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Advice?

H

Hibotan115

New member
Hello all and thank you for reading.

I bought my first snake about a month ago, a very sweet and active one year old boy. About almost week after I got him, he had a beautiful shed ( March 26). I Have handled him only three times since I bought him from his breeder, after his third handling he began to act a bit feisty and couldn't stand being touched. He began to rattle aggressively more and more. I noticed he was spending more time hiding and bathing so I assumed he was about to shed. Its been about a week since I made this observation and he sill hasn't.
I bought him a new lamp in case the temperature wasn't suffice, he has since been more active. I tried to feed him last Thursday ( April 14). I read cutting the mouse open makes it easier to digest and since he regurgitated his first mouse I thought I would try that. It didn't work, I noticed yesterday he regurgitated half of the hopper. He is still bathing quite a bit and is currently nestled in the moist hide I made( which Im sure is dry rn).
So I guess I'm saying I'm at a loss. The temperature on his hot side is 85F and about 75F on his cold side, the humidity is 35%. During his third handling he and my cat did notice each other for the first time, So I was thinking that might be why he was acting off but i'm not sure. I haven't tried to handle him more since I notice he was more active because I'm worried I will stress him out or he's still trying to shed.
If possible will you guys give me any tips on his behavior? Should I bring him into the vet? Should I try to handle him again?

Thank you
 
"Bathing" can be a sign of shedding.

It can also be a sign of Mites. Snakes will soak if they have mites as a way of drowning them.

A snake will also bathe as a method of cooling off if he's too hot.

You stated your snake is bathing a lot. Corn snakes in general do not bathe a lot. To me, this suggests something is wrong. I would consider, shedding, mites, or too hot. All of these can make a snake Cranky and Upset.

Solutions-

1. Make sure the humidity in your cage is around 45% most of the time, during sheds you can boost it to around 70%.
2. Check your snake for mites. Use a magnifying glass if necessary. They are very small and can embed themselves under the scales of the snake. You might also see them in the water dish after bathing.
3. You stated the temp was 85F on the warm side. Where on the warm side? On the glass bottom or up near the top. Does the snake have a place to hide on the warm side and a place to hide on the cool side? If a snake can't hide it will feel vulnerable. This can also make them upset and cranky.
4. Your Cat and Snake noticed each other? Not good.
5. I'm betting your hands probably smell like the cat too. Also not good.
 
Hello, and welcome to the forum. A couple tips.... like Karl said, that humidity is a little low, its good you have a humid hide though. As for the bathing, usually this only is before a shed, so I agree with Karl something could be up. My guess is that the ambient air temp is too hot. Corn snakes don't really need a heat lamp, it is much better for them to have an under tank heater. This is because you don't want the air temperature to be super warm, rather the floor. This also is important for digestion. With the under tank heater (UTH), you want to cover about 1/3 of the floor to create a heat gradient. UTHs can get dangerously hot however, so it is important to regulate their temperature with a thermostat. The thermostat I and many other keepers use is THIS one. Its relatively inexpensive and works really well.

Also, I noticed you had a regurge. There is a great protocol HERE for regurges that I would recommend following. Scroll down and read through Kathy Love's suggestions. Usually, after a regurge you want to step down the size of the mouse. Whenever a snake regurgitates, it is very serious, especially if it happens more than once. Getting a UTH will help digestion also. Also, do you have a reptile vet? You could call them and talk to someone on phone to express your concerns, they may have some advice or suggestions.

Best of luck.
 
jagodzinski said:
Hello, and welcome to the forum. A couple tips.... like Karl said, that humidity is a little low, its good you have a humid hide though. As for the bathing, usually this only is before a shed, so I agree with Karl something could be up. My guess is that the ambient air temp is too hot. Corn snakes don't really need a heat lamp, it is much better for them to have an under tank heater. This is because you don't want the air temperature to be super warm, rather the floor. This also is important for digestion. With the under tank heater (UTH), you want to cover about 1/3 of the floor to create a heat gradient. UTHs can get dangerously hot however, so it is important to regulate their temperature with a thermostat. The thermostat I and many other keepers use is THIS one. Its relatively inexpensive and works really well.

Also, I noticed you had a regurge. There is a great protocol HERE for regurges that I would recommend following. Scroll down and read through Kathy Love's suggestions. Usually, after a regurge you want to step down the size of the mouse. Whenever a snake regurgitates, it is very serious, especially if it happens more than once. Getting a UTH will help digestion also. Also, do you have a reptile vet? You could call them and talk to someone on phone to express your concerns, they may have some advice or suggestions.

Best of luck.
Click to expand...
Hello!
Sorry I never received an alert for the reply, I appreciate it very much. My snakes overall attitude has improved, not longer bathing as much and appreciates being held.I am having some issues with the inconsistency of the temp on his hotside. I would love to only use a heating pad but the highest it gets is 84 plus a girl at the pet store said they need uvb light or they wont last as long? Do you have any suggestions on how to raise the humidity or if I should buy a stronger heating pad? I would totally be okay returning the lamps if they dont need light. Thank you and have a great day!
 
Karl_Mcknight said:
"Bathing" can be a sign of shedding.

It can also be a sign of Mites. Snakes will soak if they have mites as a way of drowning them.

A snake will also bathe as a method of cooling off if he's too hot.

