Help with normal corn please?

[Oliver Twisted]

Hi I am new to the keeping of snakes and need some advice from all you dudes.
My corn snake is still very young, about 22cm long and he was eating well untill the last shed. She had a really bad shed round the eyes and mouth, probably cause I am keeping her on Perlite and it dries out sometimes. He regurged a pinky 3 weeks ago and hasn't eaten since, although he has had a shed and is looking much better now, I am worried.
Why won't it eat? Please I am so worried about him, can someone advise me cause I am afraid I will loose him if I do not know what to do.
Kind regards O.T

[Bushbaby]

Hi there,

Firstly, take it off the Perlite if you have not already.

It seems that the reason it does not want to eat is because its not happy with it's habitat.

What is your cage temperature like?? What size is your cage? How long have you kept the snake?

When it regurges, you must ensure it drinks water. Do not feed it again for atleast 10 days after that.

[mania]

If it continues to refuse food then try cutting open the pinkys head and opening your snakes mouth then rub the brain parts of the pinky in the snakes mouth and leave them in a small container over night. That worked for me most of the time.

[Trayton]

[Michelle]

I'm with Trayton on this!!!

[Michelle]

No offense Mania but are you serious?!

[neko]

It's called braining Michelle. Sometimes it triggers the feeding response when all else fails. Opening the snakes mouth will stress it though. Rather just leave the pink in the container overnight.

It does work, but I think OT should address the husbandry issues first. Remove the perlite like Bushbaby said. That stuff is horrible.

Little snakes can't handle the stress of a regurge as well as a bigger snake could. They dehydrate amazingly quickly, and rehydration without tubing can take quite a while. The amount of energy used when regurging is also enormous. It would have been better for the snake if they had not fed at all.
If you snake regurges, give it that 10 or so days break, and make sure there is always plenty water. Try to rush it, and chances are your snake will die.

[Oliver Twisted]

Thank you for all the input, I will remove the perlite. have tried the braining (did not work yet). I will keep on trying till it takes. Tempreture regulating, is another factor. Summer is hotter and we have had funny rain spells whare the temp. drops so what is the verdict Heating pad or no heating pad?

[Trayton]

@OT-what did you do with the pink after open brain surgery?

[Irock]

Another suggestion, don't be tempted to offer the snake food every day, they sometimes get into the habit of refusing food.

It definitely sounds like a "environment" problem, the substrate must be replaced asap for something more suitable, the temps must be regulated (what heating are you using?), are you sure you are feeding your snake the correct size prey?

I think get those basics sorted out before attempting to feed again.

About the braining of pinks, this definitely does help! lol You could also slit it down the middle. Personally I cut 4 cuts into the backs of all the prey I feed my little ones, this is proven to aid digestion.

[BillyBoy]

You said it was eating good for a while and then regurged. How many meals has it had before the regurge? What was the schedule? Baby corns get stressed out very easily so that may have been the cause of the regurge. It might be worthwhile to move it into a very small container for a bit. Something like a plastic shoebox size container with some paper towels for substrate, a nice, tight hide and a water bowl. Smaller enclosures are also much easier to control temps in. Put a heat pad under one end and get the temp to about 28*. Give it a week or so to settle into the new enclosure and then try another live pinky. Leave it in the enclosure, in the hide with the snake, overnight. The good news is, if it has been eating on a regular basis, it should begin eating again once you fix the issue. If your little one starts to take a slide, force feeding could be necessary to "kick start" it's feeding response again. I have found the very best item for this is a mouse "drumstick" - a rear leg off of an adult mouse (obviously a frozen/thawed one is preferred). It offers muscle, bone and skin and because of the long, thin shape and stiffness, it is easy to pry open the snake's mouth with the thigh end and push it down until the baby starts to swallow on it's own. Much easier than using a rubbery pinky.

Hopefully it won't come to that as it's very stressful to both owner and pet, but I have had great results using that method when necessary.

Good luck and keep us informed of your progress.

Billy

[Michelle]

Thanks for explaining Pinky It does sound a bit hectic but I suppose it does not matter whether it goes down whole or in pieces!
Hope it works out OT

[Oliver Twisted]

He had dinner well actualy lunch yesterday! Yeeeepeee!
NewB and his wife came round yesterday and we sorted some mice and pinkies for his and my snakes. Soo I changed to paper in the inside of the enclosure took the Heating pad out and put it outside of the cage. Then changed the water while NewB helped the baby snake take a bath.
We are happy, he is happy cause he ate after his nice bath.
Cool Thanx for the advice ya all.