Loopy snake :S

I have a roughly 10-11 moth old male corn snake(Lestst). He has been fine all the time i have had him. I am able to handle him, he sheds regularly, he has 2 fuzzys every 4-5 days.(as i was told by the breeder to give him once he was ready). He has ben perfectly fine until 3 days ago (today 30th June 2009).

My friend who had a 2 year old corn snake (unsexed) had a baby and was unable to look after it properly anymore. I took over and it moved to my house. Since then Lestat has has been shooting around his tank, standing right up and hasnt been in hiding since then. Im also worried at the fact that today was feeding day and he refused/ignored all food and just tried to get out of his feeding tank.

Hope someone can help. Hes ma baby!

Note: Lestat also jumps away from anyone trying to get him out of his tank which he has never done before. Once he is out and on your hands he is fine. is he scared of the smell of the older snake?

He's ajusting to a new member- you can move the tank away from each other if you wish or let him just work it out which he will- mine do the same thing for a week or so an then settle back down

It is also possible that your friends snake is a female and that has Lestat's interest perked.

The advice already given here is sound. I just wanted to add that you may want to ease up on the feeding schedule, as it's a little bit aggressive. I suggest moving to 2 fuzzies once a week. That gives more time in between digestion for the snake.

thank you for all of your help.
Im just glad theres nothing wrong with him was really worried.

I was wondering when to ease off on the feeding but i wasnt sure thank you .

http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50106

This is a good feeding plan, if you've got a scale to weigh your snake.

I really appreciate everyones help. Im sure Lestat will be fine.
Im having taboo sexed on sunday so ill let everyone know whats what

Thankies again

Just to make sure. You aren't cohabbing them are you. If so that could be part of your problem. Please make sure they are in separate enclosures

No they are in their own tanks. lestats 4ft and Taboos 5ft.

i have lestats tank on top of taboos.

Hes also took to not eating. he has refused 2 meals so far but that was on the old feeding plan. i have now cut him down to every 7 days tried to feed him sesterday (which would have been 7 days from the last time he ate something) and he refused it again. keeps jumping aways from the food and trying to get out of the feeding tank.

Jullessy, don't let the hunger strike get you down. Just keep offering every week and he will most likely return to normal behavior in a little bit.

maybe this will help

im not an expert by no means, but my little guy refused for a week and a hlf, i put the pinkie in a medium deli container left it in the cage overnight and it was gone after 24 hrs. Only saying this because my guy also kept coming out of his feeding bin and looking dis-interested in his meal. worked for me, so worth a try. goodluck

Jullessy, I also had one go off feed and was advised by Kathy Love that if it kept up that he seemed disinterested and almost like he wanted to get away from the food. Try going to a smaller size mouse the next feed. As well I was told by another breeder that when a snake's home is changed(in your case new guy below) you should leave the snakes alone for about a week, no bothering at all so that they can settle in. So maybe try, not going into his viv at all for at least 7 days and then offer a smaller meal. And I could not tell from the thread so far, but when you put him in the feeding container, is it near the other snake and does it close?

If you answer no to either or both of these questions then, make sure you are trying to feed him away from the other snake and that the feeding container is a secure one that you can make sure he can not get out of and just put him and the food in and leave the room so he is not disturbed or stressed and check on him in 30 min to see if there is any indication of him eating it.

Tisha

thanks for all of your help. taboo is a male corn snake i had it confirmed. but lestat still isnt eating. taboo went off his food so ive just tried him in his viv and hes had 2 mice. but even when i tried leaving food in the viv for lestat (i tried him with a pinkie to see if it made any difference) he still left it. .. really worried now its coming up to a month with out eating. any advice?

Jullessy how little is Lestat? I am going to assume very small, still on pinkies?

Now you did say it has been almost a month that he has not eaten and if he is as small as I am guessing he will be due to shed soon, which will likely throw him off feeding. Some times it is hard to tell if they are going into shed but here is a basic run down on the whole shed process to help you out. The initial stage, when they often refuse food(if it happens to be feeding time & shed time) you may not see a difference. Then the skin starts to look different, but on some morphs it may be hard to tell, our R.O. barely looks different at all, most people can not tell she is in shed. Next the eyes "blue" or cloud over, again different amounts of clouding, more noticeable with some than others. Next the eyes will clear, then with in a few days to a week or so, they will shed.

So it is quite the process, and depending on the age of your snake, it take more or less time for the whole process. Give your dude a break, leave the snake alone, no handling for at least 4 days, just in case it is feeling stressed and keep looking at it for signs of the shed process. If it is in shed, then do not attempt another feed until your snake sheds. Some will eat in shed( but sometimes it can cause regurgitation), some won't and if yours shows to be in shed in the next few days, then you know yours won't eat in shed.

If after 4-5 days of no handling, no feeding attempts and just checking to see if there are any signs of shedding, your snake does not shed, then I would use a small feeding container, heat the pinky with the hottest water you tap will give, dip it in tuna juice, brain it(cut it's head open and all the way down the back) and then with Lestat in the small container, first try a very slow moving tease feed. Gently put the pinky right in front of his face, even touch the oozing brain matter on his nose so that when he flicks he gets a taste, then hold it there. If he does not take it from you in say 30 seconds or just slithers away, then leave it in the container with him and close it up tight (remember to be sure you have air holes). Do not disturb for at least 30 min, if it is still not gone put the entire feeding container in the viv and leave closed in viv over night.

This helped for mammaAS http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=85995&page=2 hopefully it will help you out as well.

Tisha

Asbit said:

Jullessy how little is Lestat? I am going to assume very small, still on pinkies?

Click to expand...

Hes about 4ft hes nearly a year old and hes on fuzzys. just a bit worried hes just shed but hes not shedding properly. hes doing it so little bits come off ive tried soaking him in the bath, buying this shed aid and putting extra water in his bowl but none of it seems to have helped.

:nope:

A 4ft long corn should most likely be over three years old and on adult mice. >_> Methinks you may have very very overestimated the size of your snake. XD

Julessy ..first lets help you get the retained shed off....get a container large enough for him to move around in and that you can put a lid on...drill lots of air holes in it....put in wet paper towels do not leave them packed down...try to fluff them up so he can slither through them..just warm enough for them to be slightly cool to your touch...add snake ...leave in for about 30 min...check on snake..see if he has manage to peel off the retained pieces...if not you can try very slowly to peel the pieces off...if they come off with ease and do not seem stuck then peel away...if you come to a spot that seems stuck or not freely peeling ..DO NOT pull you can damage him...put him back in the shed box...and try again in 30 min.... make sure to look through all the pieces he has shed so far and sheds as you use the box...you need to find shed eye caps..if you do not find them you may have to help him shed them....as well you need to look carefully and make sure that all of the shed comes off of his tail tip or it can strangle the tip and it will die and fall off.

Once you manage to get all of the retained shed off....then watch carefully for the next time he goes into shed and make sure to provide a shed box with either wet paper towel or damp sphagnum moss and an entrance hole so he can get in and out. Leave it in his viv from the first sign of shed until he completes the cycle. If you see he will not use it then you can use the locked box with air holes for 30-60 min at a time ...several times a day, as well make sure you mist his viv a couple of times a day. See if that will help with the next shed.

As for eating now that he has gone through a shed he may be willing to eat for you..just focus on getting the rest of the shed off...which will be somewhat stressful for him..then give him a day and try feeding. Let us know if he eats for you and how things go with getting the rest of the shed off.