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my baby isnt eating

grdn1014

New member
i know theres tons of threads popping up weekly about this. i just bought a very small baby normal corn snake. not sure how old it is but its small. maybe eight, nine inches long at max. i bought it a week ago, pretty slim, and it hasnt eaten at all since. i would believe its too young (if its a male) to participate in this breeding-season-fasting. i cant believe it wouldnt be hungry, because its scales are even wrinkley at times.

every time i put it in its feeding tank it just flips out and rolls all over the pinkie like its not even there at all.

maybe i was sold a problem feeder? the guy at the store i got it from had over 50 snakes for sale at the time, and im sure he would have known or something. but maybe he did know and just sold it to me anyway.

how easy is it to get lizard scent? can you get it at a petco?

its pretty frustrating. hes very very inactive as well, some movement only at night, mostly hiding and sleeping. humidity about 50%, temps at 86 on hot side, 75 cool side. hides on both, light for 8 hours a day. i duno what else i could be doing wrong. he might be trying to shed but i havent seen milkey eyes at all, and ive had him for about five or six days. :cry:
 
The wrinkled skin says possible upcoming shed to me. Sometimes you miss the blue cycle or they are preparing to shed when you get them. It can take a week or two before they actually go blue. That said, the size points to a new hatchling that probably hasn't had more than one meal at the most. One of the problems with buying from a petstore. They don't make sure the snake is an established feeder before selling them. You should be able to get lizard maker at the petstore, but I suspect if it's getting ready to shed it just might not eat. Another thing to try would be to just have paper towel in your viv and feed him in the viv until he calms down a bit. He may feel too vulnerable in a seperate box to feed. I'd also drop your warm side temps down to around 82 if you could. They don't need it really warm. I'd just continue to try to feed every 4 days or so in the viv. I wouldn't be surprised if he sheds in the next week or so.
 
ok thanks a lot i got a bunch of great tips from reading your post meg. i just get nervous i supose :)

i also need to get a control for my heat pad. i cant remember the last time i even saw one in the petstore though. :shrugs:
 
Go to a place like Wal-mart or a hardware store. They should have plug in lamp dimmers that will work just fine.
 
You can also put a piece of folded newspaper over the heat pad side to insulate a little. Works like a charm.
 
i think il have to go with the light dimmer, going to pick one up today, since we have window air conditioning and we dont always keep it on. due to that i also have problems controling fish tank heat and such. :-/ oh well. thanks for all the advice everyone :-D
 
When I first got my baby snake, it could'nt find the water on his own and his skin became very wrinkly looking. I almost lost him before I figured out he was dehydrated. If I were you, I'd stick yours right in the water dish and let him drink to his hearts content. If he does'nt, then you know it's something else going on. I know they can go a while without food, but not without water. good luck! :wavey:
 
i just tried it, i put him in there and he just climbed out then went back to hiding/sleeping. he may be dehydrated though. i know the water is clean i just changed it an hour ago. oh well. thanks for the advice though
 
My Kernel is the same way. He doesn't like the water very much. I see other pics of snakes that are just chilling in their water dish. I can barely get mine to drink from it!
 
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