Hello, got a baby corn!

So the other day, I was getting some more water bottles for my mouse breeding project that kinda has gotten nuts! Lol, anyways, I walked by my petsmarts reptile area, and I saw crickets in with the corn snakes, I was like what the.... So anyways I had to ask about their care and feeding.....ya they are feeding them crickets and rosy red minnows...... I was just shocked...... Anyways, I talked to the manager and let them know why that's wrong, don't think it'll change anything but at least I tried, anyways cause of my "complaining" I had another word I was going to use for this, I ended up with one of their babies, yes I paid money, but he looked at me a certain way and I couldn't leave him, so now I have a new guy, he is in quartile and weights 7 grams, I'm about to offer him food when my next batch is born, should be any day now, but I'm looking for all the advice I can get, his cage is small at the moment, it's kept at 80-84 degrees, has plenty of hides, and is active in the evenings! What info can the great people here give me so I can make this little guy just great!!
http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/...ps50abb250.jpg
http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/...ps725a5114.jpg

By the way I've tried twice with red pinkies but he didn't take, I'm sure cause he was still new and getting used to his new world...

It looks to be an anery. I have been keeping corns for many years. Regarding the feeding, they do not usually require live food. Most babies will start on a frozen / thawed day-old pinky mouse for their first meal. I serve my new babies a brained frozen / thawed day-old pinky inside a small lidded container that is 8-ounce size or smaller, which seems to help them focus. No tongs or tease feeding required. It's pretty different than how I feed ball pythons but usually works quite well for corns. Good luck!

It's terrible that they keep these animals and don't even know how to take care of them... Oh well it's just how SOME of pet stores are.Beautiful corn snake by the way. Well I would advise having a warm and a cool side. The cool side being 76-80 and the warm side being 84-87. DO NOT USE A HEAT MAT WITHOUT THE THERMOMETER. If you don't want to use a heat mat( like me) have a day bulb on one side of the tank and a night bulb on the other (Ex. For a 20 gallon use a 50 watt night and a 75 watt day). Corn snakes or at least all the ones I have seen love to burrow so make sure you have something they can burrow in like aspen or reptibark(what I use)NO SAND. Plenty of hides since he just a baby and scared of everything. Try to have a humidity box for when he sheds. http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/07/18/etyda8aj.jpg This is a picture of what I have my 30 inch corn snake in. Hope this helps.

Thanks! Because all my baby mice are too big for this little guy and I'm not expecting more for a few days to a week or so I went bought some frozen pinkies, he's had a good five days to kinda relax so I'm gonna try and feed him, should I just try in his cage first or go straight for the deli cup, what do y'all think?

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Originally Posted by wendhend

It looks to be an anery. I have been keeping corns for many years. Regarding the feeding, they do not usually require live food. Most babies will start on a frozen / thawed day-old pinky mouse for their first meal. I serve my new babies a brained frozen / thawed day-old pinky inside a small lidded container that is 8-ounce size or smaller, which seems to help them focus. No tongs or tease feeding required. It's pretty different than how I feed ball pythons but usually works quite well for corns. Good luck!

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Wendy knows her stuff! I've got a corn from her and they are the best eaters ;)

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Originally Posted by Saxy snake

It's terrible that they keep these animals and don't even know how to take care of them... Oh well it's just how SOME of pet stores are.Beautiful corn snake by the way. Well I would advise having a warm and a cool side. The cool side being 76-80 and the warm side being 84-87. DO NOT USE A HEAT MAT WITHOUT THE THERMOMETER. If you don't want to use a heat mat( like me) have a day bulb on one side of the tank and a night bulb on the other (Ex. For a 20 gallon use a 50 watt night and a 75 watt day). Corn snakes or at least all the ones I have seen love to burrow so make sure you have something they can burrow in like aspen or reptibark(what I use)NO SAND. Plenty of hides since he just a baby and scared of everything. Try to have a humidity box for when he sheds. http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/07/18/etyda8aj.jpg This is a picture of what I have my 30 inch corn snake in. Hope this helps.

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I hope you meant to say thermostat.

Anyway, since the ambient temp for you is 80-84, you don't need any additional heating. If you are using heating to achieve that, just make sure heat mats are on a thermostat and lamps are on a dimmer. I offer my corns a hot spot of about 85-86* because my ambient temps are in the 70s. I have some of my corns in a rack and they have belly heat and one is in a display tank and she has a heat lamp. Corns are pretty hardy.

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Originally Posted by Centexsnakes

Thanks! Because all my baby mice are too big for this little guy and I'm not expecting more for a few days to a week or so I went bought some frozen pinkies, he's had a good five days to kinda relax so I'm gonna try and feed him, should I just try in his cage first or go straight for the deli cup, what do y'all think?

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I would put him in a deli cup at least for the first few feedings. After that, he should just take it from you off tongs. I feed off the Munson plan (you can google it) and I have healthy growing corns.

