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New corn snake owner. Snake ate aspen. HELP!

deedee

New member
I am a recent corn snake owner (about 2weeks just over) & am concerned about my corn snake having consumed aspen.
She is about 6months old & is currently eating 1 pinky mouse every 7days. The day I got her she was due 2 b fed so we waited til the day after 2 let her settle & then fed her. She swallowed an aspen chip th@ time & I panicked but she seems 2 hav passed th@ 1, her last feed was normal (no aspen), but I fed her again 2day & she swallowed the aspen again! This time there was a more stuck 2 it, mayb 3 small chips. I'm sooo worried about her. Shud I b? In future I will b trying 2 feed her in a seperate container. I only fed her in her enclosure cos th@s wat I was told 2 do by the seller in the 1st place. I had cleared the space of aspen where I feed her b4 I put it in but she dragged it backwards & dropped it in the aspen. It stuck more because the pinky was a lil damp- I'd popped it in a lil warm water 2 warm it up a bit. It was fully defrosted just a lil cool.
PLEASE PLEASE HELP!!!
 
Not much you can do at this point. But I would think the aspen will pass.

Wait a good week or so till you try to feed it again.
In as you stated a separate container.
 
All right, so this is exactly why many people feed the snake in a separate feeding container. To avoid the stress you're going through right now. Your snake will _probably_ be all right, but in the future it would be wise to feed her in a small plastic container and move her back to her viv after she is done swallowing. She will NOT regurge from the small move back to her bin. Any of the methods of feeding in the bin on a plate, or in a bowl, or whatever, are prone to failure because snakes don't stay in one place and eat out of a dish like a dog.
 
^ My little Okeetee worm picks up the pinkies in his mouth and slithers away with it like he's a puppy or something. So cute!

Definitely feed in something clean of aspen. It doesn't matter when they are big but I don't like the idea of snakelets swallowing aspen.
 
the first corn I had gotten was about the same age I went through a pet store that almost everoe nowsof thes why Im not naming it but they guy told me I could feed it in its cage also and I was using aspen also and my corn did the same thing eat the aspen, it was about 2 months of her eating the aspen ( bc when I asked the guy about it he said it was okay) but I when I went to feed her one day I notice she wasnt acting right and I took her to another pet store one that deals with alot of snakes and she died as we got there from digestion failer bc her body couldnt digest the aspen, so from then on out I have never feed in the cage I feed in a sandwhich container or a storage box (plastic tubs) just depends on the size of the snake im feeding
 
...so from then on out I have never feed in the cage I feed in a sandwhich container or a storage box (plastic tubs) just depends on the size of the snake im feeding

It certainly does not need to be anything fancy. For my two adults I actually use a simple, brown cardboard box, with newspaper in the bottom of course. Its plenty bit enough for them to "kill" their prey but cheap enough that they can be obtained for free! Of course in this instance you might want to check to make sure there are no obvious reasons not to use a certain box (found in trash, dirty, used for raw meat packaging, etc).

Plastic bins work fine too, I just never have any spares around because every time I buy a bin for feeding purposes, it ends up being a house for a new snake :roflmao:.
 
I feed most of my snakes in tank, they eat aspen all the time, NEVER had a single issue and one of the corns I have had for 9 years. In the wild they are probably pushing down more harmful things then aspen, even small rocks and plant matter. I use sani chips, because of their small size they are easily passed. That being said most of my snakes are over 3 years of age so their systems can handle it, not to sure how it would go with younger.
 
Plastic bins work fine too, I just never have any spares around because every time I buy a bin for feeding purposes, it ends up being a house for a new snake :roflmao:.

LOL Oh trust me I know the feeling bc that happens to me all the time... I had to go out and get 2 more bins so I could put a new snake that is coming Tuesday...lol and rehome Chua...lol but my husband makes sure that I have at least one small bin to feed in and plenty of sandwhich ones also for all the hatchling when they get here...lol:rofl:
 
I feed in a plastic tupperware container with holes in the top for air....I also bring it to the pet store with me to put the mice in when I get them since a lot of pet stores charge you for the cardboard container they put them in.
 
The big guy eats in a plastic tub. The little guy eats in a small paper bag. I wouldn't risk substrate ingestion even if it might be ok. :shrugs:
 
This has only happened 2x (not in a row). It WILL NOT b happening again! :-/ She passed it the 1st time (sadly all over me lol) I'm just very protective of her & I want 2 make sure she has the best care possible. Wat do u guys think... keep an eye on her this week, keep checking 4 poop, if no poop give her a warm bath, then try & feed her outside of her enclosure? (she will b being fed outside her enclosure, probably in a Tupperware tub with air holes whilst she's small, no matter wat). Shud I take her 2 a vet? If so @ way point wud u suggest I take her? I heard they can get a bulge around the vent area if there's trouble. Is th@ true? Sorry 4 all the questions guys it's just th@, as I'm sure u can appreciate, she is my baby & I wud hate her 2 suffer cos of sumthing I cud hav avoided.
 
These are what I use for feeding bins for various sizes of cornsnakes:
 

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Yeah, most of the time, probably nearly all the time, you get lucky. Not worth the risk to me to be the one in a million times it doesn't work out okay.
 
Thanks snake bit. The video was really helpful & put my mind @ ease a lil. I'm still gonna keep a check on her tho, after all wat kind of an owner wud I b if I didn't. Nanci I agree with u & like I said I will b feeding her in a seperate container in future. The only reason I fed her in her enclosure b4, again as I said b4, was because th@ was the advise I was given. I'm new @ this & so I relied on the advise I was given from the pet store. I did do other research but as a general rule u'd normally trust the store u buy a pet from 2 know wat theyre doing. I know th@s wat they do with their corns but I'll b happier feeding her separately then there's no worry :)
 
Heck I'd never follow the advice from a pet store. Most of the time they have no clue what they are doing. I've seen A LOT of pet stores who don't care what so ever about the well being of them animals. They just care about selling them. I've heard there is on around here that houses HUGE pythons 2 or more to a cage. Although I've seen really nice stores who take very good care of there animals. So I'd think it's best to look into it online before getting an animal but that's what these kind of forums are for right?
 
we feed in a card board box! size appropriate though lol so we have a few all stacked together! best thing cause then there is nothing to shallow =]

there are some great pet stores out there but alot of the big ones dont always have knowledgeable staff on everything that they sell!
 
The store I bought popcorn- my butter corn from had 2 reptile owners working there th@ both hav corn snakes & they both feed in the enclosure which is y I took their advice originally. I dnt think they told me 2 feed her in the enclosure because they r neglectful etc it's just the way they do it. I was told 2 feed her th@ way cos of the risks of handling her after feeding causing regurgitation. But personally I think on the handling/regurgitation vs eating substrate issue I'd rather risk the regurgitation. If I keep the handling down 2 a minimum, literally from feeding box 2 enclosure I can't think th@ she wud regurgitate th@ easily really.
 
My sister and I feed our corns in a cardboard box with paper towels. They eat just fine and so far not even a regurge etc.
 
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