Thin/Weak Corn Snake

[ballpythonluvr]

This is such awesome news! It's great that this snake has shed and is continuing to poop! Please keep us updated on the progress!

[Jay_Bunny]

Just a little update since I haven't updated in a while. He is still at 6g but I haven't been able to feed him much more than 1x per week. Now that things have calmed down at work a little, I'm bumping up his feeding to 2x per week. He is so feisty now! You put your hand in his tank and he immediately forms the S and tries to strike you repeatedly. He thinks he's a little rattlesnake. It is so adorable and great to see! Since our pinkie mice are still to large for him (they are easily 2-3x as thick as he is at his widest), he's eating pieces.

Thanks for all the advice everyone! I hope he eventually eats on his own. One of my friends from another store said their store had to put down a python because it had water on the lungs? Not sure what that is, but this python had been with them for a loooong time and had feeding issues. It never ate on its own.

[Cody John Steele]

Thanks for all the advice everyone! I hope he eventually eats on his own. One of my friends from another store said their store had to put down a python because it had water on the lungs? Not sure what that is, but this python had been with them for a loooong time and had feeding issues. It never ate on its own.

Maybe "water on the lungs" is slang for an RI?

[Jay_Bunny]

Instead of making new threads whenever I update about this little guy, I will be posting updates here.

On Saturday, January 1st, I found a small enough pinkie mouse (frozen/thawed) and was able to force feed him the entire thing (without having to chop it into bits) I did offer it to him first to see if he'd take it on his own, but he refused. I force fed it to him and he was able to swallow it down just fine. Again on Wednesday (today), I offered him another pinkie mouse since he had pooped and he refused. I force fed it to him and he got it down. I weighed him after his poop but before he was fed for the 2nd time and he weighed 7g.

He is almost 2x the size he was at his weakest/smallest!!!! With the pinkie in his belly, he was 9g. I am very confidant this little guy will see adulthood, but I'm worried about all the force feeding I'm having to do. I know it must be stressful on such a small snake. He is at least 5 months old now and only weighs 7g. I'm going to keep offering pinkies before resorting to force feeding, but he has absolutely no interest in them. (And yes, I do heat them up. Not too hot, but warm to the touch)

So I guess a question I have for some of the more experienced keepers/breeders is....will force feeding like this cause any damage or have any long term affects on his health? I mean, he's doing great! He's much more alert, he's not skinny anymore, and he's feisty! (He tries to bite everyone) I'm just worried this will harm him or cause issues down the road. I read somewhere (its been too long to remember where) that snakes that are force fed for long durations while young have shortened life spans. Is this true?

[Blue Apple Herps]

I'm not sure about extended harm. I personally don't force feed snakes, I will assist feed them, but if they won't take it on their own, then so be it.

I'm surprised that its not taking food on its own by this point though.

[Jay_Bunny]

He will not touch it, will not eat it. If I attempt to assist feed, he just forces it back out. Because of company policies, there is little I can do to make him more comfortable. Currently he lives in a critter keeper (I think its the medium or large size) with a single hide (we don't have smaller hides so we can only fit one) and a water dish. He has an UTH and the room stays around 70-73. It is quiet most of the day. The only time someone goes into the room is in the morning to give medicine to other animals, feed, and change bedding when needed. Also in the evenings for medications.

That is to give you an idea of his living situation right now and perhaps he's just not secure enough. I have considered purchasing him and bringing him home to work with him, but I do not have the space for him currently.

I don't like to force feed snakes either but when he got down to 4g, I had to do something. And he still refuses to eat, so I don't want him to starve. At about 5 months old, he should be waaaay bigger than he is, and while he could probably go a few weeks without eating, I don't want him to get that small again. I'm thinking maybe once he's put on some size, he might feel more confidant about eating and might start taking pinks on his own.

[Cody John Steele]

I don't know about any long term damages.

As for the feeding, I'd be offering live pinks. Maybe it would ignite a better feeding response.

[Jay_Bunny]

I work at a Petsmart. Feeding live is strictly against their policy. They do not advocate for feeding live. (I actually had a lengthy debate with a girl who no longer works there over feeding in the cage vs feeding outside the cage and whether or not this causes aggression, and also debated live vs frozen/thawed)

I would sneak in a live pinkie but I do not wish to lose my job, so I have to follow the rules. If I had my way though, he would have been on live to start with.

[Cody John Steele]

Is there a way you could scent the pinkie with a green anole lizard? I "think" I heard somewhere corns would sometimes take those scented pinks.

I wouldn't take that information at face value because I'm not 100% sure where I heard it, or what was taking the green anole scented pinks... Do some poking around to see if you can confirm it, or if someone else on here wants to add something or correct me.

[Jay_Bunny]

I could definitely use a green anole for scenting if this is something that might work (we carry green anoles in the store). Next time he's due to eat, I'll give it a try and see.