So my little guy did not eat, i had him in a deli cup overnight, but no luck, I'm going to wait 4 days and try again, probably with half a pinkie to see if that gets him going, I'll keep this update! It's just frustrating cause I know he is hungry

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Originally Posted by Centexsnakes

So my little guy did not eat, i had him in a deli cup overnight, but no luck, I'm going to wait 4 days and try again, probably with half a pinkie to see if that gets him going, I'll keep this update! It's just frustrating cause I know he is hungry

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I had a corn snake (well...I still have her but she's a much better eater now) who I had to feed a live pinkie in a deli cup for almost 2 months before she would eat live on her own and then another month or two before I could get her to eat F/T. Most corns will eat F/T pinkies with no issue. This one was just a little tougher.

Well I was going to wait a few more days but I had one of my mice give birth and kill her young so I salvaged what I could to the freezer, figured because the blood might get a feeding response I put one of the poor things into his cage, lets hope in the morning there is no pinkie and a fat happy snake!

The big box pet stores often get babies that are wholesaled right out of the egg. 7 grams is basically hatching weight, so your snake may have never eaten at all. I wish you lots of luck with him!

Ok, so he didn't take the bloody pinkie and he was in blue the next morning, so far no shed but I'm hoping tonight he does, since the blood didn't get him going, I'm thinking about trying the boiling water on the pinkie method I've read about on a few corn snake forums, any other tips guys? Cause I'm starting to get really worried about my little guy.

Stay calm. Make sure your humidity is around 60%+. Leave him alone until he sheds. Do not bother him until he sheds!!! When he sheds, put the pinkie you're going to feed the little guy into a brown lunch bag. Then place the little guy in the brown bag with the pinkie. Place the bag where it is in eye shot of you and check on it in 20-30 minutes. If you do not have a brown lunch bag, try a shoe box.


Deep breath. In the nose, out the mouth.

Well he had a perfect shed, tried feeding in a brown bag, it was a no go, so I'm gonna try again on Sunday prescenting the pinkie in tuna juice, fingers crossed.

hmm...

Ok, so I tuna scented the pinkie, I'll check in a couple of hours and hopefully I'll have a fat little snake and no wasted mouse!!

Another no go, going to wait till Thursday and try again

So I placed another f/t pinkie in tonight, good and slit and brained, this time just into the cage, no deli cup or bag, figured I'd give it a go cause my little guy has been active and hunting, fingers crossed he eats! Will keep this updated till he does!

I hope he eats for you! I went back and looked at the original date of this thread and I guess it hasn't been THAT long...but when would you try an assisted feed? I'm not an expert and I've never had to do it, but maybe someone with more experience would know if and when this might be appropriate?

:crosses fingers: good luck. Not sure how long to go before assist feeding or how to as I've never had to. Hopefully if it comes down to that, someone will chime in or maybe a vet can help.

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Thanks for all the support!! Ya, I've had him for just under three weeks, so it's not a dire thing yet, it just gets really frustrating cause I want him to grow and be as healthy as he can, but I'm in this for the long haul, I'll keep trying twice a week till he eats or I have to take other actions.

Try live. I had a corn who would only eat live until she was 50g.

I tried live the first couple feedings, waiting on my mice to have a few new litters so I can try with them again

Put the corn in a deli cup with the live pinkie overnight. That should do the trick

Did that too my friend, tried a brown bag as well, tried a bloody one, tried braining, this Sunday which is the next feeding attemp, I will be lizard scenting with a Mediterranean gecko that keeps the crickets in my box turtles cage in check, hopefully that'll work, of if it doesn't take then ill just keep trying with brained, this morning I double checked temps just to make sure and the ambient air is 80, the hot spot was at 85, the cool side registered between 78 and 76 depending on what exact spot I measured, I've heard that some small babies will take little fish, so I'll probably try that too in his water dish, I figure if he doesn't eat it, my slider then can have it, if he does, at least he then would have eaten something!! So frustrating!! Lol, but once I get him going it'll be well worth it!

You may have to consider assist feeding. Those small babies can't go very long without eating at that age. I had to put a baby down because he wouldn't eat. I tried everything (just like you) and I ended up putting him down when he wouldn't take even a force-fed pinky.

I hope he gets something down for you soon. :-/

Well I was going to try and feed him tomorrow night but I had a surprise litter of mice, so I'll try live again after work tonight, I think I'll try the brown bag again with this attempt, if he doesn't eat I'll probably then try assist feeding on Wednesday, wish me luck guys!!

:crosses fingers, rubs the budha belly, rubs my head(it's bald), rubs me pot'o'gold: good luck.

Should I still scent the pinkie with the lizard? That's the one thing I'm not sure on? I guess at this point it can't hurt either way...

If you sent with a lizard, it should be an anole.

That is true, and I have a buddy who keeps a few, but he's out of town till Tuesday, so I'll try with just live again tonight, thanks for the answer!

