What is my Snake Doing?

[Spepper]

I last fed my little corn snake on 3/7/14 and I've been trying to feed her every five days, so today is a day late, but I can't get her out of her warm hide to do it. Her hide is a wood burl that was hollowed out, but in the back of it on the inside there's a narrow little "shelf" that she has installed herself in and now I can't get her out. She's been there for days and won't budge. Any ideas on how I can get her out, or why she's doing that? I've tried flipping the hide over and leaving it like that but she won't come out, even if she's literally upside down like the way I have it sitting. I don't think she's stuck, because she's been there before but never stayed for such an extended amount of time.

 

[Mindibun]

Probably in shed or pre-shed. Watch for her colors to change or her eyes to get cloudy. When you see cloudy eyes then you'll know it'll be about a week before she sheds. Just leave her be. Besides, every five days is very frequent. My young ones eat once every seven to ten days and the older ones go longer than that. She may just not be hungry.

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[RzezniksRunAway]

Yup, possibly in shed. Just let it be, don't stress it by constantly pestering it.

 

[Najakeeper]

Unless it can somehow get stuck (highly unlikely), it will come out when it wants to so let it be. My experience with reptiles is most of the time, bothering them causes many more problems due to additional stress.

 

[TpleaseForMe]

Well I'd say leave alone for up to 10 days sounds like pre shed and you should be changing feeding from 5 day then 7 days then 5 days then 7 days btw the way your doing is consider power feeding. If snake is over 2-3 feet+ in length I'd do it ever 10-14 days

 

[viper69]

Why are you so intent upon getting your snake out of its hide?

 

[Spepper]

She's not in pre-shed or shed, because she just did that about a week ago and it all came off. I'll leave her be then, thanks guys. She's not over a year old yet, nor is she over two feet, and I read somewhere (I think multiple sources, but don't ask me to find them) that young snakes like that can be fed more because they're naturally growing more in that stage. Correct, or no? And Viper, I wanted to get her out so I can feed her but it sounds like she'll just come out when she's hungry so I don't need to worry about it.

 

[viper69]

She's not in pre-shed or shed, because she just did that about a week ago and it all came off. I'll leave her be then, thanks guys. She's not over a year old yet, nor is she over two feet, and I read somewhere (I think multiple sources, but don't ask me to find them) that young snakes like that can be fed more because they're naturally growing more in that stage. Correct, or no? And Viper, I wanted to get her out so I can feed her but it sounds like she'll just come out when she's hungry so I don't need to worry about it.

I see. Your snake is definitely on a fast feeding schedule IMO, I never fed so quickly, nor so regular on any of my young snakes.

 

[Spepper]

Okay guys, thanks for the helpful replies. Now that I have your more experienced opinions I won't worry about her not coming out, and I'll slow down to feeding once a week.

 

[TpleaseForMe]

I know after any shed snake skin is so sensitive so might just want to be left alone and feeding is all veriable but every 5 days to most breeders seem like power feeding and most ppl only do it to get weight up right before breeding I would do 5 day 7 days because it has proven to shorten life span so just want you get as long with your snake as possible

 

[Spepper]

Now I have a new problem. I tried to feed her yesterday since she finally came out and she's always eaten willingly (as evidenced by her willingness to eat every 5 days) and she wouldn't touch the mouse. Yesterday was 10 days since her last feed.

 

[RzezniksRunAway]

I wouldn't be horribly concerned at this point. Wait another few days, offer food. What do you feed her in? My problem feeders get put into small, round tupperware (holes in lids) with a frozen-thawed mouse, then put into a paper bag inside their enclosure (for warmth) I let them go for an hour or two, then check. Out of 7 hatchling corn snakes, only 4 of them would eat every 5 days at first, the others were more of a 7-10 schedule, and everyones evened out at this point. Just don't offer food every day, that has a tendency to annoy and stress more than anything.

 

[Spepper]

I'm feeding her pinky mice still at this point because fuzzies are a bit too big yet. Yesterday I tried feeding her again and I even tried puncturing the skull of the mouse to let those delicious brain juices flow. LOL To no avail though. She wouldn't eat. When feeding I put her in a little container (the kind baby corn snakes are sold in at expos) that her breeder gave me and put a paper tube around it so she doesn't feel watched.

 

[awiec]

As everyone else said, leave her be, if she hasn't eaten today then wait another week, just provide some clean water in the meantime, she will get hungry eventually. I generally just put my sand boa in a tupperware and set it in the cage if he feels like playing with his food. Another tip is to put a little chicken broth on the mouse as they do "taste" smells and it seems like everything likes chicken. You will know when shes hungry as she will probably just nab the food right from your tongs; which really you can get away with every 8 days since I like to make sure my snake is hungry so I don't waste a good mouse.

 

[Spepper]

Thanks everybody, I'll be patient.

 

[The Snark]

Just an FYI. Up at the snake farm almost all or all the snakes will stop eating if there is a drastic change in temperature. Being exothermic, a snakes ability to digest is directly connected to it's environment. That doesn't mean always, or the temperature change being more than a degree or two. Suffice to say their appetite will naturally vary due to a number of circumstances, some of which can be very hard to detect. Best bet is leave it alone and undisturbed, keep the temperature constant and pay attention to any little thing that could cause the animal to stress. Little things like a light being turned on and off can contribute to stress.

Also, snakes, especially constrictors, can occasionally do some odd things that can drive you crazy. An extreme example is the old man, the giant python at the farm, has been known to go into a torpor, unmoving and not eating, for as long as 6 months. Why? Unknown.

 

[Spepper]

Thanks Snark, I left her alone for a few days and didn't try to feed her but this afternoon I tried again and guess what... the frozen pinky mouse I fed her did a vanishing act and she ended up suspiciously fatter. Yes, finally! LOL

 

[The Snark]

It's like that zonker rat snake. Refused food for a month or more then zap. Complete reversal. Putting away 3 adult rats and stole a neighbors chicken in one gargantuan pig out. There is was, stretched out, basking in the sun and looking smug with 4 distinct bulges. I think snakes have a little zoop in their genetic code designed to trigger when kept in captivity just to make their keepers go crazy.

 

[Najakeeper]

Patience solves most snake related problems. New snake keepers, who are used to mammals and birds, worry too much too quickly. In my experience through the years, leaving them alone works most of the time and added stress makes things worse. I am glad she fed properly.

 

[Spepper]

Patience solves most snake related problems. New snake keepers, who are used to mammals and birds, worry too much too quickly. In my experience through the years, leaving them alone works most of the time and added stress makes things worse. I am glad she fed properly.

Thanks Najakeeper. Up until this past year that's basically all I had kept as pets—chickens, rabbits, cats and a few fish. Then I got into inverts and most of the time those aren't finicky eaters, so my corn snake is slightly more frustrating in the eating category because it's just so different than anything else. That doesn't mean I don't like her—I enjoy her immensely, she's just more of a challenge that way and I like it.