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weight and eating issues

minipumpkin

minipumpkin

Slave to the pets
Hello,

we have a four month old baby corn snake we have had him for a week and
he has still not eaten anything as he was due a feed the day we got him but we thought we would let him settle. Also we have wighed and measured him he measures 12inches and weighs 4 grams.. Is this normal or is our snake underweight? how can we encourage him to eat? we have tried braining the pinkie but he still has not gone for it.

Thank you for any suggestions...
 
My first suggestion is to put the brained pinkie in with him just before you go to bed, then leave him alone with it overnight.

Checking on them when they're with food can sometimes put them off, as they're vulnerable to predators whilst eating in the wild. Some new arrivals need absolute quiet and dark before they feel secure enough to eat.
 
so should i take the pinky out now and put a new one in just before i go to bed? or just leave the pinky in there?

thanks for helping
 
4g is about right for a very new hatchling.

As it's currently mid-afternoon in the UK, yes, I'd discard the current pinkie and put a freshly-defrosted one in with him just before you switch the lights out and go to bed tonight. Corns are generally most active at dawn, dusk and overnight, so nervous new arrivals are least likely to eat during the day anyway.

I wouldn't leave a defrosted pinkie with a snake for more than about 12 hours. For starters, if it hasn't eaten by then, it isn't likely to. Also, the mouse will start to go bad.

A quick check of the temperatures on the floor surface would also be good - too hot or too cold and it can put them off eating. That can sometimes be a quick fix for reluctant feeders.
 
ok ill go do that now, the temps are 87.8 under the substrate the cool side im not too sure as i have got a thermometers on order but its a little warmer than room temp. 3 hides, one over hot one cool side one in the middle.
 
I think 4 grams is pretty tiny for a 4 months old baby. Where did you get the baby from? Did they state that it was eating regularly before you got it?
 
yes they said they had been feeding it pinkies but the day we bought the snake was the day it was ment to be fed so its missed a feed so it prob hasnt ate close to 2 weeks now.
also i stuck a dial thremometer on so i could get a better idea what the cool temp is its about 72-73 ish i know dial thermometers are crap but its better than me gueesing for now.
 
The weight does concern me a little because most babies hatch out between 4 and 7 grams. Then to still be in that range after eating regularly. I would do what Bitsy said and heat up a pinky head and leave it in with the snake overnight preferably in a deli cup or tiny container covered so he can't see outside.
 
cmalchow said:
I would do what Bitsy said and heat up a pinky head and leave it in with the snake overnight preferably in a deli cup or tiny container covered so he can't see outside.
Click to expand...

just the head? or is that like a term?
so take the snake out of the tank and put it into a small tub of some sort over night with the pinky???
 
ok ill try leaving a pinky in tonight, if that doesnt work then ill move the snake into a smaller place the next night, if still no luck then i would be stuck...
 
I've had babies go several months without food, so a few skipped meals is nothing to worry about!
 
also i stuck a dial thremometer on so i could get a better idea what the cool temp is its about 72-73 ish i know dial thermometers are crap but its better than me gueesing for now
Click to expand...
TBH, a plastic dial type thermometer is probably worse than a guess. It might be giving you a false sense of security. They can be 20 degrees wrong either way. My nephew's one didn't even move when the heat mat was accidentally unplugged - it registered in the high-80s, when the actual temp was in the mid-60s.

As a rough guide, if the floor surface feels warm or hot to you, then it's too hot for the Corn. The warm side floor surface should feel lukewarm to your touch. I'd say that's probably a better indicator than a dial thermometer, although still extremely subjective.
 
Yeah I know they suck, I have bearded dragons and went through the same thing with them:) the thing I'm unsure about is The feeding, so once the snake has fed ill be happy.

Thanks for the help so far ill post each day to keep you up today
 
Please make sure the size of the pinky is appropriate for the size of the hatchling. At 4 grams, your "average" pinky is likely to be too large. For it's first meal with you, too small a pinky is preferable to one that is too large as the last thing you need to deal with is a regurge. Meals should be no wider than 1 1/2 times the width of the snake at it's midpoint. For your hatchling, I would feed it a tiny newborn pinky or only part of an "average" pinky. And I concur that a 4 month old hatchling should weigh more than 4 grams if it has been eating regularly.
 
4 grams sounds really small. Maybe your scale is not calibrated? What kind of scale are you using? If it is not digital, the analog ones can tend to be inaccurate to +/- 10 grams, which in the case of a hatchling is a lot.

How are you weighing the snake? Even accurate scales can be much less accurate than usual at the extreme ends of their range (ie. hatchling weights!). You can compensate for this a bit by putting the snake in a bowl or hide (whatever he will sit still in) and either taring the extra weight (zero it out, if you scale has that function), or just manually subtract the weight of the container.

Your scale may also be imprecise (a bit different than inaccurate). If you weigh the same object multiple times, and you don't get consistent results, your scale is imprecise and taking the average of multiple weighings is recommended.

How much does a pinky weigh on your scale? The ones I get from the local pet store tend to be between 2 and 4 grams. (That's after I send the guy back a couple of times saying, "No really, I do mean the smallest you got. No fur! Tiny hatchling!").
 
ok they are 'day old pinkies' the smallest i can get so what do you suggest i cut them in half?? other than that i have no idea.

the scales are digital and accurate +/- 1g and yes i did weigh the snake 4 times as though it should weigh more than 4grams.

i haven't weighed a pinky as i wouldnt think there was any point but if you insist then ill do it tomorrow.
 
the thing I'm unsure about is The feeding, so once the snake has fed ill be happy.
Click to expand...
I absolutely understand, but if the temperature is wrong, this could be what's stopping it eating.
 
i have posted the temps they are 87.8F (using a digital thermometer with probe) under the substrate hot side and low 70's cool side, also has 3 hides which are different places hot cold and midway. if you think the temps are wrong then please tell me what temps i need and how i should be measuring them


the snake didnt eat last night but when i pulled the pinky out this morning the bark was stuck to it so i guess thats one reason why it might not have been ate, tonight ill put it on a small plastic lid and will do this from now on.

the snake looks in good health, its bright eyed and stuff, haven't seen it poop didnt ask that when i bought it either.
 
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