New Corn owner with questions about feeding

[Silvara]

Hey all, I got my first ever snake a week ago, he's a young host corn. The pet store told me he was eating two pinky mice every week, so I fed him two pinkies last Monday. There's no bulge in his belly anymore, but the skin on his underside is pretty thin, and I can still see dark "stuff" in his intestinal area (I'm assuming partially digested food/fecal matter.) He wouldn't eat tonight. He poked at the mice with his nose and then totally ignored them. Last week he dove at them and ate right away. Should I be worried, or is he just not hungry yet? Should I be leaving the mice in the tank, or offering them and taking them away when he doesn't eat them? I'm afraid they're going to rot and stink if I leave them in the tank.

[justanotherfroginthepond]

Feed him in a separate tank so he doesn't start associating your hand with food.  NEVER leave ANY live feeder in his tank with him.  cCorns are not generally too picky, but it can help to feed a young one in a paper bag or a box where it's darker and there are no distractions.  Also, you generally want to feed after each defecation.  In other words, first poop, then eat.  Biggest thing with digestion is heat...make sure he's warm enough, but not hot enough that the food rots before it's digested!  One more thing....usually it's best to feed one properly sized meal than two.  Digestion is a hard process on a snake, so it's best to have only one meal being worked on at a time.  Typically an item as big around or just SLIGHTLY bigger around than the snake's largest body girth is best.  When it gets bigger but maybe isn't quite ready for adult mice yet, try a rat pup instead.  Rat pups will tend to last them a bit longer than mice, and have better nutritional value.

If he is active and has good, strong, muscle tone, then he is probably just fine!  You may just need to check his temp. and play the waiting game!

[Silvara]

I don't have a separate tank to feed him in, but Ive been using tongs, rather than holding the food directly. Is that good enough? He has defecated since eating, I'm just not sure it's all out. I think he is too cold, I realized this morning that my heater doesn't work, so I'm going to the pet store to return it as aoon as I'm out of school.

The amount of food is where I'm really not sure what to do. He's about as big around as a standard pencil, slightly thinner than most pinkies. So should he only eat one mouse?

[EmilyK]

I don't have a corn snake, but I feed my dumerils boa with tongs. I don't feed my dude outside of his cage because he's testy when he's hungry and right after he's eaten and I don't enjoy cleaning my blood out of the carpet. I put a plexiglass sheet down on his substrate while the rat is thawing and drop the rat onto the plexi when it's ready. He hasn't bitten me once since I started using tongs. Of course, his feed response isn't all that impressive, either. He doesn't even bother nosing at or constricting the rats anymore. He just wanders over and starts stuffing his face. 

 Edit: One pinkie is usually enough. I agree with switching to rats as soon as you can.

[firecrested]

I don't have a separate tank to feed him in, but Ive been using tongs, rather than holding the food directly. Is that good enough? He has defecated since eating, I'm just not sure it's all out. I think he is too cold, I realized this morning that my heater doesn't work, so I'm going to the pet store to return it as aoon as I'm out of school.

The amount of food is where I'm really not sure what to do. He's about as big around as a standard pencil, slightly thinner than most pinkies. So should he only eat one mouse?

Using tongs is fine.  I always feed inside the enclosure, unless you have a very aggressive snake then a bite is rare and a corn snake bite wouldnt hurt anyway.
A corn the size of a pencil should be on large pinkies, you dont want to give a corn a meal that is too big or they usually regurge it.  They cant take food items as big as most snakes.  I have one about twice that size and she just started taking 2 pinkies on her last feeding.  With corns you can feed them smaller items more often instead of one big meal every week.  I feed mine twice a week, just big enough to show a small bulge and the bulge is usually gone in a day or two.

Being too cool shouldnt hurt him.  They live in the US and survive the winters here.  None of my corns have any kind of heat on them, they all get room temperature around 80 during the day and 75 at night.

[Silvara]

He wouldn't eat again tonight. Is it ok to leave the dead mouse in the tank overight to see if he eats it, or should I try to give it to him again tomorrow?

I can't get a new heater til tomorrow, the pet store was sold out. It's just under 70 degrees in his tank right now.

[EmilyK]

If you've only had it for about a week, try giving it more time to settle in before you try to feed it. Going a week or two without eating won't kill it. =)

[Silvara]

It's now two weeks since he's eaten and he still doesn't show any interest in the food. I'm getting worried. Is this normal? Should I be worried? I've never had a snake before, and I'm afraid I'm going to screw something up and hurt him. The nearest herp vet is a couple hours away, so I don't want to go that route yet. Money isn't the issue, but if the snake's just stressed then I don't want to make him more stressed with a vet trip. Help!

[EmilyK]

Do you have a scale that measures in grams? If the snake isn't acutally losing weight, I wouldn't worry. Some take longer than others to settle in and start eating. If you're worried, try splitting the pinkie's head and exposing some of the brain so there's more smell before offering it to the snake.

[justanotherfroginthepond]

Do you have a scale that measures in grams? If the snake isn't acutally losing weight, I wouldn't worry. Some take longer than others to settle in and start eating. If you're worried, try splitting the pinkie's head and exposing some of the brain so there's more smell before offering it to the snake.

It sounds horrible, but it can definitely help.  I still want to know if he feels strong and has good muscle tone...

[Silvara]

I don't have any sort of scale to weigh him at all, but he looks ok to me and seems fairly active. I talked to the snake expert at the pet store I've been dealing with today, and she said that he's probably too cold. I have a heat lamp set up now, and hopefully he'll eat soon.

[justanotherfroginthepond]

What area do you live in?  Here in the pacific northwest we always recommend at least a small heat lamp.  It's hard to get it up to 80/85 degrees in the daytime-let alone keep it at 75 at night! If he is active and has good muscle tone then my gut reaction is that it's heat related...especially since he ate right after you got him.  I've seen a lot of customers lose baby corns because they tried to save money and didn't get a heat source for it.  I'd give him a couple days to adjust to his new temps and get his digestive juices up to speed (so-to-speak!) then give it a try!

Another thing...how big is the tank he's in?

[Silvara]

I'm in Southern Ontario. Seth (the snake) is in a ten gallon tank.

[portal_reptiles]

I don't have any sort of scale to weigh him at all, but he looks ok to me and seems fairly active. I talked to the snake expert at the pet store I've been dealing with today, and she said that he's probably too cold. I have a heat lamp set up now, and hopefully he'll eat soon.

this is what i was thinking...if the temp is too cold the corn will go into hibernation, its natural for them..but if its to small, it could kill the lil guy.One of the care sheets i read said keep him around 75 and he wont go into hibernation.