# fussy corn snake?



## dottydoo (Sep 17, 2012)

hi all, im a complete newbie here so be gentle...

my wife went an bought my kid a baby corn snake for his bday at end of august, it was 11 month old we was told at the time, it come with a starter kit from a decent shop, on its feeding records are a few REF a few REG an a HOT, the shop said at the time the ref was for refusal, the reg was for regurgitate an the hot was for the pinky needed heated up, but all had been fine in the last few months an it was eating properly, well so far we have only been able to get the young snake to eat an keep down 1 pinky, its had 2 regs an 1 refusal since its been with us?? any ideas on why this maybe happening? any tips to get her to eat properly?? an also is it too early to upgrade her small starter viv?? i know its plastered all over the net that they prefer smaller vivs, but i just keep thinking this youngster aint a hatchling anymore an is nearly 1 year old, so shouldnt she have moved up a couple a viv sizes by now?? am i bein silly an over worrying? it is my lads snake after all, an i dont want an upset 6 year old, but there again he cant even hold the wee thing cos of all these probs..

any an all comments welcome:blush:


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## pk93 (Jan 26, 2010)

Firstly i would never recommend buying a reptile that could live for 20 years for a 6 year old. Obviously the snake is not the 6 year olds sole responsibility. You do all the husbandry and he gets to do the fun stuff, like handling.
If you run us through your set-up and temps we might be able to help.:2thumb:

I would leave it in the enclosure its in until it starts feeding again.


PK


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## kat134 (Oct 19, 2008)

With regards to the regurges, make sure that your temps in the enclosure are correct, as if it is too cold then the snake cannot digest it's food properly and so will end up bringing it back up. It should also be noted that for at least 24 hours the snake should not be handled after feeding, and should be left completely alone and stress free to digest properly. 

How often are you attempting to feed? You should leave the snake undisturbed for a week, no handling etc only change the water or replace soiled substrate, and then at the end of the week attempt to feed the wee one. If it does not take the food leave it in overnight and remove in morning if not eaten. Leave it for another week without attempting to feed and then try again. 

If this does not work there are plenty of things you can do to get the snake feeding again such as braining the mouse, scenting it, heating it up etc


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## mstypical (Feb 16, 2011)

I've got to wonder what shop in their right mind sells a corn that's had 'a few regurges'? One is bad enough but can be down to external issues, a 'few' would have me thinking there is something wrong with that snake. 

If it's regurged both at the shop and with you, I would be at the vets : victory:


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## Africandragoncorn (Sep 16, 2012)

What have you tried in respect to feeding? Are simply throwing in a pinky and hoping for success this time or you trying other things as well? Also I notice above its stated to leave for 24 hours I personally leave mine a minimum of 48 hours. How does it behave otherwise? Is it friendly/active or is it skittish and shy? For now if it were me I would probably resist any contact for a couple of weeks, literally only opening the enclosure to feed and change water. In regards to the viv size it's age/size it would be fine in a full size viv provided you gave plenty of hiding places however as previously mentioned I wouldnt disturb it with a new environment until you have resolved the feeding issues


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## bizzy (Sep 21, 2012)

Id leave him be for a week other than changin the water as for it not feeding or reg maybe u or your son are over handling him!iv never har a prob with my rat not eating but it likes to strike feed if i just chuck the mice in it wont eat it! Have u tried smaller pray if its reg alot?u may need to take it to the vets in the near future if u cant get it to keep its food down


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## Hannah81 (Nov 19, 2008)

I'm betting you didn't get a thermostat with you starter set!!!
Stop feeding the snake and leave it alone for a while.
Get a thermostat if you haven't got one and a digital thermometer, run the heat mat through the stat and put the thermometer inside the tank so the warm side reads 28c. Them leave the snake alone for 10 days. 

I would expect a yearling to be eating small mice by now but it's clearly had a few problems.
Sent from my ST18i


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## mjh73 (Nov 29, 2011)

Arn't pinkies a little small for an 11 month old snake? How many are you feeding it in one go? My 11 month corn is on medium mice!


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## AilsaM (May 18, 2011)

Pinkies are far too small for an 11 month old corn snake, at that age mine was on small mice.


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## Hannah81 (Nov 19, 2008)

AilsaM said:


> Pinkies are far too small for an 11 month old corn snake, at that age mine was on small mice.


The snake has come from a shop therefore it will have previously been on a maintenance diet.

Snakes all grow at different rates. The snake should be on prey that leaves a small bump in it's belly once swallowed, whatever size that may be.

However having said that, at the moment if it's regurging meals then you want to feed smaller prey anyway.


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