Coming on here to hopefully get some advice on my new corn snake - got a corn snake on aug 23 from an expo near me. He was born on aug 1st! The breeder didnt tell me if he’s eaten at all, they were kind of all over the place with people at their booth so we didnt get to ask a ton of questions. See pic of him when we got him! He pretty much looks the same.
I first had a glass 5gal temp tank setup when we brought him home, but didnt have secure enough lid to it so we moved him the next day.
We have him in a temporary 5.5gal plastic tub with some substrate, warm hide, humid hide and some water. Branch for climbing, water and some clutter. Daytime temps range from 80-82 nightime around 72-73 on the coolside. Once he’s regularly eating and on a schedule we have a nice big 4×2×2 for him.
We tried feeding him the day we brought him in, but alot of new for him so he didnt eat. We let him hangout for the next week and then attempted to feed on friday, so 6 days later ish. Hes on pinky mice but he also didnt eat then, ive been attempting to feed in his enclosure.
I attempted to find the breeder, their booth was called the reptile emporium but i literally cant find them on any socials and no website even though they said they ship at the expo. Has anyone heard of them? Hoping to see if/when he last ate! I contacted the expo and they said they’d get contact info but that was on Saturday. Worried that maybe they werent that reputable
Anyway, this is my first baby baby snake and im of course anxious and want to make sure he grows well!! Any advice for a baby snake and potentially stubborn eater would be so appreciated!
The first thing I always try with baby corns is waiting until evening, putting them in a small container (the deli cup he came home in is perfect if you still have it). Place that container somewhere dark and quiet, like a closet, for about half an hour. At that point, heat up a frozen pinkie using very hot water. Refill the water once to make sure the pinkie is fully thawed and also hot. Drop it in with him, and then leave him alone in the dark with it for at least half an hour to an hour before you check. If he hasn’t eaten at that point, reheat the pinkie and leave it with him overnight. If he doesn’t eat overnight, throw it away and put him back. Try to avoid any recreational handling for now. And I would make sure he has access to temps in the mid 80s 24/7.
Did they say whether they were feeding live or frozen-thawed?
Thank you!! I will give this a shot later this week and up his temperatures they didnt say anything about him feeding at all, even though i did ask. He looks very small to me and we are going to start weighing him at the next attempt.
Im used to adult snakes so its hard for me to tell when to be concerned, especially since we have no clue if he’s ever successfully fed before.
That is a very young snake! Purchasing any snake under 2mo is a bit of a gamble on feeding. They haven’t had many chances to take a meal before you bring them home.
Personally, anyone selling snakes that young is a red flag for me. I hope it was just an accident because of expos getting busy. Getting a baby established can be a lot of work.
I don’t work with corns at the moment so I’ll leave most of the answers to the people who do. But sometimes I’ve gotten fussy corns to eat when left in the dark with a pinky in a deli cup or a paper bag. Leave the paper bag in the enclosure just in case so you don’t have an escapee. Snakes are escape artists for sure.
As a heads up, I’ve found a fussy baby may need to be fed live once or twice before taking a frozen thaw one. You can still try to work with them on frozen thaw, but it can take a bit longer sometimes.
Yes i thought the same thing after we saw his birthday on the cup we got him in definitely seemed very young to be sold!!! Part of me was thinking maybe they did that on purpose, just to turn over the snakes they did have quickly. But im always thinking the worst!
The paper bag method is something I’ll also give a try thank you for the advice! Does he look alright still? I know I will need to monitor his weight and am definitely willing to do as much (or as little) as needed to get him established he’s just adorable, named him kimchi
Oh no, Kimchi is such a cute name! I have 2 pythons I named Bao and Gyoza. Lol
It’s a bit tough to tell from the photos here. They look pretty good and hydrated though. Keep the humidity in check. If you do a little spritz of water and he starts slurping at the droplets you may need to try putting him in a smaller shoe box size tub or at the least trying a deli cup with water for a bit to see if he drinks. Hydration is really important for keeping these little guys eating too. A 5.5 gallon seems great at first but these guys can get lost in there so easily and just don’t go looking for the water sometimes
If you try the delicup feeding again, try and snap some photos from the top if you can for some good full body photos. A photo from above but angled over the edge of the cup before popping the lid on can help for a good side view. The side of the cup sometimes distorts the photo a bit too much.
Gonna tag @noodlehaus in here too just in case I missed something or they have other ideas for you too.
Welcome to the forum! Kimchi is a cute little guy. I’m going to echo @solarserpents on the way to approach feeding. I would add that a good wash for his deli cup (if you haven’t already done this) is in order. He might pick up scent reminders of a stressful day, which isn’t conducive to eating. The paper bag trick mentioned by @armiyana is also good to note. The goal is to get the baby to focus on his intended meal and get him feeding. Do give your temps a boost to at least above 80°F at all times. That’s important for metabolism and for digestion, and babies have smaller body mass so their temps alter more rapidly. Lower temps could risk a regurge which of course nobody wants once he does eat.
