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New snake owner, need assistance!

There's no way for him to have eaten only half the pinkie. He can't bite it in half, so it's all or nothing. If it looks like some is missing, he may have eaten it, then regurged it. Do you happen to have a picture of the pinkie?
 
No, I didn't. It looked blackened though, and when I tried cleaning it up the pinkie was stuck to the container.
 
When you say you left him overnight with the UTH and a small container, what exactly do you mean? Are you regulating the UTH? Is the snake enclosed in the small container so that it can't get out? If so and you left the container with the snake on top of the UTH overnight, it's possible it might have gotten too warm and since he couldn't move to thermo-regulate, he regurged the pinkie. Just my guess.
 
If you're leaving him in a feeding container, do not leave it on heat. That is dangerous. Uneaten pinks can turn black within hours, especially if hot.
 
Just my two cents. I agree. You shouldn't put the small container right on top of the uth. It would get too hot. It sounds like he may have eaten and then threw it up. So, maybe you are getting close. Try moving him closer to the cool side or in the middle of his enclosure and leave him a while with a pinkie.
 
Alright, the people at the pet store advised me to use the UTH and leave it overnight. My partner was the one who bought the UTH and it's terribly small for his tank, so we can only use it for the small container. So should I try putting the UTH in his normal tank and try feeding him like that? Or should I try a smaller container and not use a UTH at all? Also, I'm not regulating the temperature at all, it's a small 12x6 inch UTH and the snake person at the pet store told me I shouldn't have to regulate it since my apartment is a constant 70 degrees. When I measured the heat with the UTH on it's a steady 85-87 degrees. I'm feeding him in one of those carry containers you see crickets in a lot.
cricket_frogs.jpg


That would be the same container I'm feeding him in, it was the container the pet store advised. Apparently they don't know much about snakes if they keep telling me incorrect procedures for feeding a snake.
 
The UTH is 12" x 6"? That's not tiny...it's huge! You want one that covers only about 1/3 of the tank and you only have a tiny tank, don't you? When you say it reads 85, how long after you turned it on did you take the reading? They can take the whole day to reach their maximum temperature. The purpose of regulating the temps isn't because of fluctuation; it's because it might go too high. Make sure to check the temp again after letting the UTH be plugged in at least a day.

You should feed in a separate container, but just don't place that separate container on any heat source. The feeding container is too small to allow him to escape the heat if he's too hot. Your feeding container doesn't have all that stuff in it, does it? It should be completely empty and bare when you feed him. Since he has probably regurged his meal, you will have to wait at least 8 days to try again.
 
First of UTH stands for Under Tank Heater. You don't put it inside the tank. It has a sticky side that will stick to the bottom of one half of your tank. There are different sized UTH for different sized tanks. It should say on the package what size tank each size UTH should be used for. I have a 12x6 on my 40 gallon tank. The package for the 12x6 read that it was for a 40 - 60 gallon tank. The little UTH on my 10 gallon tank is only half the size of the one on the 40 gallon. So if you are using a 12x6 on a small tank then it is much too hot (not possible for a cool side). The smaller the tank the more hot air is going to build up in there from that big UTH.

Now if you actually do have a 40 gallon tank to use that 12x6 UTH on it is much much too big for just a little hatchling. They would be stressed and scared out of their wits. A baby would feel safest in a container like the one you posted that you feed yours in. I kept my hatchlings in one that looks exactly that except for mine has a blue lid. They lived in that tiny thing for a month before I moved them to a 10 gallon. They can live in a 10 gallon for a long time before you need to move up to at least a 20 gallon. If you feed your snake in that container then I wouldn't put it on the UTH at all if it is 70 degreese room temp.
 
I understand what UTH stands for, I'm not an imbecile. When I said "in" my tanks has a subsidized compartment for random things under the tank itself. The tank is only a 5 gallon tank, being that is used to house fish until my apartment told me it was a flood hazard. I just went to measure the heating pad and it's around 4" x 6". I'm going to wait a week and place a pinkie and him in a tupperware container with holes poked in the top. I also looked at my UTH and it does not have a sticky side.
 
You can use aluminum foil tape to attach it then. It can be found in the plumbing department of Home Depot or wherever.
 
When I first plugged my UTH in after I got it it rose to 113 degrees! A UTH needs to be regulated by something, be it a dimmer switch, or a thermostat. I have a thermostat that keeps the UTH at a constant temperature, despite the fact that the temps in my house fluctuate during the day and night. 113 degrees could absolutely cook a snake, especially one of such a small size, and very quickly. If I were you I would stop going to the pet store for advice and just go there to get the supplies. It seems to me that pet store employees have very little knowledge about the products they sell.
 
Axel passed away this morning. He never started to eat, so I'm assuming there was something wrong with him from the beginning -- when I contacted PetSmart the person in-charge of the snakes said that she believes that he never ate when they had him. I'm never buying a snake from PetSmart again, time to go look for a reptilian shop in Houston. Thanks everyone who has helped and assisted me, I am now that much smarter on corn snakes.
 
Aw that really sucks. I'm so sorry your baby never ate for you. But I know some just never do start to eat and I guess it's just natures way.

But hope you don't give up and find a good breeder who has fed the babies a few times and had them shed before they sell them. There are out of egg specials but there is a chance of getting non eaters with that so not good for people just starting out.

Lucky you live in TX. I think there are a good bit of places and people to get snakes from there.
 
The best thing you can do is order your snake from someone on here...or better yet a pair, in a good looking pattern you like because in almost all cases they will be proved as feeders before delivery and you have the chance to browse hundreds of listings to find what you like. My two cents, you get what you pay for as they say.
 
Awww..I'm sorry to hear about Axel. Poor little guy. :(

I had a problem feeder back in Dec. 2008 around Christmas time I bought one from PetCo and after about 1 week and half I could deffinently see that something was wrong with it..I tried a few things, but when that didn't work I took it back to the store and told them about it and they didn't give me a refund but I did exchange the sickly one for Bindi who is my Amel corn that I have now and doing very well. Actually he's a very good eater. Coral the one that was sick, I never did find out if it survived but the person at Petco said they would take care of it and take it to the vet to see what was wrong with it. I don't know if they ever did that or not but I've always wondered about it.

Some advise for yr next search on a corn snake..and what kind of set up is needed. Generally you can keep a corn snake comfortably in a 10 gallon tank from hatchling-2yrs or so in age. Use a UTH for sure, it's the kind of heat they need to regulate their digestive system. Have two hides at least, one on the warm end and one on the cooler end and maybe a plant/branch in the middle or something else they could possibly hide in or under and a water bowl. Use something that keeps control/or watch on the temps on each side of the tank cool and warm, especially warm. It should be around 83-85 degrees on the warm side and around 72-75 on the cooler end. This is very important for corn snakes because that is how they digest their foods/ and prepare for shedding their skins and keep healthy basically. Every 4-6 days for hatchlings on the feeding and if you have problems try braining the pinkie mouse or just cutting it in half and feeding it half to the snake instead of a whole one if it regurges. One of my other ones that I had at the beginning when I first got her Zoe was hard to get to feed as well...and the thing that worked for me was braining the pinkie mouse and wingling it in front of her. It took 3 times before I finally got her to eat for me. She's a good eater now although she went off feed for over a month this year. Sometimes they do that when they get older. Anyhow, sorry for the long post. Hope you have better luck next time.
 
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