| T O P I C R E V I E W |
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Posted - 15/11/2009 : 20:19:32
hi i recently did a swap and got a baby amel corn snake , i was told it sheds and eats fine . since i have had it (over 2 weeks ) it had not yet eaten and wouldnt eat i tried all the known methods but still wouldnt touch it . the snake is that small its probably never had a meal in its life .
so i decided force feeding was the only way , i tried doing it with a full tiny pinky but it was a little to big . so in the end i managed to get it to eat a pinky head and a mealworm ( freshly killed ) that was dipped in nutribol .
what other method could i use ? i was thinking of feeding it a pinky head and a few meal worms each week untill i can get it onto a full pinky then try and get it to eat on its own from there .
any advice or help would be greatly appreciated. Matt |
| 20 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
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Posted - 18/11/2009 : 18:18:37
quote:
Originally posted by reptiledanny
hows she doin now, is she eatin yet? fingers crossed!
havnt tried feeding her again yet goin to leave it a few more days to give her chance to fully digest everything . and to make sure she goes to the toilet ok .
yeah its the cob stuff i know its not great but i have used it for years and always fed out of the viv so never had a problem with it .
hopefully she will start to feed by herself within the next few feeds . |
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Posted - 17/11/2009 : 17:33:04
quote:
Originally posted by SexyBear77
quote:
Originally posted by snakeyshaun
quote:
Originally posted by SexyBear77
I would seriously consider investing i 1 or 2 digital thermometers, the glass one wont be very accurate at all. Also, from experience, stats are useless at getting to and maintaining the right temp. When setting up my second viv (minus snake) I set the stat to 30c and it got to 44, dropped to 26, and then went back up to 30. By fiddling around for a few days with the aid of the digi thermometer I was able to get the stat to the right temp.
One of my dials reads 25, the other 23.
Can i ask how are stats useless? all my stats work fine never had that problem. Without it you would risk over heating and cooking your snake so i wouldnt say there usless at all lol. Could be something wrong with your stat :)
Thanks HannahB, I did in fact mean that you cannot trust them to maintain the heat the dial is set to.
I know perfectly well the dangers of not having a stat; thats why I have them. The dialsare very inaccurate, hence why I recommended you get some digital thermometers.
Opps my bad sorry lol read it wrong  |
| SexyBear77 |
Posted - 17/11/2009 : 14:26:10
quote:
Originally posted by snakeyshaun
quote:
Originally posted by SexyBear77
I would seriously consider investing i 1 or 2 digital thermometers, the glass one wont be very accurate at all. Also, from experience, stats are useless at getting to and maintaining the right temp. When setting up my second viv (minus snake) I set the stat to 30c and it got to 44, dropped to 26, and then went back up to 30. By fiddling around for a few days with the aid of the digi thermometer I was able to get the stat to the right temp.
One of my dials reads 25, the other 23.
Can i ask how are stats useless? all my stats work fine never had that problem. Without it you would risk over heating and cooking your snake so i wouldnt say there usless at all lol. Could be something wrong with your stat :)
Thanks HannahB, I did in fact mean that you cannot trust them to maintain the heat the dial is set to.
I know perfectly well the dangers of not having a stat; thats why I have them. The dialsare very inaccurate, hence why I recommended you get some digital thermometers. |
| HannahB |
Posted - 17/11/2009 : 07:13:09
quote:
Originally posted by mx1_champ
as for substrate i have just put her on corn chipping
if thats the stuff made from corn cob centres then id probably change it, if snakey swallows a bit accidentally then it can expand in the stomach/gut causing some major vets bills 
hope the little one starts to feed ok soon
snakeyshaun, i think SB was meaning without digital thermometers you cant accurately read the temp in the viv with just a stat, |
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Posted - 17/11/2009 : 05:09:20
quote:
Originally posted by SexyBear77
I would seriously consider investing i 1 or 2 digital thermometers, the glass one wont be very accurate at all. Also, from experience, stats are useless at getting to and maintaining the right temp. When setting up my second viv (minus snake) I set the stat to 30c and it got to 44, dropped to 26, and then went back up to 30. By fiddling around for a few days with the aid of the digi thermometer I was able to get the stat to the right temp.
One of my dials reads 25, the other 23.
Can i ask how are stats useless? all my stats work fine never had that problem. Without it you would risk over heating and cooking your snake so i wouldnt say there usless at all lol. Could be something wrong with your stat :) |
| reptiledanny |
Posted - 16/11/2009 : 19:33:36
hows she doin now, is she eatin yet? fingers crossed! |
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Posted - 16/11/2009 : 15:29:09
Champ, get and add this to her drinking water:
http://www.888reptiles.co.uk/productdetails.php?ProductID=2943&ProductGroupID=1422
Also bath her in it (check water temp first with a thermometer to make sure it's not too warm)
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Posted - 15/11/2009 : 23:22:06
yeah she appears to like them and is investigating just hope everything works out well now . yeah i will get a few ordered just keep falling to the back of my mind and end up forgetting like everything else , will order some asap |
| SexyBear77 |
Posted - 15/11/2009 : 23:18:59
Sounds good Champ, glad she likes the chippings!
