Corn snake failing to thrive/feeding issues?

@wreckroomsnakes

Understandable if the room the snakes are in is generally hotter (mine tends to be) but for individual snakes in their tubs/tanks I don’t ever raise the Temps over 80f. It’s within their normal ranges in the wild to be best and most active between 75 and 80 at a hot zone.

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They have similar temps to the Arizona mountain king snake it seems. A lot of people say they need a 90°f hotspot but others will say no higher than 85°f. I have kept my AMK in my room that stays between 70-85°f depending on the season and he thrives. I tried keeping a hotspot of 90°f in there for him when he was younger but he just hid all day and was never active. Many snakes native to North America tend to need lower temps than people think. Especially colubrids.

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Maybe I’m more practical…certainly don’t think I’m heartless…but if it’s a baby and it’s never eaten for you, I’m not taking it to the vet. I’m trying everything I can myself, assist feed, even force feed, if you suspect a blockage I think there’s even some palpating things you can do that might help, but I suppose it depends how easily the animal could be replaced if you’re willing to drop potentially a large sum on a vet visit great but I likely wouldn’t be. Some animals don’t make it. It’s how it goes. The breeder you got him from said he had fed several times unassisted?

The snake is feeding but it keeps regurgitating the meals. And it looks to be a normal corn snake so cost wise, it would be better not to go to the vet since you can get a normal corn for like, $30. And even if you go to the vet there isn’t a guarantee it will survive. Only problem is a snake that small and fragile would be very difficult to palpate without potentially hurting it if you don’t know what you are feeling or looking for.

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@ashleyraeanne very true it might do more harm than good. Sucks any way you slice it

He came from South Mountain Reptiles, and I know Don wouldn’t have had him for sale if he wasn’t eating. And like I said, he ate great for me for the first few weeks - but then all of a sudden he stopped, and I haven’t for the life of me been able to figure out what the change was.

I’m the kind of person who gets really attached to my snakes, even though I have a number of them. He’s an extreme okeetee and a really beautiful one, and he’s also my mom’s favorite. :sleepy: I assist fed him once when he wouldn’t eat, but the issue is that he eats and then regurgitates anywhere between 2-24hrs later. The reptile vet near me has some great ratings and if there’s nothing they can do then so be it, but I would rather at least give it a try and be able to say I did everything I could. I also put his last regurgitation in a ziplock bag in my fridge just on the off chance they can do any kind of analysis to see if he’s sick. There may be nothing they can do or find out, and if that’s the case then so be it, but I’m still going to give it a shot.

Regarding temperatures, SMR recommended a sweet spot temp of right around 83, but I think I am going to try to bump up his temp to a constant 84-85 on the off chance it is a little too cold, especially since his body is already being taxed hard with the regurgitations and lack of nutrients. And I’ll drop his feeding down to a head instead of an attempted full body, and continue trying to get calcium and probiotic supplements in him. Like I said, he may not make it, but I’m certainly not going to accept it without a fight. I appreciate all of the suggestions, y’all.

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I really appreciate all of the suggestions y’all gave. Unfortunately last night I found him displaying some neurological issues, probably due to lack of nutrients from not eating. I was able to get him to take a rat tail, which was the smallest food item I had in a pinch, but he wasn’t even strong enough to move it down to his stomach and my tongs were too big to do it for him. He passed about two hours ago. I’m definitely really disappointed, he was my introduction to corn snakes. But I did everything I could.

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@keiylad97 sorry to hear it, yes I think you did everything you could. Still sucks, you got a pretty unlucky case I’d say.

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So sorry to hear that! I agree, you did all that you could have.

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Man you did more than I think even I would have with the rat tail and such there at the end. It shows your dedication. Don’t let this put you off on corns or snake owning! Take some time and try again. We’ve all suffered losses big and small.

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here is a link to Kathy Love’s regurgitation treatment it is great advise

http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28342