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7 Days and still terrified.

G

gembob

New member
I feel like such a bother when I post here with questions like this XD Obviously n00b questions, but I don't want to wait and find out there was something I could have done better.

So I've had my little 4 month old for 7 days now, and she's still hiding all the time and still wont eat so it's been 12 days since her last meal and she shows NO interest at all. She's still really scared of me too.

Any advice? I feel like there must be something I'm not doing right if she's still scared and wont come our or eat, though I'm mostly concerned about the eating because I don't want her to start brumating.

Beat me with a stick if I'm just being too nervous of a parent : )
 
I personally waited a week after purchasing my corns before offering food. New environments/moves are disrupting for corn snakes, and oftentimes they will not eat immediately after so as not to put themselves in a vulnerable position in a potentially dangerous environment.

4 months old is still definitely a very baby corn snake. Expect shyness/flightyness the first year. Once your snake becomes more comfortable with you and her home, it will not be unusual to see her out "hunting" at night when it gets close to feeding time. Snakes are nocturnal, however, so they will remain hidden most if not all of the daylight hours.
 
It's very understandable - we've all been there!

She'll get less skittish as she gets bigger and grows in confidence. It will take more than a week for her to realise that the big pink scary monster isn't trying to eat her! You'll notice her calm down in a few months.

As far as feeding goes, we recommend that you don't try to feed for the first week anyway - leaving them completely alone for at least a week is recommended to help them settle in. She's still on schedule and not doing anything unusual for a new arrival, especially if you've tried to feed her soon after arrival.

What have you tried with feeding so far? My suggestion would be to leave her with the food overnight if you haven't done that already. Some (especially nervous newcomers) perfer to eat in absolute dark and quiet, without being watched.

Don't try and feed her every day as she might start to associate food with stress. I'd try leaving her completely alone for 3-4 days before you next try.
 
Is it possible she is blue (getting ready to shed)? Have you seen her out at all? Have you been handling her? How are you going about offering food to her?
 
Oh good, I'm glad I don't have anything to be worried about : )

I'll let her be for a few more days then before trying to feed her again. She's not getting blue at all that I can tell, so I don't think she's getting ready to shed. And no, I have no seen her out so much as once since I got her. I know which of the hides she's under, and she hasn't moved from that one since I got her that I know of. I handled her once when when I transfered her from the FedEx box to her cage, and once more a couple of days later because she wasn't moving and I thought she was dead and she was super duper cold XD -nervous parent syndrome- So I'd moved her over to the heater : P She just went right back off it though.

I just have frozen pinkies that I'm offering her because that's what the breeder said she was used to, so hopefully she'll want some soon : )
 
Defrosted pinkies should be fine - they're standard food for hatchlings. After defrosting it, try warming it up immediately before you offer it by running it under the hot tap. Sometimes that gives them an extra "clue" that it's food and time to eat. Then leave them together overnight.

It's worth double-checking that the warm side isn't too warm as that can discourage them from using the area.

Other than that, I think patience is the key at the moment.
 
Don't try to feed her every day but offer every 3-5 days. Make the pinkie warm with hot water. Maybe let your inner sadist out on the pinkie and make cuts in it or break the skull. Check the temperature on the UTH under the substrate too see if it gets too hot for corns. Further, the hiding is normal for young corn snakes.
Ooh and as said before don't watch them when they eat just leave them alone in a dark place. If you leave her alone for a long time make sure it doesn't get too cold there. You don't wanna freeze your snakey.

Let us know how it goes!
 
if nothing works try to get her used to the scent try braining like beeluv said or you could try to gut the pinky and put them both in a small container for about an hour it always seems to work for me.
 
You show concern, that is a great quality to have as a pet owner; that snake is lucky to have someone looking out for them like you are; that's number one.

Two, as others stated, don't worry, they can go a long time without eating; but, new surroundings and such just take time on their part, you can't control that.

Three, for feeding, since little on with our corns, they get fed in a brown paper bag (a grocery bag actually) and it works great - I tried other ways when we first got them and they would not eat; the paper bag was the trick for us. Now, I have to plastic enclosures that I lined with a paper bag cut-up and this works perfectly as well.

Fourthly, the more handling time, the better. We take our corns out (roughly) 4-5 times a week for periods of 15-60 min. - they are very comfortable with us.

Fifthly, despite what old data reported, snakes do have their own personalities. Our one corn is very social and breaks all the nocturnal rules by coming out in the morning when we are getting ready, as well as around dinner time when our family tends to cheat and eat in the living room. He also comes to my hand when I lower it in the tank and will start up my arm to let me know he wants to come out. Yet, our other corn, more nocturnal, gets active at night more so and doesn't slither up my arm; but, he doesn't mind getting picked up. When he was just a few months old, sometimes he would try to get away in his tank; that is all normal, so don't be upset because your corn bolts now when you pick him/her up. Over time, that will go away and they'll simply relax.

Best of luck with your new corn and just be patient for a little bit; things will naturally fall into place and you'll do great, as well as your corn.
 
have no fear!

Dont panic too much, and like everyone says wait at least 4-5 days before feeding again, and try not to pick her up when you are about to feed her. if anything, try to sneak the pinky in there and using long tongs pretend its alive.

there are all sorts of things you can try to get the snake to feed and you never know what will work. I wouldnt worry though if shes been a good eater in the past, she should have enough in her tummy to last her a while! :)
 
gembob said:
I feel like such a bother when I post here with questions like this XD Obviously n00b questions, but I don't want to wait and find out there was something I could have done better.

So I've had my little 4 month old for 7 days now, and she's still hiding all the time and still wont eat so it's been 12 days since her last meal and she shows NO interest at all. She's still really scared of me too.

Any advice? I feel like there must be something I'm not doing right if she's still scared and wont come our or eat, though I'm mostly concerned about the eating because I don't want her to start brumating.
Click to expand...

If you did not post with such questions then not only would you not know but nor would others know when searching for such things.

Leave her alone for another week then try offering one of your smallest F/T pinkies and brain it. (Are you feeding live??) Feed in a seperate container tho.. you can try this
My friend used one like that..Shut it and put a heavy rock on it. You can try this too...leave the snake in there for about 30mins and check. but don't forget!

gembob said:
I'll let her be for a few more days then before trying to feed her again. She's not getting blue at all that I can tell, so I don't think she's getting ready to shed. And no, I have no seen her out so much as once since I got her. I know which of the hides she's under, and she hasn't moved from that one since I got her that I know of. I handled her once when when I transfered her from the FedEx box to her cage, and once more a couple of days later because she wasn't moving and I thought she was dead and she was super duper cold
Click to expand...

Concern is great but don't stess yourself yet. Try handling everyday for 5-10mins. Make sure your temps are 82-86 on the hot side and 70 below on the cool side. Can we have pictures of set up? Sometimes snakes won't eat the mouse because it is cold. Make sure as soon as your done warming it up in warm/hot water..that you put it with the snake.
Cornsnakes don't really become active during the day but towards dusk. Just keep watching but don't super stress ;)
 
I would not handle this snake at all until she eats at least one meal, preferably two. It will only add to her stress.
 
Nanci said:
I would not handle this snake at all until she eats at least one meal, preferably two. It will only add to her stress.
Click to expand...


this, its a young snake and handling will probably only make things worse.

wait until meals have been established
 
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