Need some advice/information on feeding please.

[Kiddycorral]

We purchased our corn snake on July 12th and were told he'd eaten around July 9th, but they weren't sure. Since he hadn't pooped all week we fed him on July 16th. We fed him 2 fuzzies which he ate quickly. He pooped some on July 19th and again on the 20th.
We were told to feed him 2 fuzzies every week, so tonight we offered him food again. This time he wouldn't touch them and pooped in the feeding tank.

Is this normal?
Should we have waited longer to feed him?
Is it usual for a snake to poop so many different times? (we were told he'd poop around 2 days after feeding, but not how many times)

Any additional advice or information would be greatly appreciated.

 

[wstphal]

It all sounds normal to me. Some of my snakes poop infrequently but in large amounts. Some of my snakes seem to poop daily or nearly so. And one of mine seems to poop almost daily in huge amounts for the amount of food she eats. Not really, it just seems that way. So the pooping seems fine.

Sometimes mine skip meals. At least some of the time that's my first hint that tomorrow they will be blue. Sometimes they skip meals for no apparent reason. Everybody seems to be growing nicely so I just make note of it & that's that.

Yours can't be a teeny tiny baby if he eats fuzzies, so I would not worry about this refusal, he won't starve. I would just wait until next Friday & try again, by then he should be good and hungry, unless he is going blue, then you will know not to bother to try to feed him. Mind you, my cali king eats while in deep blue, too blind from the clouding of the eye caps to SEE the food but if I stick it in front of his nose -- WHAM -- it's gone. Many snakes don't though, so if he goes blue before Friday, I wouldn't try to feed him.

 

[Kiddycorral]

It all sounds normal to me. Some of my snakes poop infrequently but in large amounts. Some of my snakes seem to poop daily or nearly so. And one of mine seems to poop almost daily in huge amounts for the amount of food she eats. Not really, it just seems that way. So the pooping seems fine.

Sometimes mine skip meals. At least some of the time that's my first hint that tomorrow they will be blue. Sometimes they skip meals for no apparent reason. Everybody seems to be growing nicely so I just make note of it & that's that.

Yours can't be a teeny tiny baby if he eats fuzzies, so I would not worry about this refusal, he won't starve. I would just wait until next Friday & try again, by then he should be good and hungry, unless he is going blue, then you will know not to bother to try to feed him. Mind you, my cali king eats while in deep blue, too blind from the clouding of the eye caps to SEE the food but if I stick it in front of his nose -- WHAM -- it's gone. Many snakes don't though, so if he goes blue before Friday, I wouldn't try to feed him.

Ha-ha!, you were right he's starting to shed.
Yesterday his eyes were blue and his skin started to look dull and grey.

Now my question is how long does it take them to shed?
Should we handle him at this time, change anything in his tank or the way we care for him?

 

[wstphal]

His eyes & skin will clear in a few days, then he will crawl out of his old skin wearing his nice new skin a few days after that. The whole process is supposed to take about a week give or take. Most snakes don't like to be handled when they are "blue" because they can't see very well. Some of them like a humid hide during this time, or to have their tank misted. It depends on how dry your home is. If you live in a dry area, he may need one or the other in order to have his shed come off all in one piece. If you live in a muggy part of the world, he probably won't need a humid hide or misting.

A humid hide is easy to make. Get a Tupperware type box, cut a hole in the lid that he can go in and out of, or on the side. Put some damp sphagnum moss or damp paper towels in it. Put it in his tank so he can go in it if he wants to.

I hope this helps.