I have 4 of these, they are great-
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/DIGITAL-THERMOMETER-FAST-POSTAGE_W0QQitemZ330371168254QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Pet_Supplies_Reptiles_Spiders_Insects?hash=item4ceba7f7fe |
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Posted - 15/11/2009 : 23:12:11
i have a hand held digi one that i use to check the temps a few times a week and it always reads the same ish temp . think i will defo have to get another in tank one though , used to have a few but they went missing .
as for substrate i have just put her on corn chipping and she burrowed under pretty much instantly and has stayed there foe the last few mins , so hopefully that might help a bit , i have lowered the temp a bit more as i know some snakes just prefer it a bit cooler .
plattsy help with what ? |
| SexyBear77 |
Posted - 15/11/2009 : 23:03:56
I would seriously consider investing i 1 or 2 digital thermometers, the glass one wont be very accurate at all. Also, from experience, stats are useless at getting to and maintaining the right temp. When setting up my second viv (minus snake) I set the stat to 30c and it got to 44, dropped to 26, and then went back up to 30. By fiddling around for a few days with the aid of the digi thermometer I was able to get the stat to the right temp.
One of my dials reads 25, the other 23. |
| n/a |
Posted - 15/11/2009 : 22:59:22
i have lost the camera cable , i am using kitchen roll as substrate at the min but may swap to corn chip's or what ever its called didnt think of the burrowing part .
the mat stat is pretty accurate have checked in with a digi and its been very close to the stat temp . i have a glass thermometer in there at the min to keep a eye on temps . |
| SexyBear77 |
Posted - 15/11/2009 : 22:52:32
Is she on a substrate that she can burrow into? Like aspen? that may help.
Also, why dont you post pictures of your set-up.
Just thought... is your mat monitored by a digital thermometer or do you just go by the dial? the stat dials are really inaccurate, so if not monitored there is a good chance you have been cooking your snake! |
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Posted - 15/11/2009 : 22:45:26
the hides are small , i have tried alsorts from... small exo terra caves , toilet roll tubes with covered up ends with a smallish hole in the middle ( then same again with slightly bigger hole ) small containers with little holes in . i have spent the last 2 weeks ( had her 3 weeks but let her settle for a week ) or so trying everything going but with no avail .
i am really running out of idea's with this one the rep shop i phoned told me what to do but i had already done everything he suggested . |
| SexyBear77 |
Posted - 15/11/2009 : 22:38:24
If your snake never uses the hides then it could be that they arent to her liking. Too big, to open, or doorways facing outwards are common reasons for not using hides. Corns like small, dark spaces where their coils can touch the sides.
If she doesnt use the hides and lives up near the lid then your snake may be stressed- and a stressed snake wont feed. |
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Posted - 15/11/2009 : 22:33:28
its got 2 hides , but never uses either . its always sat at the top of the rub around were the lid goes .
yeah gonna try more smaller pieces of pinky next week , main priority was just getting some food in her so i knew she would stand a better chance of surviving .
yeah herd of reptiboost , but the nearest decent rep shop is quite far away and hard for me to get to so for the meantime nutribol was the next best thing .
will give the tuna and egg yolk and marmite a go next week and see were that gets me . |
| HannahB |
Posted - 15/11/2009 : 22:24:09
if you cut the pieces of pinkie small enough they will be easier for the snake to eat than a pinkie head,
another thing to help her get the nutrients she needs without the mealworm is reptoboost, put some in her water and if neccessary give her a short bath in the stuff, will help her get some extra nutrients while shes not feeding,
have you tried tuna scenting and dipping it in an egg yolk? someone told me marmite can work - a friend of the breeder i got most of mine from swears by it, didnt work for me but it might for someone on here! |
| SexyBear77 |
Posted - 15/11/2009 : 22:10:43
2 hides? Or just the 1? corns need a hide at both ends of the viv or faun to allow for good thermoregulation. |
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Posted - 15/11/2009 : 22:05:19
pinky pump was just a idea , but i have tried everything goin and if this baby hasnt fed since it was born ( ive owned it 3 weeks , and its never been to the toilet whilst i have had it ) so its probably atleast 1 1/2 or 2 months old and never had a feed so im running outta time with this one . i will keep of the meal worms and just try feeding a few bits of pinky .
yeah im sure its set up is fine i have been keeping snakes for 6-7+ years now and never had a problem with any of them . it is set up on a thermostat set at 30oc and with a hide and water bowl in a small rub , less than half the tank is heated also . |
| SexyBear77 |
Posted - 15/11/2009 : 21:49:15
tbh I would rather let my snake go hungry a wee while longer than force feed it an insect. Their digestive systems just arent designed for that, and you risk doing far more harm than good.
I really would try every other method at least once more before trying a pinkie pump, that too is incredibly stressful and only for very experienced handlers and keepers. Watching videos on that sort of thing just isnt enough.
Are you sure everything with the snakes set-up is ok? If so, and it still isnt eating, I would leave it with an experienced keeper or shop until it all gets sorted, or at least get them to check your force feeding method. |
