Corn Snake Exhibit Build

You could learn how to avert the hemipeen from one of Brian Barczyk's vlogs

I don't think I could trust myself to do that.

I wouldn't recommend sexing a snake from a YouTube video, it is a very delicate procedure and should be only done by a professional

Haha love the name! I wouldn't probe it unless you plan to breed the snake, but it is ultimately up to you. Once the snake gets larger, you can make a guess based on size as females generally are larger than the males.
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I was looking online about different tail shapes between the genders too. But yeah, we're not breeding it so it's not super important besides appeasing curiosity. You say female corns are larger though? The sources I looked at say that's more for ball pythons, and that male corns are bigger. Is that incorrect though?

 

The hard part would be finding that someone who knows what they're doing.

You may have need of a vet somewhere along the line, or meet a good breeder someday. She'll take several years to get to size, they don't grow super quick.

 

You may have need of a vet somewhere along the line, or meet a good breeder someday. She'll take several years to get to size, they don't grow super quick.

Hopefully I don't ever need a vet for it. It'd probably be pretty hard to find one for a snake in my area. I could travel a little ways for one though I guess.

More pictures just because.

 

I think the majority of snakes, the female is larger. Garter snake females can be twice the size of the male both in length and most certainly in girth.

 

Added another hiding spot for her tonight. Had to rearrange to get it to fit.

 

So, we tried feeding her again today (last feeding was last Wednesday). She bit the pinkie, and then left it alone. Wondering when we should try again? I don't want her to go hungry since she's a growing baby. It was super easy to feed her the first time.

 

That is odd! Could something have spooked her? Was it completely thawed?

 

That is odd! Could something have spooked her? Was it completely thawed?

I'm pretty sure it was. We put the little baggie it was in into warm water. I was just looking at some reasons online, and found a few reasons she may have left it.

 

Good you may have found an answer! I would not wait too long to try again, if she struck at it in the first place then she is hungry.

 

Good you may have found an answer! I would not wait too long to try again, if she struck at it in the first place then she is hungry.

That kind of what I thought. We recently rearranged her terrarium though to fit another hiding spot. She was also on the cool side when we got her out to feed. We also had a friend over trying to let her watch the little one eat. Also, apparently using water to thaw can not work too well sometimes. I don't know when to try again though. The only place we've found to buy pinkies is an hour away and over $10 for 6. Kind of don't want to waste another. Lol.

 

It shouldn't matter which side she was on, as she would want to warm up after eating. And while thawing in water (not in a baggie, straight in water) can dilute the scent, it shouldn't have caused her to drop it, she just wouldn't have shown interest in the first place. I would lean towards the combo of new arrangement and new person making her jumpy. Babies don't give up food for no reason! Not striking in the first place is pretty normal, especially around when they are shedding, but once they have it they want it.

Maybe try again tomorrow? She is still so young that it isn't good to wait. And make sure it is warm to the touch, room temp can make them uneasy sometimes. It'll be good for a few hours as well so you can always try a second time with one if this ever happens again.

And oy those prices!! My LFS is also an awesome herp store and they only charge $1 each. Have you thought about ordering a baggie of pinkies online? It wouldn't be as good a deal since you just have the one snake, but it would save some cash.

 

It shouldn't matter which side she was on, as she would want to warm up after eatin

I was thinking more on the side of she may have been too cold to eat at the time, but she did at least look at it and grab it once.

Not striking in the first place is pretty normal, especially around when they are shedding, but once they have it they want it.

Forgot to mention, my girlfriend (she's had a corn snake before) thinks she may be getting ready to shed. It's a little hard to tell with her coloration.

Maybe try again tomorrow? She is still so young that it isn't good to wait. And make sure it is warm to the touch, room temp can make them uneasy sometimes. It'll be good for a few hours as well so you can always try a second time with one if this ever happens again.

Yeah, waiting makes me nervous. Especially since the lady in the store said she hadn't eaten in two weeks because "the kid last week was afraid to feed them." Don't want her to continuously go so long. I'll make double sure to have everything ready for her when she's gotten out next time we try. If she refused again, I might (I don't know though) try freezing it back. I'd read where people try that, but if doesn't sound sanitary to me.

