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Want A Corn Snake

Look at it as a learning experience, and get another one from a show or breeder. You know your cage is already set up with the temps. adjusted right. As far as the corn dying, it could be from a multitude of things, from stress, dehydration, poor feeding response, just not meant to be etc.

They die, it sucks, but don't let it get ya down :)
 
I'm soo sorry for your loss. Yes, sounds like you did everything you could. At least he had a good life with you.

Deepest Sympathies
 
I am so sorry for your loss. Definately dont let this keep you from getting another corn. Sounds like you did everything right, but sometimes these little guys arent all meant to make it.
 
I went looking at snakes today and saw the prettiest little corn(an amel, i think. he was marked as "albino"), so i bought him. He seems more hyper than the other one(he moves around a lot more, and seems more curious), and is longer and bigger around(so i'm assuming that he's a little older..) but still little. I wanted one that was a little bit older this time anyway.. so that i'll at least know that they've had a few meals they were able to keep down. The guy there said that he'd shed since they had him too.

His colors are super-bright. Even his eyes are bright orange. When i put him in his new tank he slithered around for awhile then eventually curled up at the end of a paper towel roll i put in there. I can really tell a difference between how this one acts and how my other one acted. So this is making me think even moreso that he must have just been sick...

I'm still sad about him.. we buried him in the backyard yesterday. Hopefully my new corn will live a long long life.
 
Oh! And after i put him in his tank and he was crawling into the paper towel roll, he did this cute little tail-wagging thing. Do a lot of corn snakes do that, or does he just think he's a rattlesnake? :grin01:
 
CaseyUndead said:
Oh! And after i put him in his tank and he was crawling into the paper towel roll, he did this cute little tail-wagging thing. Do a lot of corn snakes do that, or does he just think he's a rattlesnake? :grin01:
Corn snakes will rattle their tails against dry leaves or grass in an attempt to make predators believe they are rattlesnakes. It's a defense mechanism.
 
Oh. XD. It's so cute. He didn't rattle it against anything though, so his tail was just up in the air wagging like a dog's. He also rattled his tail a little bit when he was crawling on me before i put him in his tank(didn't strike at me or anything, though. so i assumed that he wasn't being aggressive). And he was super-hyper everytime i picked him up or put him in his bag while we were going home. On the way home, I thought i was holding the bag shut, but he climbed up out of it and dashed into my sleeve.

He's really pretty.. Even my mom(who doesn't really like snakes) said he'd the prettiest snake she's ever seen. I need to take some pics... Do you know whether or not the flash on cameras will hurt their eyes? Because he has mega-bright orange eyes and i don't want to hurt him or freak him out.
 
Give him a good start and don't bother him, feed or handle him for a week. Give him time to get settled before the stress of handling and feeding.

Good luck.
 
I have been leaving him alone. I've just been watching him a little bit, since his tank in my room. But a whole week for feeding? He hasn't eaten since last thursday. I was thinking that this thursday or friday would be enough time to wait for feeding. But i guess not.

This guy seems to like wedging himself between the part of the top rim of the tank and the top just like the other one. He was up there all last night. I can hardly see how he manages to fit himself up there though, since he's bigger than the other one was. He won't be able to for much longer, that's for sure.
 
CaseyUndead said:
I have been leaving him alone. I've just been watching him a little bit, since his tank in my room. But a whole week for feeding? He hasn't eaten since last thursday. I was thinking that this thursday or friday would be enough time to wait for feeding. But i guess not.
I would feed him. I've never withheld food from snakes I've purchased, and I've never had a problem. If a snake is due for a feeding, I feed it, whether I've had it a week or for only two days. Nor do I believe in not handling it. I give a snake about two days to get used to the viv, and then I handle them to get them used to me. Other than not handling a snake for two days after feeding, I think the advice you've been given is far too conservative.

People are quick to jump to conclusions about what caused a particular snake to regurge food or to suddenly die. Regurges are usually the result of food that was too large, too many food items, too low a temp in the viv or too much handling too soon after feeding. Rarely are they the result of stress from moving to a new home or new quarters.

If a snake dies within a week of being received, the problem was probably present before the snake changed hands, though the breeder may have been totally unaware of it. Snakes are resilient animals. Unless the quarters you provide are extremely bad (temps lower than 70 F or higher than 90 F, lack of water, lack of food, overly vigorous handling), you are unlikely to cause it to die that suddenly. RELAX! Gently handle your new snake for a few minutes each day, lengthening the time as your snake becomes more accustomed to being held. Feed your snake on a regular schedule, however short the time you've had it. They are not made of spun glass.
 
CaseyUndead said:
What do i do with the regurgitated mouse? do i need to wait 7 days to feed him again? It was only a pinkie, should i cut the pinkie in half next time?

Congratulations on your first corn snake. I will preface my advice with the admission that I am a nervous nelly who most think is overly cautious. Regurge are one of the most dangerous things that your snake can go through. Kathy Love has developed the most accepted protocol for dealing with this problem. And it goes something like this..

1. Don't disturb, much less handle you snake for 8-10 days after the regurge.

2. When you do feed, offer a meal half the size of a normal meal. Splitting the pinkie length wise will accomplish this. This is most easily (and neatly) accomplished when the pinkie is still frozen. In addition, the splitting makes the meal more readily digestible.

3. Place the split pinkie in a separate container and then put the snake in the container and allow the snake to eat undisturbed.

4. Make sure the hatchling has adequately warm belly temperature to digest the meal. ideally 90 degrees Fahrenheit. And this is why the UTH/temperature probe/thermostat combination is so essential.

5. Put your snake back in its viv and do not disturb, much less handle, for three, that's 72 hours, after eating.

Now many here on the forum will find this overly cautious, but no one here will dispute that Kathy Love wrote the book (it's called CORN SNAKES, THE COMPREHENSIVE OWNER'S GUIDE, get a copy) on dealing with regurges. I find her advice to be dead on. Good luck with your snake.

2. P
 
Bill-

That snake died, and he has since bought a new cornsnake.

Let me say, wait a full 7 days before you attempt to feed the snake. They can go months without eating---a week isn't going to hurt the snake. Since you had problems with your last snake, I'd err on the side of caution and let the snake get fully adjusted to it's new home before you attempt to feed it.
 
bill38112 said:
Now many here on the forum will find this overly cautious, but no one here will dispute that Kathy Love wrote the book (it's called CORN SNAKES, THE COMPREHENSIVE OWNER'S GUIDE, get a copy) on dealing with regurges. I find her advice to be dead on.
The snake that had regurged passed away. The ongoing discussion is related to feeding and handling the owner's new snake.
 
Ok. It's been almost a week, so i fed him. But he's kind of bigger than the other one i had. After he got it all the way down, i didn't even see a lump! Does this mean that next time i should feed him two?
 
CaseyUndead said:
After he got it all the way down, i didn't even see a lump! Does this mean that next time i should feed him two?
Either that or move him to the next size food.
 
You know pinkies make a good afternoon snack. :grin01:

If you want you can feed 2 until they are gone then get bigger prey items.
 
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