Questions regarding Feeding

[Detriclysmic]

Hello, first time posting on this forum so I'd like to start off by saying that I'm happy and glad and excited to meet you all and hope these questions aren't embarrassingly novice!

Well, I "rescued" my corn, Nona, from a pet store in my home town, and after doing thorough research i've decided that the pinky that they had been giving her weekly was definitely not enough for her to maintain growth and good health. I promptly bought her a few fuzzies, and on feeding day she was reluctant to eat at first with all of the moving around and the new home and whatnot, but upon braining the mouse was able to take meals very well! Needless to say i was super proud and showered her with verbal praise after this astonishing victory! I felt like myself and my girl were going to get along great and she'd be an excellent feeder, a relief for me.

The next week I decided that I would weigh her in so that I could compare her weight and weight of her prey to the various feeding charts posted online. She weighed in at a whopping 54 grams(although considering the fact that she is approx. 2 feet long, this is probably fairly light...darn pet stores)! After more research, I decided that these 4-6.5 mice i had were simply not enough to stimulate growth and good health, and decided to give her two mice. Worked like an absolute charm, and since i did slice and brain the mice, she was able to digest perfectly in a normal 40 hours or so. Upon learning that it is generally better to feed a snake one mouse instead of multiple, I went out and got the next size up. Hoppers. They seemed to be the perfect weight and while about 1.5 times her width or so, I figured Nona would be able to handle it considering how well she had done in the past.

No dice. I've offered her two hoppers now and she simply refuses to eat at all, takes hardly any interest in them and honestly seems to want to get out of the small tub I feed her in, but i have also noticed her curled up around the mouse with seemingly no intention of eating it. I am not handling her for at least 24 hours prior to feeding, and since this predicament began have hardly been handling her at all to reduce stress, she's very inquisitive and gentle and I don't fear a strike in this regard.

She is currently weighing in at over 60 grams, she is in a 15 gallon tank with two hides and a leafy branch thing covering most of the back portion of her viv, I keep my room at 20 degrees celsius, so her cool end is 20 and her warm end is about 25-26, and honestly she does seem to prefer the cool end. She is not very active and much prefers hiding and burrowing to exploring, I have a notion that this might be due to the fact that it is winter.

Now that we have the story out of the way, ON TO THE QUESTIONS!


1. I learned today of a method of feeding where you put a head mat down and let it warm up, put a paper towel over it, and place a tub or pot or something with a hole cut in the top for the snake to enter, with a brained mouse inside of the tub. This method was described for use with fussy baby snakes, would this work well for mine who I believe might be a yearling?

2. I have learned that snakes can be intimidated by some prey, and these hoppers are white, apparently causing trouble for some snakes, but the fuzzys she ate were white as well and she had no trouble with them. The hoppers have fur that is quite long for a mouse and she might be misinterpreting the true size of her prey. Would removing the hair from the hoppers be worth a shot? i figure this might make her more comfortable eating them if the coloration is an issue, and might help her realize that she really can take one down.

3. Would any of you guys have any idea's as to her morph? would love to know the yellow on the sides of her head and neck seem to be extending a little bit with her bigger meals, but it might just be her getting a little longer, unsure on that!

Any and all advice and input is appreciated, my most dear and precious hobbits!


-D

 

[Karl_Mcknight]

if your snake is about to shed, it may refuse to eat. A lot of corn snakes skip meals before and during the shed process. A corn snake can live a long time without food, and if you create stress for the snake, this will delay the shed process which will in turn continue the non eating. Sometimes the best thing to do is leave the poor animal alone for a few days and see what happens.

 

[Detriclysmic]

I have left her alone for 5 days at a time to allow her time to destress, and under proper living conditions. Her eyes are not milky, nor is her skin showing any sign of change in coloration to indicate potential sheddding. I got her from a pet store and I am not aware of her shed cycle as of now. It has been 3 weeks since she has taken a meal and I have offered two mice.

 

[Karl_Mcknight]

what are the temperatures in the cage?

And in case you don't know, the shed process is as such: 1st - the snake starts hiding more than usual, it may not seem as active, 2nd - it may start spending more time in its warm hide, you may notice it soaking in its water bowl if your humidity is low. 3rd - it may start refusing meals. (I once had a corn snake not eat for 5 weeks. He was fine. Once he shed he went back to eating). 4th - the skin may look dull, loose, or wrinkled, 5th - the eyes will turn a bluish milky color (unless your snake is an albino you may even miss this part.) 6th - the eyes will clear up and look normal again. 7th - the snake will shed its skin. From start to finish the entire process can take about 10 days to 6 weeks.

Corn snakes also refuse to eat sometimes if their thinking about mating. (Not sure if your snake is of mating age or not, you didn't say). Although I'd say not due to the size of the snake.

Corn snakes will also go off food if the temperatures and humidity are incorrect in their cages.

So, either your snake is ill, thinking about breeding, trying to shed, or your temps are incorrect. Those are pretty much the reasons a corn snake won't eat.

 

[Detriclysmic]

Ah, thank you Karl! Nearly any source, online or off, informed me that the first thing I would notice in regards to an impending shed would be the milky blue eye color! And she has been hiding a fair bit ever since i got her a month ago, the only time I've seen her even remotely outside of her hides is when my cat lies next to the viv due to the heat on the warm side, she can't help but stick her head out and stare in amazement.

Posting the temperature in celsius was probably a poor idea, but it's 70 on the cool end, and 82 on the warm end. She has a water dish big enough to soak in but the only time I have seen her in it or drinking was when I was handling her and lowered her down to drink from it, which was awesome.

Do you have any info on that hair removal feeding method? I know it sounds strange, but it could be practical for feeding to nervous snakes.

 

[Karl_Mcknight]

Never heard of that method (hair removal). Corn snakes usually are eager feeders, so if you have a corn snake not feeding it usually indicates something is wrong. My snake always eats, but he does sometimes refuse food when he's shedding.

Just for a bit of info, I keep my warm side around 85 to 86, the cool side stays around 74. (Your temps are a bit cooler than mine, not that they are bad, but my snake is eating and your's isn't.) Also humidity is important especially if they are trying to shed. Try to keep your humidity around 40 to 60 percent and when shedding you could even boost it to 50 to 70 percent.

Also, don't try to feed an item too big for the snake. If it will eat smaller items that's better than not eating at all. You say she weighs 60 grams. A snake that size should be eating mice that weigh 9 or 10 grams, certainly no bigger.

Some snakes will grab food right out of your hand (mine does) and some are shy about it. I know some people that have to present the mouse, turn off all the lights, and leave it overnite. The snake eats it when he's not being watched or bothered.

And finally, you stated that the snake seemed underweight at the pet shop and you were afraid it was not getting proper care from the store. That's always a possibility, but it could also be that the snake would not eat for them either. This raises the possibility of illness. A trip to the vet should not be out of the question.