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Originally Posted by Centexsnakes

That is true, and I have a buddy who keeps a few, but he's out of town till Tuesday, so I'll try with just live again tonight, thanks for the answer!

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You're welcome! Let us know how things go.

Will do, I just got home so time for the nightly routine, feed the dog, the cats, make sure the mice are still good on food ( that's easy cause I do all that when I wake up so I just get to look real fast, haha) check all the temps and make sure all still have fresh clean water, then it'll be grab pinkie, gather snake , brown bag and hopefully all ends well, I do worry that moving him to the smaller dark enclosure either bag or deli cup is stressing him and causing him to not eat? But I've tried in cage and both others so I guess it doesn't really matter at this point, he will either chow down or won't, will post update in the morning!

Usually the less space between the snake and dinner helps. They don't stress as easily as bps do

Ya, I figured from all I have read, he's in the brown bag now with the pinkie, I'm gonna leave him over night, I just hope he does on his own, after my friend gets back ill get some sheds from his anoles he rises and try the scenting, if that don't take, then I'll assist, don't want to do that but I'm NOT gonna loss this guy if I can help it! I've researched that sometimes after an assist they start up well on their own, hope that's right! I don't regret trying to save him from where I got him but I'm never doing that again, all future corns will be from a good breeder!!

Another no go with the live:(, on Wednesday I'll try with the anole scenting, if that don't work next Sunday will be an assisted feed

So getting the anoles didn't end up happening, moving on to assisted feeding, should I try with a pinkie or go with a mouse tail first?

So he swallowed down two pinkie back legs, hopefully he keeps it down! At least it's a start, any further advice for where I go from here would be greatly appriciated

I'm so glad to hear you got some sustenance in him!

Glad you were able to get something into him. :gj:


From what I've heard: Typically once a snake gets something down, it'll trigger a feed response the next time you try letting it feed on its own.


So my guess would be for the next feeding try giving him a pinkie or partial pinkie(however you see fit to feed him, in tank, brown bag, etc) and see if he takes it on his own. If not, I'd assist feed him then as well. He may need a little more in his belly to really trigger his feed response.

Disclaimer: I have no experience with assist feeding and I'm going by what I've read and suggesting what I would do in this situation. If someone else actually knows better, please speak up.

It definitely sounds like he's never eaten before you got him and with the stress of a pet store, it might take a bit. I got 2 babies fresh out of the egg from a show that both were problem feeders. I think that stress on a newly hatched baby can cause a delayed feeding response but with time, you can get them to start eating. I would offer each week and then every other week, assist feed the day after a refusal. You don't want to do an assist feeding right after they refuse a meal because they may correlate the stress of the assist with the offered food. Keep a close eye on his weight but make sure you keep offering him the chance to take his own meal. Eventually, he will surprise you though it may take time.

Good luck with the next meal! I have 5 hatchlings who won't eat for me. Tried everything as well. Finally gave in and fed them a mouse tail each. As soon as that was in their mouths they started swallowing.

Do you have any more pictures of him? It looks like he is a caramel corn snake. Caramels start out really dark brown and lighten up as they grow up. I hatched out 2 caramels this year and a caramel diffused last year. I love how much they change as they grow :)

Na, ain't got more pics as of yet, but he's an anery, he hasn't regurged and is now hunting his cage, Sunday is the next feeding day, I'm gonna try for on his own first but if he doesn't take then a few more hind legs, but he has been acting different after the assisted feed so I'm very hopeful with my little guy!! I'll take a pick in the morning and post it! And I'd also like to say thanks to all who have posted cause I've gotten more response here then on my corn snake forum! Thank you every body!!

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Originally Posted by Centexsnakes

..And I'd also like to say thanks to all who have posted cause I've gotten more response here then on my corn snake forum! Thank you every body!!

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Not gonna lie, that's kinda sad. But I'll say this forum/community is rockin' with some pretty good people. But who knows what we are all like in real life. ;)


Thanks for the update and good luck. :)

Well no regurge so far he is out hunting again and I'll try feeding this Sunday, hopefully he eats on his own!! But I will not let this guy fail!! He is my little friend and he will make it!! No matter what!!! At least that's how I feel and what I will do to make sure!!

So today is the day, I feel lucky!! I think he will eat! Yes I hope he will eat on his own! Gonna wait till it gets dark and the n go for it! I'll update in the morning! Or later tonight fingers crossed!

So he didn't eat, gonna try again on Wednesday, if he don't eat then another assist feed it will be, frustrating!!

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Originally Posted by Centexsnakes

So he didn't eat, gonna try again on Wednesday, if he don't eat then another assist feed it will be, frustrating!!

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:(


Ty for the update. Maybe it'll take a couple assist feed sessions before he starts up on his own?


/frustrated for you

Thank you, that's what I'm thinking, I just don't want to stress him with the help more then once a week, but on a bright note the mice arnt wasted cause my turtles love the treat! Lol

Sorry for all the frustration, but you are sticking with it! That's admirable! Keep it up!