Sick snake?

[SSSara]

Hey everyone, I'm a proud new owner of a corn snake!! (not sure what type, probably some kind of amelanistic though, no black in him) I've had him for a couple of months now, so hes about 4-5 months old. I feed him half a pinky a week, cut in half around the middle, and he has no problem with it... but the last two times I've fed him, he hasn't eaten... Is there a simple explanation for this, such as the tank isn't warm enough or the portion is too big, or is something wrong?

I do keep my snake in my room, and over the Christmas break I've been staying up much later and gettin up later than usual... Could having the light in my room have affected him enough to make him stop eating?

Any insight will be helpful... thanks everyone!

 

[ultimuttone]

One major problem could be that at 4-5 months of age he should be eating a lot more. Most of mine in that age group are eating at least one fuzzy every 6 days. Why have you only been feeding 1/2 of a pink?

 

[SSSara]

I've only been feeding him half a pinky because a whole one looks too be too big for him... it should only be 1.5 times the widest part of the snake right? I guess I can try feeding him a whole one, and more often... but that still doens't really explain why he doesnt eat when I do feed him - I mean, if he isn't getting enough food, shouldn't he jump at the chance to eat when its presented to him?

I should mention that I put him and the pinky into a separate plastic container (with holes, of course) and put the container in the tank to stay warm. I read that isolating the snake and the mouse like that will help him to eat. It was working fine until a couple weeks ago. Should I try feeding him in the evenings or at night, since that is when he is most active?

Again, thanks for any insight you can give!

 

[ultimuttone]

I would definitely try feeding in the evening or night hours.
I have a few who are refusing a meal right now, I attribute it to the time of year. However, you would know best the general habits of your snake. You said sick snake, is there anything else going on besides the meal refusals to make you think he is sick?Is he as active as usual? Has he been growing well? Is he possibly getting ready to shed?

 

[SSSara]

He's definitly not geting ready to shed... I've been around snakes too long not to notice those signs lol. Nothing else has been abnormal, to be honest, my title "sick snake" was an attempt to get more people to answer...*grins sheepishly* I have noticed, however, that he hasn't been growing... Of course, this may be only due to the fact that I see him everyday, but he looks exactly the same size as when I first brought him home. I suppose this could be because he hasn't been eating...

There was another incident, when I first got him, where he didn't eat. A good friend of mine is very close with an excellent snake specialist, so Pickle (my snake) went for a stay with him for a while. When I got him back, he ate just fine. That was a couple months ago, at least one and a half.

I'll definitly try feeding him at night, thanks for the suggestions Traci. Hopefully that's all it will take...

 

[gardenmum]

Definitely that snake should be eating at least a couple large pinks by now. I feed even my small born corns a whole small pink. They have to be tiny babies for me to feed less than a whole small pink. It definitely won't grow much at all if it is on a very reduced diet.

There is another reason it may be off feed. Make sure you have the proper temperatures in your viv. Maybe when it went to stay with your friend, your friend had proper temps so it started eating well but after coming back and not having the proper temps it went off feed again. This is just a thought of a possibility.

Good luck.

 

[SSSara]

Well, Traci, last night I fed Pickle a whole pinky late at night, and he ate it no problem! I guess I was feeding him too early in the day... I did feel like I as waking him up whenever I picked him up to put him in the container. I've taken some temperature readins and his tank is a little off, so I'll be fixing that too. And of course, I will be feeding him a whole pinky from now on. Hopefully he will keep eating, and I will start seeing him grow soon!
Thanks for all your help!

 

[ultimuttone]

I am glad he ate for you . Keep us updated. You will want to eventually get him eating appropriate size meals for his age/size, but not too fast. With the larger meals and the right temps he should start growing well for you. Good luck.

 

[chisoxfan0971]

yeah most snakes are nocturnal...also a mangled pinkie is kinda weird....even for a snake.....but congrats on getting him to eat

 

[Tracee]

A 'mangled' pink is sometimes the only way you can get non-feeders to eat, unfortunately.

I'm glad you moved up to a full pink, it does sound strange but some of the more temperamental will refuse food just because it's inadequate! Mine was on 2 pinkies a week at that age.

Can I ask just how far out the temps were on both sides? I'm just concerned that if it's too cold your snake might have problems digesting..

 

[SSSara]

The temps werent very far off, just a couple degrees below on each side. And I also noticed that the temperature varies day to day. I'm guessing that's because I have him near a window - bad choice on my part. I've moved him away, and first chance I get I'm going to get a heating pad to help keep a constant temperature (I've been using a reptile bulb thus far).

Traci, you mentioned that your snakes at similar ages as mine are eating two whole pinkies a week... should I up mine to that as well? I'm still a little concerned about the size of the pinkie... it left quite a large bulge. However, Pickle didn't seem to have any problems with it. Are there any clues I should look for that might suggest the pinkie was too big for him, even though he ate it?

Another bit of good news - Pickle shed last night. I was a little surprised to see the shed in his tank this morning, since last night when I checked him out, his eyes weren't at all cloudy and his colour was as bright as ever. Is it because he is still so small that he can shed so quickly?