You stated your snake is bathing a lot. Corn snakes in general do not bathe a lot. To me, this suggests something is wrong. I would consider, shedding, mites, or too hot. All of these can make a snake Cranky and Upset.

Solutions-

1. Make sure the humidity in your cage is around 45% most of the time, during sheds you can boost it to around 70%.
2. Check your snake for mites. Use a magnifying glass if necessary. They are very small and can embed themselves under the scales of the snake. You might also see them in the water dish after bathing.
3. You stated the temp was 85F on the warm side. Where on the warm side? On the glass bottom or up near the top. Does the snake have a place to hide on the warm side and a place to hide on the cool side? If a snake can't hide it will feel vulnerable. This can also make them upset and cranky.
4. Your Cat and Snake noticed each other? Not good.
5. I'm betting your hands probably smell like the cat too. Also not good.
Click to expand...
Hi and sorry for the late response! I appreciate this reply and my corn has been overall wonderful since. I did check for mites, I couldn't see any. I used a magnifying glass and checked his water bowl, nothing. He is not bathing as much as before and allows me to handle him frequently. Also I have several hide for him; two on the hot side, one in the middle, and one on the cool side. My thermostat is near the bottom on the left side of his cage. My cat never bothers my snake, he has no want to get to it so i doubt he cares for it. I am washing my hand more thoroughly since your comment about smelling like cat, so thank you for that, it would've never crossed my mind. I am wondering if you have any tips on raising the humidity? Thank you and have a great day!
 
corn snakes do not need uvb light. They do need a sense of night and day, preferably 12 hours light 12 hours dark. If they stay in total light or total dark all the time it can throw off their life cycle.

I use a light on a timer so I don't have to mess with it or remember to turn it on or off. But it's "Not" a light that produces heat. It's for lighting purposes only. The only heat I use comes from 2 heat pads with thermostats below the tank.
 
I pretty much agree with what was said here except that I would reduce handling until you have the regurgitation issue under control. Regurgitations can be caused be insufficient temperatures, overly large prey items, or stress (moving, handling, etc)... Regardless of the reason for it, regurging can be a very serious problem. I would encourage you to follow the regurge protocol mentioned above, and to cut down on handling until your snake is eating well and keeping it's food down. Getting your temps right should help with that.

Also, I will second the vote that these guys do not need UV light.
Good luck!
 
albertagirl said:
I pretty much agree with what was said here except that I would reduce handling until you have the regurgitation issue under control. Regurgitations can be caused be insufficient temperatures, overly large prey items, or stress (moving, handling, etc)... Regardless of the reason for it, regurging can be a very serious problem. I would encourage you to follow the regurge protocol mentioned above, and to cut down on handling until your snake is eating well and keeping it's food down. Getting your temps right should help with that.

Also, I will second the vote that these guys do not need UV light.
Good luck!
Click to expand...
Hello and thanks for your concern. I fed my snake normally 5/8( before i received the kathy love tips), Thursday, and he has not yet regurgitated!He has actually had two very healthy poos since, so i believe it is totally digested but we will see. I think the regurgs were due to stress and inconsistent temps but my thermostat came today, so hopefully that will help. He hasn't seemed as stressed anymore, besides with the temps. If he does regurgitate I will follow the Kathy Love protocol.
Thank you for replying and if you have any tips with thermostats or ways to help increase the humidity please let me know!
Have a beautiful day!
 
normal Humidity is fine with corn snakes. You should not have to increase it unless you live in a really dry area that stays dry all the time, or the snake is having a difficult shed.

Wild corn snakes live in an area where Humidity can drop to 20% or climb to 100% and they do just fine. You just don't want it to be 20% or 100% all the time.

Generally, 30% to 50% is considered normal, but minor fluctuations up or down are ok.

You can take a clean spray bottle filled with water and lightly mist the snake and the cage 2 times a day during shed periods.

Too much moisture can be just as bad as too little. High humidity, excessive moisture can cause Skin Blister disease, Mouth Rot, Scale Rot, Fungus, Mold, etc.
 
I'm thinking about getting a baby corn snake. My family has a fat lazy cat, a medium sized dog and we are thinking about getting a kitten. Would the corn snake cause problems with the cats and dog? My families dog is very curious. I would put a lock on the cage and probably end up putting the snake in the closet (with the same setup, just out of the way.)
Does anyone have any advice
 
I would say unless he's in his post eating 48 hours of course handle as much as possible, I handle each of my snakes at least once a day and it does wonders. Also of course making sure there's no mites and humidity/temp is under control. If all is good then handling every day is what to do. I do a lot of herpingherping and have gotten wild snakes I find in the same areas that don't even shake their tails or raise their heads at me anymore lol. And these are wild guys that were not very nice when I first met them. It's all about trust!
 
ReptileGuy said:
I'm thinking about getting a baby corn snake. My family has a fat lazy cat, a medium sized dog and we are thinking about getting a kitten. Would the corn snake cause problems with the cats and dog? My families dog is very curious. I would put a lock on the cage and probably end up putting the snake in the closet (with the same setup, just out of the way.)
Does anyone have any advice
Click to expand...

You're fine just make sure the snake is secured and make sure the cat can't access the room he's in. I have six snakes and 3 dogs and a ferret which anyone knows how weasel related animals are with snakes lol. No problems here so I think your good with some responsibility.
 
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