello, thanks. I feed with tongs. But sometimes she drags the pinky into the hide to eat it so she moves away from the kitchen towel. The pinky is dry so I have no idea how she manages to eat aspen every time!! She likes to strike at it while I hold the tongs you see. She won t start swallowing until she's got it.

Daisy June 17, a butter motley corn snake
 
Why don't you just feed her in a deli cup or whatever, and not have to worry about it? I've raised hundreds of hatchlings, all fed in delis, and none of them have been emotionally scarred by that.
 
Corn snakes have a pretty good digestive system. It dissolves bone, teeth, etc so a bit of aspen is usually no problem.
I agree with Nanci that feeding in a deli or shoe box is a good solution. All my hatchlings stayed in deli's then moved up to shoeboxes. I used only paper until they were big enough for the juvi and sub-adult rack where they would be placed on aspen.
Since we want the best chance of survival for our snakes we avoid mimicking most scenario's that happen in the wild. Your hatchling doesn't need that "wild" feeling when feeding.
Done cautiously, moving a hatchling back from the deli/shoebox will not be traumatic...
 
You have a lot of good options now, and I've used them all in the past. I have even read that some people put a towel on their lap and feed their corn there. I've even held a hatchling in my hand and have it strike and eat a pinkie I offered. Let us know what you have decided for future feedings and how she is doing.
 
Nanci said:
Why don't you just feed her in a deli cup or whatever, and not have to worry about it? I've raised hundreds of hatchlings, all fed in delis, and none of them have been emotionally scarred by that.
Click to expand...
Thank you. I don't mind feeding in a deli cup and I have actually got a second small tank for when I clean out her vivarium. It's just that I'm worried about moving her back to the viv after she's eaten. And also I am not sure where I'd feed hrr when she grows up. She wouldn't fit in a deli cup soon! What about when she's 1.5m long!? :)

Daisy June 17, a butter motley corn snake
 
daddio207 said:
Corn snakes have a pretty good digestive system. It dissolves bone, teeth, etc so a bit of aspen is usually no problem.
I agree with Nanci that feeding in a deli or shoe box is a good solution. All my hatchlings stayed in deli's then moved up to shoeboxes. I used only paper until they were big enough for the juvi and sub-adult rack where they would be placed on aspen.
Since we want the best chance of survival for our snakes we avoid mimicking most scenario's that happen in the wild. Your hatchling doesn't need that "wild" feeling when feeding.
Done cautiously, moving a hatchling back from the deli/shoebox will not be traumatic...
Click to expand...
Hi, thank you. I want to try feeding outside the vivarium. Everyone says tgat it's ok to move them back afterwards but what about when she grows big? Where would I feed her then?

Daisy June 17, a butter motley corn snake
 
Twolunger said:
You have a lot of good options now, and I've used them all in the past. I have even read that some people put a towel on their lap and feed their corn there. I've even held a hatchling in my hand and have it strike and eat a pinkie I offered. Let us know what you have decided for future feedings and how she is doing.
Click to expand...
Thank you. I will keep you updated. I will try feeding in the plastic tank next time as most people say it's ok to move them back afterwards. The other reason I haven't yet, as I mentioned in my replies to the other guys, is because I don't know where I'd feed her when she grows up. When she's too big for a deli cup and a shoe box. :)

Daisy June 17, a butter motley corn snake
 
angelcornsnake said:
Hi, thank you. I want to try feeding outside the vivarium. Everyone says tgat it's ok to move them back afterwards but what about when she grows big? Where would I feed her then?

Daisy June 17, a butter motley corn snake
Click to expand...

Your welcome :)
You can stick with a separate container if it is working well for you. You can use a 10 gallon tank with escape proof top or a storage container that's the appropriate size.
Once my snakes are large enough to eat hopper mice I then feed them in there Viv or tub on aspen. I make sure the mouse is dry (I defrost in hot water) and offer it to the snake on the end of tongs by the tail. At this point it can vary quite a bit. Some will grab and wrap while others just nonchalantly start swallowing the mouse. I also have ones that like their privacy so I'll place the food item on a deli top and leave it.
 
Daddio answered that question. Sub-adults and adults can be moved to aspen bedding. I used paper towels for all my corns until recently. I have 38 corns and it just became a real chore, so I use aspen shavings for the adults. I still use paper towels for the hatchlings and young corns. I can't answer the question about a corn's digestive tract being able to dissolve aspen bedding. I can tell you I have seen a particular corn ingest aspen before I could grab it, so I checked its fecal matter for two feedings afterwards and never saw any aspen. The corn is fully grown now and suffered no ill effects.
 
Twolunger said:
Daddio answered that question. Sub-adults and adults can be moved to aspen bedding. I used paper towels for all my corns until recently. I have 38 corns and it just became a real chore, so I use aspen shavings for the adults. I still use paper towels for the hatchlings and young corns. I can't answer the question about a corn's digestive tract being able to dissolve aspen bedding. I can tell you I have seen a particular corn ingest aspen before I could grab it, so I checked its fecal matter for two feedings afterwards and never saw any aspen. The corn is fully grown now and suffered no ill effects.
Click to expand...
Oh I see. I didn't get it first time round about adults moving to Aspen! I guess it's relative to the size so yeah it should be fine. Ok. I'll be testing next week. Fingers crossed!! Thanks.

Daisy June 17, a butter motley corn snake
 
daddio207 said:
Your welcome :)
You can stick with a separate container if it is working well for you. You can use a 10 gallon tank with escape proof top or a storage container that's the appropriate size.
Once my snakes are large enough to eat hopper mice I then feed them in there Viv or tub on aspen. I make sure the mouse is dry (I defrost in hot water) and offer it to the snake on the end of tongs by the tail. At this point it can vary quite a bit. Some will grab and wrap while others just nonchalantly start swallowing the mouse. I also have ones that like their privacy so I'll place the food item on a deli top and leave it.
Click to expand...
Ok. I will try with the separate tank then. She strikes and grabs it away but rarely constricts. If she's half in the hide she'll drag it in there and eat in peace (while swallowing aspen [emoji20]). I think she should be ok I the separate tank. We'll see

Daisy June 17, a butter motley corn snake
 
If you choose to feed in a separate container: after feeding in a deli cup size container, I used to just set the container into the cage and let the baby slither on out in her own time; when a larger container was needed, I’d wait about 15 minutes after the mouse was totally swallowed and carefully lift her into her cage, being sure to support the food bump. Now that my herd has grown, I just feed in the cage. I use Aspen for my babies and adults.
 
Hello,. I thought I'd give you an update. I fed her in the secondary plastic tub last time and she ate fine. She was a bit jumpy and restless in there but I transferred her back fine, supporting the bulge. I'll continue this way till she gets bigger :)

Daisy June 17, a butter motley corn snake
 
I agree with the secondary container way. My Medusa is an adult and I feed her in a plastic storage container. I've never had any issues with moving her back to her cage. I do wait until the mouse has moved down her body a fair bit before doing though so. Glad to hear it went well for her.
 
April0684 said:
I agree with the secondary container way. My Medusa is an adult and I feed her in a plastic storage container. I've never had any issues with moving her back to her cage. I do wait until the mouse has moved down her body a fair bit before doing though so. Glad to hear it went well for her.
Click to expand...
Thank you. I'll see how she gets on in the separate tank and I might just continue this way :)

Daisy June 17, a butter motley corn snake
 
I fed my corn twice in his enclosure and each time he ingested a (very, very) small amount of aspen. I decided I didn't want to worry about this affecting his health, so I started feeding him in a separate container and all has been well. Moving him back to his cage after a feed doesn't seem to stress him out much at all.
 
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