I really want to thank you guys for being so helpful. I didn't realize when I joined this forum that I would get so much great knowledge minutes after I posted a concern! I really appreciate all the help, and I hope one day I'll have learned so much from you guys that I'll be able to help someone with a snake problem! ....k that was cheesy... but im sure you get the point! lol

 

[gardenmum]

I'm glad to hear things are looking up for you. And that's what the forums are all about, helping each other, sharing new things, and enjoying sharing ours and looking at others collections. Glad you have found this place helpful and I don't think it is corny to be appreciative, that's what we want to hear, that the up-n-coming herp owners will be willing to share the knowledge later on that they gain.

A "mangled" pinky is sometimes the only way you will get a non feeder to eat, I definitely agree on that, but I have found that even a non feeder that gets eating by using a mangled pink, after a while it is more apt to refuse it over a full, intact one. Not sure why.

I agree with Tracee, make sure the temps are proper to make sure digestion is good. As your snake gets larger and puts larger prey in its stomach, it is more imperative that the temps be right for digestion AND that the snake has a choice of warming up and cooling down. A UTH, I find, is the best heat source for a viv set up as opposed to a heat light. Lights are great for certain things but a snake needs to have its belly warmed so it can get the digestion right. Also, if you think of it logically, heat rises. So, therefor, when you use just a light, most of the heat is going UP not down and creating a warmed substrate environment for the snake.

About the blue stage. When you saw that the snake was clear the day before it shed, it is not because it is a baby and therefor shows its shed time less. All snakes eyes clear up and the body color brightens a day or two before the shed, that is always the indicator to me that the shed is immanent. And, also, an amel or a snow can be a bit harder to see when they are in shed sometimes. Not all the time, but I have had occasionally had one go through the entire blue stage and not know it till I found a shed in the container.

 

[ultimuttone]

As for moving up to two pinks. As I said before you will want to try and get him up to a normal size prey item, but you don't want to go to fast and have a regurge or give him more than he is ready for. It is kind of like if you go on a very strict limited intake diet and then try and go eat everything on the all-you-can-eat buffet, your stomach won't be able to handle it.
Since your baby has only been eating 1/2 a pink a week, it probably has not grown as much as mine at a full pink every 4-5 days. I would wait until the lump is not as noticeable and is gone within a day. A lot of people move straight up to fuzzies, I just happen to prefer 2 pinkies for a few weeks for the ones that are getting longer rather than rounder.(If that makes sense).

 

[SnakeAround]

I do understand you ulti; I own a butter that seems to grow in lenght and an amel that grows in girth mostly, they have the smae weight. The slim one I give a regular and a small fuzzie, the more chubby, short one I give a big fuzzie only.

An advice on keeping track of growth; weigh it! The best way to be sure it is growing and easier than measuring.

 

[SSSara]

Good tip, Blutengel. I wanted to keep a log of Pickle's growth... but its kind of hard to get him to stretch out to be measured lol. I hadn't thought of weighing, but it makes a lot of sense. As for feeding, I'll keep him on one pinkie every 6-7 days for now, it took a couple days for the bulge to disappear from the last one. Now... fuzzies. You can't mean full grown mice... fuzzies are just a little bigger than pinkies, and look just like them but have fur, right? (I don't know the "technical" terms for the different sized mice)

Odd, about the "blue stage" as you called it, Dianne. The snakes that I work with at school (2 macalot pythons, 3 rat snakes and 4 corns of various morphs) all "dull" their colour just before they shed, and their eyes always cloud over as well. Any possible ideas as to why that is?

 

[Roy Munson]

Good tip, Blutengel. I wanted to keep a log of Pickle's growth... but its kind of hard to get him to stretch out to be measured lol. I hadn't thought of weighing, but it makes a lot of sense. As for feeding, I'll keep him on one pinkie every 6-7 days for now, it took a couple days for the bulge to disappear from the last one. Now... fuzzies. You can't mean full grown mice... fuzzies are just a little bigger than pinkies, and look just like them but have fur, right? (I don't know the "technical" terms for the different sized mice)

Odd, about the "blue stage" as you called it, Dianne. The snakes that I work with at school (2 macalot pythons, 3 rat snakes and 4 corns of various morphs) all "dull" their colour just before they shed, and their eyes always cloud over as well. Any possible ideas as to why that is?

I'm glad he's eating. I didn't see it mentioned, but for prey size, 1.5 times the girth of the snake is a good guideline for what he needs. Follow the advice that has been given, but when you think about a mouse being too big later, keep it in mind. I'd go with a 5 day schedule instead of 6 or 7. Sounds like this guy's got some catching up to do.

You know what a newborn, or small pinky is. A large pinky is a few days older (they grow fast). A fuzzy is larger, and has short, fuzzy fur. A hopper is even larger, and it has normal mouse fur. Next size up is weaned, and after that, there are adults. You are a ways away from jumbos, so you can look those up later. Go to themousefactory.com. I think they have size comparisons and photos.

You probably missed the blue phase. It's not difficult to overlook.

 

[SSSara]

Haha, yea I guess since Pickle has had a couple feeding troubles now, he really does need to catch up so I will go with your 5 day feeding plan, Dean. I can't wait until he is full grown! Then maybe I'll get my friend to tell me if he is actually a he...