Lots of problems/Paranoid here

[Daveeee]

Hi guys, couple month back, I never even owned a snake, my sisters friend was asked if I wanted to have his snow corn, I jumped at the opportunity. Very soon after i realized how the snake was not looked after at all stuck in about 12" Plastic box (Was its home) with a little farty heat mat... He didn't tell me anything about its age!! but I know the snake is about 2.5 ft Here is some questions/problems

- When I buy its mice I leave it in steaming water to defrost for 30 minutes then feed, is that ok?

- I keep increasing the amount of food I give it, the guy said to only feed it 1 mice per week, But then i increased it to 2, Now I increased it to 3 No problems I don't think.

- I noticed the snake was acting a bit strange, couple days after acting that way, its sheds its skin, but ever since it shedded its been acting the same as it was before... for example, she won't move from 1 spot for days and days, She used to be in her hide box in the heated side of the vivarium, Now she will only be on the cooler side hiding under the wood chippings/Log

- I'm feeding her 3 fuzzies and she can eat no problem, should I increase it to the next size up but only 2 of?

- On the Thermometer (heated side) it reads 24, My Hygrometer reads 45. Is this okay? With my head light on it can reach temperatures average 30, But because its only been staying on the cool side of the vivarium I started to keep the lamp off because I thought it may be too warm, But she still won't come to the warmer side (only for maybe 10 minutes after I handle it, Then it will go back to old spot, When I pick her up she is freezing cold!

 

[Iguanagirl8662]

- When I buy its mice I leave it in steaming water to defrost for 30 minutes then feed, is that ok?

Yes that is okay, you want the mouse to be hot and dethaw completely.

- I keep increasing the amount of food I give it, the guy said to only feed it 1 mice per week, But then i increased it to 2, Now I increased it to 3 No problems I don't think.

- I'm feeding her 3 fuzzies and she can eat no problem, should I increase it to the next size up but only 2 of?

If it is 2.5ft it should be able to take an adult mouse now instead of fuzzies.

- I noticed the snake was acting a bit strange, couple days after acting that way, its sheds its skin, but ever since it shedded its been acting the same as it was before... for example, she won't move from 1 spot for days and days, She used to be in her hide box in the heated side of the vivarium, Now she will only be on the cooler side hiding under the wood chippings/Log

They are nocturnal so when you go to bed it is out and about. Hiding is normal for corns. Most of the time you'll never see them during the day. Staying on the cool side is also very normal.

- On the Thermometer (heated side) it reads 24, My Hygrometer reads 45. Is this okay? With my head light on it can reach temperatures average 30, But because its only been staying on the cool side of the vivarium I started to keep the lamp off because I thought it may be too warm, But she still won't come to the warmer side (only for maybe 10 minutes after I handle it, Then it will go back to old spot, When I pick her up she is freezing cold!

I'm guessing this is in Celciuos, in which case I can't help sorry.

 

[marike]

Hi Dave,

24°C as average is ok, under a sun Spot (or generally the hottest point in the viv) there should be 30-32°C, so the snake can heat up if it wants to. That important for digestion. At night the temp can go down to 22°C, but not under 18°C!

45% Humidity is alright, but then its better to provide a wetbox, permanently or just when the snake is going to shed.

About defrosting mice in steaming water: It's better to thaw them slowly. Look:
http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=87479

To have a hint on how much to feed, its helpful to know the snakes weight. 2.5ft, thats just 76cm. I wouldn't feed an adult mouse. My snakes are about 80cm now and they get hoppers. Knowing the snakes weight, you can go by the Munson Plan:
http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50106

It's a good thing that you "rescued" the snake from the bad housing it had before and that you take the effort to look for information and do it better. I hope you have a good time with it. :cheers:

Greeting,
marike

 

[bitsy]

- I keep increasing the amount of food I give it, the guy said to only feed it 1 mice per week, But then i increased it to 2, Now I increased it to 3 No problems I don't think.

- I'm feeding her 3 fuzzies and she can eat no problem, should I increase it to the next size up but only 2 of?

If she's happy eating 3 fuzzies a week, I'd say she's ready for adult mice now. Start with one medium mouse every 7-10 days, and if she eats those OK then in a couple of months you can move to one adult mouse every 10-14 days. The rule is that when the food size goes up, the time between feeds gets longer.

Once on adult mice, you rarely need to feed more than one at a time. I give my breeding females double so that they regain bodyweight after laying, also sick snakes as they recover. Apart from that, one at a time is fine.

- I noticed the snake was acting a bit strange, couple days after acting that way, its sheds its skin, but ever since it shedded its been acting the same as it was before... for example, she won't move from 1 spot for days and days, She used to be in her hide box in the heated side of the vivarium, Now she will only be on the cooler side hiding under the wood chippings/Log

- On the Thermometer (heated side) it reads 24, My Hygrometer reads 45. Is this okay? With my head light on it can reach temperatures average 30, But because its only been staying on the cool side of the vivarium I started to keep the lamp off because I thought it may be too warm, But she still won't come to the warmer side (only for maybe 10 minutes after I handle it, Then it will go back to old spot, When I pick her up she is freezing cold!

You need to be absolutely sure what that top temp is. A Corn's ideal maximum is 31 degrees C; 45 degrees C would certainly be enough to harm her. What sort of thermometer do you have and where is it? You need to be measuring the temp at floor level on the warm side. The stick-on strip or dial-type thermometers are notoriously inaccurate and can be out by as much as ten degrees either way.

Do you have a thermostat on your heat source(s)? Both lamps and heat mats will be too hot for a Corn unless they're regulated. You'll rarely need both a lamp and a heat mat in the UK as we don't let our homes get cool enough to need that much of a boost for the snakes.

If the temps in the tank are too high, this could explain her lack of movement around the tank.

Having said that, most of mine spend all their time at the cool ends of their vivs, and only go to the warm end to digest or if feeling ill. That behaviour is perfectly normal.

Bear in mind that a Corn's ideal maximum temperature is below human body temp, so it should always feel cool or cold to you when you pick it up.