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Who wants to help a new guy??

M

mbl322

New member
Hey Everyone!

I've recently purchased my first pet corn snake :) We bought him from Petco and I knew corns were good beginner snakes but didn't know much about them.
I forgot to ask when he was hatched but it was definitely recently, he is tiny! Our family decided to name him (or her???) Mushu, after the dragon is Disney's Mulan. We have had him for a few days now and I realized I could definitely use some advice!!

After reading a lot of these threads i've learned a lot and probably answer this myself by now, but I figured I'd through my individual situation out there and see what all you pros think!

So we bought Mushu on Sunday. Which was also the day he ate. Being clueless, I obviously handled him sunday, monday and tuesday. Nothing crazy, just 15-30 mins each day and he seemed to enjoy it.

Sad to say, i did drop him on tuesday...ouch, i know..My B :/ won;t happen again

Anywho, long story short he regurgitated tuesday night. I saw the whole thing in action and what he regurgitated was close to fully digested. If you didn't know he had eaten a frozen baby pinky you'd couldn't tell what it was. And if i didn't see it happen id probably have no idea he even regurgitated.

Since then, I have yet to handle him. and he has yet to move out from his cover. (i know, i created stress...stupid me!) should have read more 1st.

Sunday will be 1 week from last feeding but only 5 days from regurgitation.
Should i try to feed him on Sunday???

When should i I try to handle him again??

How long should i let him stay in his cover???

Thanks everyone! Glad to be part of the forums
 
Thanks Pugsley. Lots of good info in there. Not handling for 6 weeks thought?? Seems a little extensive. But then again what do i know lol. Ill take the advice!
 
So the first thing you've learnt is to never handle a snake whilst it's digesting. The reason a regurge can be so serious and turn into a life-threatening problem is that it takes at least 8 days for the snake to recover the lining to it's oesophagus. Until it's healed there is a big risk of repeating the regurges.
Owning a small hatchling can seem frustrating in the early days because quite naturally you want to handle your new pet. But a healthy corn will live 15-20 years, so take the long view. At 10 grams or so and eating pinky mice it needs to convert the energy from it's meals into growing, just like any young animal does. Feeding every 6 days means only about 2 days a week when it will be safe to handle the corn at this age, but will mean it gets a good start in life.
 
mbl322 - I would not listen to anything these people are saying. If I were you I would buy a book like

Corn Snakes in Captivity (Professional Breeders Series) by Don Soderberg (Oct 1, 2007)

or

Corn Snakes: The Comprehensive Owner's Guide (Herpetocultural Library, The) by Kathy Love and Bill Love (Sep 1, 2006)

And, just so you know the advice you are getting is the same as in the books.
 
Thanks, i've been looking into different books, ill check these one out. He finally came out from his hide and seems to be doing good. Still doing the countdown until I can do his 1st feeding at home :)
 
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