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I'm new at this...help!

M

Mrs.J4

New member
Hello everyone,

My husband and I purchased a beautiful 3 year old corn snake about 10 days ago. I think she might be sick, but I'm not sure.

We bought her last Saturday; she seemed to adjust quite well to her new surroundings and by Monday she would let us pick her up without pulling away. She's in a 27 gallon tank, with aspen shavings for substrate. We've got a heat pad on one end under her little "hidey cave", but she prefers to sit on top of it or curl around her water dish. We fed her on Tuesday; the pet store told us she eats 1 mouse per week, and the place where we got the food recommended fuzzies (pre-killed, we defrost them overnight in the fridge and then run hot water over them before giving them to her). She ate the fuzzie with gusto; after researching a bit more I think she should be eating something larger than that.

Everything was fine until a few days ago; she is sneezing frequently, loud enough for us to here when she is in the tank. My husband gave her 2 fuzzies yesterday (7 days after first feeding); she kind of half ate the first one, then regurgitated it. After a minute she decided to eat it after all, although much slower than last week. Same deal with fuzzie #2. That was last night and she has not regurgitated her meal.

I'm concerned she might have a respiratory infection, but I'm not sure. I don't know if she needs to see a vet but I have an appointment for her tomorrow; if nothing else I'd like to get her checked out as I don't know much about snakes.

Any advice about her sneezing, feeding habits, or how we are caring for her (ie. tank set up, feeding setup/feed size) would be appreciated...please impart your wisdom. :)
 
What are the temps in her viv? It does sound as if she has a respiratory infection so you will definately need to raise the temps while she is sick...around 89 - 92F. It is recommended to let a snake get used to it's new environment before handling or feeding, usually at least a week, to avoid too much stress. Your vet should be able to help you with the rest, but do read all you can on this forum, get a copy of The Corn Snake Manual by Kathy Love if you don't have one yet (can be obtained at www.corn-utopia.com), and don't hesitate to ask us any questions or concerns you may have. Keep us posted!
 
Welcome to the forum. :wavey: Is it open mouth breathing? Any bubbles coming from the nostrils?

Also, a 3 year old corn should be able to be eating adult mice. The size of prey can be up to 1 1/2 times the size of the snake's girth.
 
yeah mine is a 3-4 year old and she is eating medium sized rats 2 of them easy

i would think that a 3 year old could eat a least a fuzzy rat to a med sized rat
 
At least adult mice...fuzzy mice are WAY too small...I have 18inch Hatchlings that will down 2 large fuzzies in one meal.

The only thing I have to add to this is that...instead of thawing the mice overnight in the fridge...just place them directly in the warm water frozen right before feeding time...just be sure to let them thaw completely.
This will help prevent any possible bacteria collecting on the thawed mouse.
I use HOT water...but I put a lot of mice in at once...so it cools the water quickly...if you are only feeding one or two mice...warm water will work fine...just don't use water so hot that it "cooks" the extremities on the mouse (ears, legs, tail)...these will be indigestable if cooked.

The vet should be able to help you with any respiratory infections.
 
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