Shedding & Feeding

My new Fluorescent Orange Corn Snake I bought at MARS back on Sept. 16th has been doing pretty fine, up until last night. He has eaten two day old pinkies in that time. Last week he started into his shed mode. Several days later on his scheduled day to eat his eye caps really hazed over so I didn't offer him any meal that night as he didn't seem to want anything. Two days later he shed overnight. Last night I offered him his meal the way I have for the last two successful meals (paper bag) and he refused to eat it. I placed the pinky in his enclosure over night in a shallow feeding bowl, but this morning it was still there.

Is this normal for a CS during and after a shed?

Do I wait a day or two and offer another meal again?

I've never had a problem getting any of my corns to eat. I feed them in a different container lined with a paper towel so that I can clean their living quarters while they eat. I'm not sure what you mean by the "paper bag" method. Can you explain?

How long has it been since it has eaten?

Is it a tiny little 06, like most of the corns at MARS were?

I've been placing a pinky into a brown paper bag along with the snake, fold down the bag 4-5 times and place it back into its enclosure for at least 1 hour. This gives the snake some privacy, keeps the prey scent contained in a small area for better feeding stimulization, etc... A close friend of mine showed me this method and I've used this on my Ball Python and Corn Snake to help get them on track of eating. So far so good!

Yes, the CS is a July '06 baby. I bought him from Rich at SerpenCo, which is a very reliable breeder.

He's only been without a meal for about 8 days since his last meal. I know that's not considered very long by any means. I was just curious if corns have a habit of not eating before, during, and/or immediately following their shed times.

I think that answers all of your questions?? :rolleyes:

I have had a couple babies refuse to eat after shedding.Its rather taxing on the little buggers to shed so they are kinda wore out after it.Wait until Thursday and try again and see how it goes.Keep us posted:)

Thanks Joe!


Have you ever done the paper bag trick before? Some folks have never heard of it, some have. Some swear by it, some swear at it. :taz:

I've had good luck with it on my limited amount of keeping snakes so far.

If the paper bag method works for you, then there's no reason to change it. I got my new corns from SerpenCo also. They're eating like champs, but they haven't shed yet (although I noticed blue eyes on one of them lastnight). Joe's probably right - yours just might be a little worn out. Try again tomorrow.

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Originally Posted by BPdad

Thanks Joe!


Have you ever done the paper bag trick before? Some folks have never heard of it, some have. Some swear by it, some swear at it. :taz:

I've had good luck with it on my limited amount of keeping snakes so far.

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Yes i have used the paper bag method numerous times(ball pythons mostly lol).