Need advice on new baby corn!

[kimbyra]

Hi all!
I received a new baby Tuesday. When I unpacked him, he seemed a little cool, and was in partial shed. It is now Saturday and he is still in shed, seems a little cool (though better), maybe looks dehydrated, and he wouldn't take his first pinkie (since I got him) last night. Should I be worried or is he just still settling in? BTW, I have his tank properly set up, with a UTH on one side, water dish on the other, aspen substrate, and a hide. Any advice would be great.

 

[Lennycorn]

He should be OK. Snake will always seem cool to you being cold blooded and we're 98.6 . Just give the snake some fresh water and let him settle in for three to six days then you could try to feed. Here a link to some basic information. http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28341
That should get you on you way,

Good Luck with the new guy.

 

[marty.warwick]

Have you got a thermometer set up which takes the temperatures on the surface of the substrate (not stick on types which measure ambient temps, these thermometers are usually inaccurate and not the info you want), Being in shed may make him lose his appetite, as would the stress of moving and lower temps.

 

[SnakeLuvrs]

I would let him acclimate for 3days or so. if you are worried about him not drinking... put the water dish along the side of the tank. snakes tend to cruise along the edge. when he is in shed, you mean blue phase? if so, blue phase will last a few days (3?) then the eyes an body will clear up... for 3 days, give or take. then he'll shed. Also in general, snakes dont eat when they are in shed... some of mine do, and others dont. so just let him get settled in and try feeding after he sheds...



also,
I have hides on both the warm and cool side of my cages...Some do this and others dont... just a thought.


good luck and enjoy your new best bud!

 

[BabyMowgli]

Don't worry about your new baby not eating right away. I would wait about 4 more days to try feeding him again. They need to settle in their new viv before they are comfortable to eat. Also, do you have a thermometer in your viv? As long as your temps are about 74 on the cool and 83 on the warm, you are fine. Congrats by the way!

 

[marty.warwick]

Rather than having two hides on each side, I have a cork bark hide covering both warm and cool areas so Travis can lie under the same familar hide and be wherever he feels comfortable I will get more hides as I upgrade to a 20 G. Viv however.

 

[zwyatt]

and was in partial shed.

Does this mean he was only in blue phase or some stage of the shedding cycle? Or had he physically begun to shed but only completed part of it?

It just sounds like an odd way of stating it that got me to wondering what the true meaning was.

 

[marty.warwick]

Yeah I was wondering what it meant too, I assumed it meant partially through the whole process, Rather than halfway through physically shedding.

 

[kimbyra]

Thanks everyone for your advice!
He has actually, physically partially shed. His eyes are blue. He had part of the shed off Tuesday when I got him, and still has some of the shed still on him. Poor guy. I was wondering if a "warm bath" or shed-aid would help, or if I should just leave him be for now?
I don't have a thermometer yet. What is the best kind? Should I put nwesprint under the aspen where the UTH is? (He likes to burrow.) I have been checking on him everyday, but leaving him alone, except when I tried to feed him.

 

[crazyforcorns]

Regarding Hides

Kathy Love suggested cutting a papertowel roll in 1/2 length ways, and putting that in. 1/2 warm, 1/2 cold.

I did that and his other hides are about an inch away from each end.

This way he had a tunnel system going from one hide to the other.

It worked like a charm.

Sometimes he's stay in the tunnel, sometimes in the warm hide, and sometimes in the cool hide.

He seems alot more adventerous now as well, and he sleeps up in his hammock that's covered by leaves.

I have taken the tunnel out now and he doesn't seem to mind going from one hide to another now.

It's an excellent cheap alternative.

Kathy

 

[snakessss]

Kathy Love suggested cutting a papertowel roll in 1/2 length ways, and putting that in. 1/2 warm, 1/2 cold.

I did that and his other hides are about an inch away from each end.

This way he had a tunnel system going from one hide to the other.

It worked like a charm.

Sometimes he's stay in the tunnel, sometimes in the warm hide, and sometimes in the cool hide.

He seems alot more adventerous now as well, and he sleeps up in his hammock that's covered by leaves.

I have taken the tunnel out now and he doesn't seem to mind going from one hide to another now.

It's an excellent cheap alternative.

Kathy

im going to try that today.

 

[zwyatt]

Thanks everyone for your advice!
He has actually, physically partially shed. His eyes are blue. He had part of the shed off Tuesday when I got him, and still has some of the shed still on him. Poor guy. I was wondering if a "warm bath" or shed-aid would help, or if I should just leave him be for now?

I'm not sure exactly what the time frame is, but before long there are three possibilities that I see.
1) If the tail tip hasn't been shed it will begin to cut circulation off and he will lose some portion of his tail.
2) Bacteria can also begin to accumulate under other portions of remaining shed.
3) If his eyes are still blue it sounds like he may have retained his eye caps. :shrugs: This is another possible place where infection can start.

As I said above, I don't know what the timeline is for this. I don't know how soon you must get the skin off. Regardless of whether he has had time to adjust or not trying to help him get the rest of his skin off is bound to be at least a little stressful. Personally (if it were me), I would try to get the shed off and then give him a few days at least to rest and get adjusted.

I have had a few bad sheds with some of my little ones and the advice I have been given has worked very well.

I've had a couple hatchlings have a bad shed and feel like their skin (that needed to be shed) was dry and crunchy to the touch. I usually put those guys in a gladware filled 1/2 inch deep with luke warm water and leave them for an hour. You have to get the skin completely hydrated and softened up. Then I gently rub my finger (head to tail) at the margin of the shed and work it loose and down. The belly part is generally the most difficult and sometimes I have to peel it from one side to the other.

Good luck to you.

The most important thing is to make sure the retained skin has softened up or else you aren't going to get anywhere. You can also use a wet washcloth or paper towel and let him slither through it applying gentle pressure so that he has to work a little bit to get through. Regardless, I would suggest soaking as suggested above or putting him in a deli with moist paper towels for 20-30 minutes. FWIW, soaking was much more effective for me.

I don't have any eye cap experience, but if they are indeed still on his eyes there are a couple of threads if you do a search for 'eye caps'.

Good luck! Hopefully, things will work out.

 

[kimbyra]

Woo Hoo!

Howdy Folks and thanks for the great advice!
After advice from the breeder, I put a folded up damp papertowel in his hide with him. Then tonight, following advice here, I soaked Adhemar (the snake) for several minutes, watching him closely. (Hey, Snakes float!) I gently scooped water over him now and then, then gently rubbed off his shed with a towel (first try!). He looks great now, and seems to have perked up. I'm not sure about his eyes, though I did VERY gently rub his face too. I will leave him alone tonight, and check in on him later tomorrow to see how he's doing.