And oy those prices!! My LFS is also an awesome herp store and they only charge $1 each. Have you thought about ordering a baggie of pinkies online? It wouldn't be as good a deal since you just have the one snake, but it would save

Oh really? We figured those were decent prices. Lol. Honestly, I'd never thought about having pinkies shipped since they're frozen. Especially not so few, but she may be on them for a while. Especially if we start trying to feed her more often than 7 days apart. Been reading so many articles suggesting 5 days for babies. I might look into ordering. Thank you.

Oh! Just thought of something else. Now, granted she's only eaten once with us, but I haven't found or seen any evidence in her cage yet indicating a bowel movement. Normally that happens just a couple days after feeding though right?

 

It's very similar to my brother's leopard gecko, she didn't eat for a good week after purchase.
She did accept food right off the bat, then she became reluctant when eating and refused for about five days.
I was very worried at that time.

I would try again in a day or two maybe she'll eat it.
You don't have to worry too much, when they see food, they'll either pass or eat depending on their feeling or mood.
The wonderful setup you've got there!

EDIT: Does she flick that little tongue out?

 

It's very similar to my brother's leopard gecko, she didn't eat for a good week after purchase.
She did accept food right off the bat, then she became reluctant when eating and refused for about five days.
I was very worried at that time.

I actually did wonder about that. If maybe the first feeding was because she was so hungry, and now is getting the lay of the land. Agreed, on the worrying though.

The wonderful setup

Thank you! I'm always trying to find ways to improve it. Would love to find a way to do over hanging vines or branches, because she loves climbing in the artificial plants.

EDIT: Does she flick that little tongue out

Oh yes! Especially when being held. It tickles a little if she gets you good enough with it. Strangely, when food is around, she doesn't flick that much. She starts pulling her head around really weird when she recognizes food.

 

I go 7 days with my yearling milksnake, who is smaller than yours. 14 days with the baby sand boa, but he's a snot that regularly refuses to eat and is so inactive he is still gaining weight and growing. I did 5 days with my baby king since she never stopped moving and was constantly hunting my fingers.

At her size I wouldn't expect you to see feces with bedding in her tank. It is so incredibly small it blends right in! I've had my milk since last July and have seen poop only a few times and even then I had to look for it because it looked like darker aspen chips. When they get bigger it'll be cat-sized and will blow you over with smell. Enjoy while it is still baby bird sized!

 

I go 7 days with my yearling milksnake, who is smaller than yours. 14 days with the baby sand boa, but he's a snot that regularly refuses to eat and is so inactive he is still gaining weight and growing. I did 5 days with my baby king since she never stopped moving and was constantly hunting my fingers.

At her size I wouldn't expect you to see feces with bedding in her tank. It is so incredibly small it blends right in! I've had my milk since last July and have seen poop only a few times and even then I had to look for it because it looked like darker aspen chips. When they get bigger it'll be cat-sized and will blow you over with smell. Enjoy while it is still baby bird sized!

Sounds like so much to look forward to. Lol.

 

Cornsnakes are actually pretty decent when it comes to eating and cleaning. I have a six year old female that is huge, she always eats even when shedding, and she goes once a week - in the same corner every time - so clean up is easy. I got her last year as a retired breeder, so the only downside is she is not used to being handled. Don't tell my others, but she is my favorite out my seven because she is so unfussy.

 

So it's been a while since this thread was updated.

Almost a month ago (May 16) is when we started having problems getting the little one to eat. As of today, she has fed 3 times since those problems.

We no longer run the heat lamp unless she's just been fed. We think it was dehydrating her because all she would do is curl up in the plant under it as close as she could get. I do think I need to work with her UTH to get the temps further perfected, but she is more active now.

We are still going with the guess of female for gender, and we have named her Nagini.

Now for my favorite news, when we put her back in her tank after feeding, we found her first shed skin! That means she's growing!!! Does anyone know of an easy yet effective way to preserve the skin?

Here it is



Here's a good shot of the head, complete with eye caps.



Here's a just because shot showing those shiny scales. She's hiding due to just feeding.

 

Nice! I really like that shed, I wish I had a snake, then I could feed the shed to my hermit crabs, they’d love it!

 

Nice! I really like that shed, I wish I had a snake, then I could feed the shed to my hermit crabs, they’d love it!

