| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| n/a |
Posted - 30/08/2010 : 12:09:03
Hi guys,
I've always had problems feeding my corn Cherry. She has always seemed almost scared of food. ive tried all the usual suggested things. I've really run out of things to try and am beginning to get really concerned. She's two years old and 3 foot long. but she only weighs 130g. My other two corns who are both a year younger than she is are now the same size as her and weigh more. I feed them all (or try to!) every five days and the other two never refuse. But im lucky if cherry will eat one fuzzy every two months. She feels completely different from the other two, muscle-wise. They seem smooth and rounded whereas cherry feels boney and tense. I asked a rep shop guy a couple of months ago and he said she looked fine but to me she seems to be getting worse.
She's never been very active. She stays in her cave all the time and i rarely see her out. She fine with being held and is very friendly.
I took pics of her today and will post them later and maybe you guys can let me know if she looks underweight to you.
Any advice would be great.
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| 10 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Kellog |
Posted - 07/10/2010 : 12:54:13
That is fantastic news Aimee....I had been wondering how things were going with Cherry. But you did all the things you needed to do....which was stop panicking (and I know thats a lot easier said than done!), followed the advice given and also followed your instincts as to what she needed....and, so far, its worked  .
Thanks so much for letting us know and I hope that it continues, there really isnt any reason why it shouldnt!
xxx
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| gingerpony |
Posted - 07/10/2010 : 10:39:00
congrats
and thanks for the update |
| n/a |
Posted - 07/10/2010 : 09:39:08
Hey guys, a million apologies for not replying sooner. I've had no internet and no computer. Its been a tough month! lol
Anyways i just wanted to post a quick update on cherry's (non) eating saga.
I'm happy to report that for the last 6 weeks Cherry has successfully fed! I'm so pleased, proud and relieved.
I re-weighed all three of my babies the other day and was very pleased with the progress all of them had made but was especially pleased to note that Cherry had caught up with the other two.
I feel at this point i need to touch wood. It's still early days i guess.
I think that now that we're slightly out of the woods i can take a step back and identify a few things that were probably my own rookie mistakes.
When Cherry started to become fussy with her food i panicked and the more panicked i became as the weeks went by the more she seemed to not want to eat. I would be constantly monitoring her and trying all the suggested methods to get her to eat and most likely (definitely) stressing her out in the process. My anxiety got worse and worse and it got to the point where my frustration and worry was probably really really unhelpful.
After posting this topic i was at my wits end and felt i was out of options. However, having taken a step back and looked at the situation calmly i was able to come up with a few things that *fingers crossed* seem to have worked.
I bought some Reptoboost and have been using it in her water. I have made her tank much smaller by sectioning off over a foot of the overall tank size (it's a VX 36). I have left her alone apart from daily water changes and spot checks. And most importantly when it comes to feeding i just leave her to it. Instead of bringing her to the food as i would used to do, i now quietly place the defrosted warm mouse in her favourite cave over the heat mat, turn off all the lights in the room and leave the room for half an hour. Each time, so far, since trying this i have come back to no mouse and a plump very happy snake.
Basically the point to this message is to let anybody else having similar feeding issues know that panicking just doesn't help. Just take a step back and think logically and calmly about the problem. Let your snake feed in his or her own time. I hope this helps.
Cheers guys,
A very pleased and relived mummy. |
| gingerpony |
Posted - 30/08/2010 : 22:36:29
whats her set up temps and like?
is her viv in a busy area?
what exactly have you tried?
i'd certainly NOT try her every 5 days as this will be stressful for her. move her into a smaller enclosure if you can and leave her covered over, undisturbed (except for water) for at least 10-14days then try leaving a small food item in with her overnight |
| gingerpony |
Posted - 30/08/2010 : 22:33:12
quote:
Originally posted by Scarlett
I wouldn't say try a chick, they hold no nutritional value for corn's so it'd be pointless still.
if she takes it it's a start...........it certainly wouldn't hurt to try |
| Scarlett |
Posted - 30/08/2010 : 22:31:03
I wouldn't say try a chick, they hold no nutritional value for corn's so it'd be pointless still. |
| princessbroxy |
Posted - 30/08/2010 : 21:54:43
hi I'm no expert but have you tried her with a rat pup i know there high in fat content but if she takes it then it will be a win win situation not only will she be feeding but also putting on weight failing that try her with a chick but this is only to start her eating again as apparently they don't get the nutrition etc they need or get from a mouse or rat...hope this helps |
| n/a |
Posted - 30/08/2010 : 15:21:35
ha ha yeah i meant cms. i will try and get the pics up later tonight.
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| kdlang |
Posted - 30/08/2010 : 15:18:23
I assume you mean centimeters not inchs lol otherwise they would be mahoosive. As a comparison, I have a 2yr old that is about 3ft and he weighs double what Cherry does but then he is eating 2 small mice every 7 days soon to be going up to 1 medium. I know all snakes do differ tho so photos would help the experts to see if she is underweight. |
| n/a |
Posted - 30/08/2010 : 12:25:35
Ok i just weighed and measured each of my snakes to provide a comparison:
Cherry darling (2yrs old): 98 inches long. 130g.
Magenta (1 yrs old): 85 inches long. 136g
Riff Raff (1 yrs old): 84 inches long. 124g
Do these measurements sound fairly normal?
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