I’m also concerned about such a youngster being sold at an expo, especially without solid info on feeding. That’s a very high stress environment and might put off even an established baby. Given his hatch date, considering that he would have had a shed in there, he wouldn’t have been what I’d consider a well established feeder before being sold. That’s not ideal, but you certainly can get him going.
Do avoid handling until he’s eating well. Keep trying to get in touch with the breeder. Maybe try reaching out to the ecpo organuzers to see if they have contact info. Let them know you’ve been trying to contact the breeder without success.
If Kimchi doesn’t eat next time, there are lots of tricks yet to try. Good luck!
Good point about hydration. It’s a good idea to put more than one water dish for a youngster who might be nervous about exploring.
One other thing, babies usually have a second shed at about 6-8 weeks of age. If Kimchi is going “blue,” he’ll start looking dull. He’ll also want to hide me and may not want to eat at all. It’s usually a good idea to avoid feeding when they’re in shed, though it can be tough to see on some morphs, especially if someone’s not familiar with how that looks.
Humidity in there right now is actually super high, i was observing him from below last night and did see him drinking water and he soaked for a minute or two! Ended up spilling water every where. Very active when he’s up at night still, exploring climbing and doesn’t show any outright signs of stress nor did he have any mites.
I’ll try the delicup method first and yes take some photos of his full body next feed!! I havent been handling him at all except to feed so i havent managed a decent photo of him yet. Thank you so much for the help!! It greatly eases my mind trying not to be a helicopter parent lol
Thank you!! It’s very possible he might be about to shed, if i can manage to get in contact with his breeder i have a list of questions to ask, his last shed being one of them!
2 bowls is a good idea I’ll add another little dish in there i didnt think to save his coming home deli cup, but will pick up a pack of them to ensure cleanliness. The scent being a memory of stress isn’t something inconsidered!! How long can hatchlings go without eating? We are basically considering him now as never eaten until we can hopefully confirm that.
I happened to see him perched on some cork bark in his enclosure and snapped some pics! Sorry they are a little cloudy because of the plastic bin and i just switched on a light above him - is this what an amel looks like going into shed?
Its hard for me to tell, but he has like… a ring around his eyes and i can’t recall if it was like that before!
I might be convincing myself but he does seem slightly more lethargic tonight than he usually is, my other corn has done the same in the past. Just kind of perch
Welcome to the forum! It’s my first time working with picky eaters, too, and Caryl, Olivia, and Dean have all been super helpful. I’m sure your little Kimchi will be up and going soon! Congrats on the new cutie in your home!
hi again! I tried the deli cup method as suggested last night - he hated to get in the cup it scared him poor little guy. But i did start weighing him, 6.93 grams at just over a month so he’s definitely still in good shape! I put him in a warm dark closet area for about 40 min, thawed the pinky and got it warmer than i usually would and checked after about an hour and no luck. Reheated it and put it back in there overnight and moved him inside the delicup into his enclosure (just for my peace of mind on small chance he escapes lol) but he still didnt eat it. I have upped his temps to sit at about 84.5-85 roughly on the warm side and will give him another five days to vibe. Should i attempt the deli cup again for the next feeding?
I was thinking to try some egg yolk as a scent next time since my other corn snake likes a little yolk as a treat on her mice sometimes. I also do have some micro reptilinks my other snake gets as a snack here and there, but unsure if they’re good for young snake. Has anyone tried them?
The next thing I would try is boiled and/or washed. Thaw the pinkie like normal using hot water, then dunk it in some boiling water for a few seconds until it’s kind of gray and rubbery. For washing, thaw like normal, then put a squirt of blue Dawn dishwashing liquid on it, thoroughly rub it around and then rinse most of it off. It’s sometimes effective to leave it slightly sudsy. I sometimes wash and then also boil for picky eaters. I would do a few more deli cup attempts and then try in enclosure attempts. You can try him every 3 or 4 days. 6.93 grams is pretty small - that’s often the size they hatch out at, so that combined with the hatch date and sell date pretty much confirms the seller did not get him properly established before selling.
they didnt say anything about him feeding at all, even though i did ask. He looks very small to me and we are going to start weighing him at the next attempt.
definitely seemed very young to be sold!!! Part of me was thinking maybe they did that on purpose, just to turn over the snakes they did have quickly. But im always thinking the worst!
he’s just adorable, named him kimchi
i didnt think to save his coming home deli cup, but will pick up a pack of them to ensure cleanliness. The scent being a memory of stress isn’t something inconsidered!! How long can hatchlings go without eating? We are basically considering him now as never eaten until we can hopefully confirm that.