Does it have something in it good for inverts?

 

Does it have something in it good for inverts?

Yes, it has a lot of vitamins that are beneficial to them

 

I think she wasn't eating because she was shedding, as they will take food less often or not at all during the shed process.

 

I think she wasn't eating because she was shedding, as they will take food less often or not at all during the shed process.

Always a possibility, but she fed twice before the skin showed up. We learned that a little hole poked in the pinkie's head really gets her attention. I'm just glad she's eating and shedding now, being that that's the two big things to watch for.

 

If she refuses to eat, always check if her eyes are turning blue and if her skin is duller, those are signs of shed.

 

If she refuses to eat, always check if her eyes are turning blue and if her skin is duller, those are signs of shed.

We tried that. She already has light colored eyes and dusty colored skin. Lol. Otherwise it would have probably been a lot easier to tell. We did notice a difference in the texture of her skin though.

I've been trying to figure out when a good time would be to upgrade her from pinkies to fuzzies. I read about the 1.5 girth of food size compared to their thickest point, but that's kind of hard to determine because each food unit varies in size. Then I read something about if they can eat two pinkies then upgrade them. I didn't even know this was a thing. I figured they would always only eat one of anything. So does anyone have any advice?

 

So glad she is doing so well for you!!

I saved my first snake's shed in a glass jar. They get brittle over time!

I can't tell when my little ones are going to shed either, they go through the cycle so fast! The blue eyes only last a small amount of time and then they go back to looking normal, or a little darker than normal. It's hard to notice when they are young, my eastern milksnake surprises me every time. My adults, I can see coming.

I upgrade when they swallow dinner too easily, they should have to take a little time getting stuff down. If they slam it back fast then something bigger may be a better choice, however they can injure themselves trying to eat something too big. My kingsnake has peeled scales off the edges of his mouth and also ended up with swelling after I misjudged his size. (He is stupid and stubborn and won't back off or give up, took him two hours on one occasion but he succeeded.)

Many snakes will take multiple meals if given the chance, but they can also overeat and in some cases bring dinner back up. (Not fun.) You sometimes have to just go with what looks right for them, especially since not all meals will be exactly the same. I have an adult milk with a genetic metabolic disorder, and all he can physically swallow is pinks, so we do four to six per feeding. Remember that if they find a nest in the wild, they are going to take advantage of the easy meal and pack down as many as they can, and then slither off to digest for weeks. Doesn't mean it's the healthiest thing for them!

The difference from pinks to fuzzies is often more than double the mass depending on the source, but if you have someone willing to sort through for the right size you can do a gradual change over time! I use a small digital scale to track the gram weight of which feeders have worked the best. Also helps if you ever go to order online, as they sort their stock by weight.

 

So glad she is doing so well for you!!

I saved my first snake's shed in a glass jar. They get brittle over time!
Up
I can't tell when my little ones are going to shed either, they go through the cycle so fast! The blue eyes only last a small amount of time and then they go back to looking normal, or a little darker than normal. It's hard to notice when they are young, my eastern milksnake surprises me every time. My adults, I can see coming.

I upgrade when they swallow dinner too easily, they should have to take a little time getting stuff down. If they slam it back fast then something bigger may be a better choice, however they can injure themselves trying to eat something too big. My kingsnake has peeled scales off the edges of his mouth and also ended up with swelling after I misjudged his size. (He is stupid and stubborn and won't back off or give up, took him two hours on one occasion but he succeeded.)

Many snakes will take multiple meals if given the chance, but they can also overeat and in some cases bring dinner back up. (Not fun.) You sometimes have to just go with what looks right for them, especially since not all meals will be exactly the same. I have an adult milk with a genetic metabolic disorder, and all he can physically swallow is pinks, so we do four to six per feeding. Remember that if they find a nest in the wild, they are going to take advantage of the easy meal and pack down as many as they can, and then slither off to digest for weeks. Doesn't mean it's the healthiest thing for them!

The difference from pinks to fuzzies is often more than double the mass depending on the source, but if you have someone willing to sort through for the right size you can do a gradual change over time! I use a small digital scale to track the gram weight of which feeders have worked the best. Also helps if you ever go to order online, as they sort their stock by weight.

