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New snake, LOTS of questions

TheKraken

TheKraken

Beginner Owner
Hello there my name is brandon and i just got a new, young corn snake on sunday(august 2nd) and i just had some general questions about it becausr this is my first snake ive ever had and i just want some e perienced people to help me to help give my snake the best life it can and to make my first snake experience a good one.

Ok so first of is my setup. I have a 15gallon glass terrarium with aspen shavings, a semi large water/soaking dish, a branch, and 2 hides(toilet paper roll&bought half shell coconut shell from petco). i live in sothern california where its warm all year and so(with air conditioning) the inside of my house is kept at about 83-85degrees farenheit and so i do not use any heat pad or heat lamp, etc. the viv. is places near a large window so light it readily available to the snake if need be. the cage has a locking lid and i weigh the lid down with paper weights just to be extra careful.
ok and the snake itself is about 10-12in long and i bought it from petco and it seems healthy and pretty tame.
So far on the first day i handled the snake a few times and i know i shouldnt have dome this but i wasnt thinking at the time. i offered it a f/t pinkie the first day and i thawed out one and tried to feed it to it in a seperate plastic deli container and i got no reaction so i refroze the mouse again. i re-did this for two more times and it still didnt eat so i ended up having to throw the pinkie away. yesterday(monday) i jus left my snake completely alone all day and he stayed in the hide the whole day. at night he became more active and when i would go to watch it, it would quickly run back into the hide.
Now for some questions and concerns. im afraid/worried that my snake wont eat. i know i was supposed to let it settle into its cage first but How long should i wait before feeding and handling it? petco said they feed their snakes every monday so im guessing its somewhat hungry. secondly, is everything ok with my setup and everything? anything i should change? and what should i do for the next few days? should i leave the snake completely alone or am i able to handle it a little? how do i feed it? do i put it in a seperate container or just put a pinkie on a platter inside the cage at night? like i said, this is my first snake and please give me as much tips/advice/information about what to do with my first time snake. please provide lots of deatails. im so confused right now and im worried about if im doing anything wrong or something.
 
Sounds good so far, I'd just get a thermometer so you can see how warm it's actually getting inside the viv. It may be too hot near the window. Other than that, leave the little guy alone for at least a week so it gets used to it's viv. Try to ignore it, as you're a big scary monster to it right now and you'll just stress it out by hovering and handling before it's adjusted. After it settles in for a week, try to feed by putting it in it's feeding container over night with the pink, and leave it alone, resist the urge to check every ten minutes to see if it's eaten. You can put it's feed container in the viv if you're afraid it may escape, then just take the lid off in the morning so it can climb out and into it's viv on it's own. Don't refreeze the pinks, they're one time use only unfortunately. Good luck.

Oh, and don't worry too much that it didn't eat, they can go a long time without food. Just try again in another 5 to 7 days. If you keep offering food every day you may imprint on them to not want to feed.
 
I try to wait until my hatchlings have been feeding a solid month before handling them at all, beyond the minimum (i.e. moving them to a feeding bin, etc) The way I see it is that them eating and surviving is more important than my desire to handle. So I give them what they need, which is peace and quiet, until they are really established.

I agree with Capt Bogart re: the feeding issue.

Did you pick up a copy of Kathy Love's corn snake book? There's GREAT info in there on charming fussy eaters. It's an invaluable reference. Don Soderberg's is great too, but less commonly available in pet stores.
 
oh ok. i already have two themometers in the viv with it and it says 83-85F. and ok, so i should wait about a week or so before trying to feed it and handle it? but i had another question, during the day the snake keeps inside its hide and at night it quicky runs away before i can see it so how am i supposed to take it out and feed/handle it? is it alright to lift of the hide and get it during the day? or do i have to wait till it gets darker?(after the week of waiting of corse). i just dont want to freak it out right before feeding it. thanks btw for the advice guys.
 
i tried feeding tonight(its been three days)in its feeding container and i slit the brain and it didnt look interested and turned its head when i offered it the pinkie with the tongs. so i just left the snake in the feeding container in the viv. all night. the temp of the whole house is about 80F and i dont use any other type of heat source. im worried :(
 
Corn snakes are nocturnal, so naturally they are more active in the evening and morning. My corn also stays inside her hid all day because that is when she gets her sleep. At night, she cruises around and climbs as long as I am still. If I start moving around, she hides. But this is perfectly normal. Baby snakes are genetically wired to be afraid of things that could hurt them. No matter how much you handle the snake, it will run and hide when its a baby. This changes as they get older I have heard, so just let your snake act natural. Try not to "hover" and handle your snake during the middle of the day. Just let it sleep. Try to handle in the morning or evenings when the snake is still small.

Don't worry about the baby not eating. It sounds like it is stressed. It just got dumped into a new tank and some big monster is running around and picking it up and putting it in different container. Wait a little longer, three days isn't really long enough for a timid baby to get settled. *PATIENCE IS KEY* If your not paitient, you will worry, and if you worry, you will mess with your snake to much. Just let it settle in. I feed my snake in the morning or evening when she is awake. How would you like it if someone woke you up in the middle of the night and tried to force you to eat when all you wanted to do was sleep? :)

My house is also about 80F, (we live in texas) and my snake is just fine with no other heat. She didn't eat until the 7th day I brought her home but now she eats every five days like clock work (unless she is blue)...Which could be the reason your snake is "mopey." Before a snake sheds they sleep alot and stay hidden. They will not eat either, so check your babies eyes and skin for signs of shedding(after about 6 days of settling in). The eyes will be blue and the snakes belly will be duller than normal.

Good luck with your snake and remember PATIENCE PATIENCE PATIENCE...leave the baby alone for a while. You have many more years to enjoy him/her so just let him/her have a few days alone :)
 
ok thanks for replying! :) but i woke up this morning and i found the pink all mushed up and stuff. the head was intact but the body was a bloody mush. im worried that the snake ate it and the regured :( but all night the house was quiet and dark and no one disturbed it or anything so idk if its just stressed or what. what should i do?
 
If he regurged, you need to leave him alone for at least 7-10 days. The snake probably is really stressed from all the handling. After 7 days, take the snake out of the viv. What I do is put the snake in a dark, secure place and put the brained pinky in. He should eat it. If not, try feeding a baby anole of scenting the pinky with anole scent...but thats if he regurged. A picture would be helpful...
 
Actually, it's even better to wait 10 days before feeding. The snake needs to rebuild the flora in it's gut.

I don't handle hatchlings at all....they are wayyyyy too squiggly for me. Adults are sooo much better to handle :)
 
I sincerely doubt the snake ate and regurged in one night... it's considerably more likely that it simply cruised back and forth over the thawed pinky, and thus the mush.
 
oh ok, well when i tried to feed it, it had been 3days and i know that was probobly still too early. but i was getting impatient. but i will definitly wait 10days before trying again.
 
Yes, it is pretty serious, but if you leave the snake alone and resist the urge to handle him or mess with him until he settles down he should be okay.
 
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