Yeah I read somewhere that people feed them a certain percentage of their mass or weight per feeding. That seems really in depth. I wouldn't know where to start. So far I've bought one of the little boxes of frozen pinkies from PetSmart. They're Arctic Mice brand, 6 per box. I was just looking at some random sites to order from too, but good grief......$30-45 shipping on dry ice?

EDIT: Anyway, I'm thinking about trying to feed her 2 pinkies next time. She kind of seemed to still be on the hunt when this last one got all the way down to her stomach area, but we didn't figure she'd eat another. Now only problem is,......we only have one pinkie left.

 

Update on Nagini!

We were going to try feeding 2 pinkies, but the store here apparently doesn't sell pinkies for some odd unbeknownst reason. So we found the smallest single fuzzy they had and got it.

Long story short, she actually managed to eat it (haha, it took an hour and a half). I don't know if we're going to try that again next feeding though. Might do multiple pinkies instead.

This is what she looked like after her first fuzzy. Should we continue with them or go back to pinkies?

 

It doesn’t hurt, but you’ll have to lessen the feeding between each meal probably. I used to have a garter snake that ate a whole adult mouse and it looked like an anaconda that swallowed a caiman.

 

It doesn’t hurt, but you’ll have to lessen the feeding between each meal probably. I used to have a garter snake that ate a whole adult mouse and it looked like an anaconda that swallowed a caiman.

So probably don't even try to feed next week?

 

If it hasn’t digested it yet then no.

 

Hoo boo! Little pinkies. Poor pinkies.

Snake looks good according to hubby though.

 

Hoo boo! Little pinkies. Poor pinkies.

Snake looks good according to hubby though.

What do you think Gypsy? That’s a pretty big meal the snake has taken. Should he fast it for a bit even after it poops? I’m pretty sure I fasted longer than normal after feeding a snake a lbig meal.

 

What do you think Gypsy? That’s a pretty big meal the snake has taken. Should he fast it for a bit even after it poops? I’m pretty sure I fasted longer than normal after feeding a snake a lbig meal.

If it was a big enough meal to make it look huge, fasting for a bit is a very good idea. When a snake is fed too much too often it’s digestive system actually slows down. Have to remember in the wild they may catch something once or twice a month. Just like every being, happy is easier if healthy. Look at our fish for example. What does over feeding lead to? All kinds of nasty problems. In other words, you are correct sir.

 

Thanks for verifying. I haven't kept snakes in a long time, so I wanted to be sure that JLeeM got the correct info.

I wholeheartedly agree about feeding. Sometimes I fast longer than normal, and sometimes snakes just don't want to eat.

 

Thanks for verifying. I haven't kept snakes in a long time, so I wanted to be sure that JLeeM got the correct info.

I wholeheartedly agree about feeding. Sometimes I fast longer than normal, and sometimes snakes just don't want to eat.

I love snakes. We’ve got tons in the yard all the time. Even rattlers and copperheads. Would love to have a pet one but couldn’t feed it. Especially somebody’s babies. I’m just pitiful. Lol

 

Alrighty, we'll probably skip a week feeding her then. Really don't want to overfeed her. Especially since she is a corn snake, which are apparently prone to becoming grotesquely overweight.

 

Alrighty, we'll probably skip a week feeding her then. Really don't want to overfeed her. Especially since she is a corn snake, which are apparently prone to becoming grotesquely overweight.

Yes. Then they are miserable and it shows. Kind of like the whites tree frog. It’s not meant to look like Jaba the Hut! I’ve got so many here. They’re big tree frogs but look fit and healthy. Your slitherbaby should be able to be active and beautiful.


Btw, hubby just asked what size dog did you feed it. It must truly be full! Lol

 

Btw, hubby just asked what size dog did you feed it. It must truly be full

Lol. Yeah, I actually was wondering how good of an idea it was to try a fuzzy when she struck it. She did manage to squeeze around it though, after an hour and a half. Don't think we're going to do that again for a while. It was just all the local store had.

 

Lol. Yeah, I actually was wondering how good of an idea it was to try a fuzzy when she struck it. She did manage to squeeze around it though, after an hour and a half. Don't think we're going to do that again for a while. It was just all the local store had.

Like family reunion mealtime. Not very often. Lol.