| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| tehbunneh |
Posted - 28/05/2010 : 18:48:06
Hi all!
I'm really new to corn snakes, and this is an issue that has popped up with my newest addition to the family, Ripley. He once belonged to my brother, who got him about 4-6months ago (exact date is unknown to me, being a 3 hour drive away X33).
Ripley escaped from his vivarium 2 days later, the second snake to have done so. There were no holes and no gaps he could have gotten through, so it was a bit of a mystery, but my brother decided that perhaps he was not very good at looking after snakes, and went on to Bearded Dragons, of which he is having MASSES of success with.
However, about 4 days ago, Ripley turned up. The first hot day of June, and he was swept up, quite accidentally mind, by my mother out on the garden patio, eating a far too large vole. She managed to pick him up and put him into a tank with a securely clipping lid, and he hasn't seemed to have harmed himself nor regurgitated this vole he was eating. He has since been offered (and accepted) to myself to own, as, with the Beardies, my brother cannot find the room nor the time the little guy will need.
I am a little worried as to a few things, and I hope this is in the right place to ask such general questions - I'm hoping someone may have had a similar experience, or know of what to do in such situations:
a) When should we next feed him? We are unsure of when he last shed, and only know of the large vole he has eaten.
b) What type of frozen mouse should I try to wean him onto once I can start feeding again? I know this relates to the size of his head (1.5x the size I believe), but should I try and graduate the sizes down so that the size of the last meal is accounted for?
c) Is there a possibility that he will need to be checked over at a reptile place/vets to make sure he is a'ok after his ordeal outside? He seems to have handled it pretty well, though no one has handled him yet to ascertain if there is any damage done to him by tackling such a large vole, nor if he may have picked up any parasites. Should this be the first call of duty once we can handle him?
Any other information you guys could help me with would be fantastic. I'm really looking forward to owning this guy, and have checked out all the reptile places in my area to ensure that I have a good selection of places to get information and advice once he has moved here with me.
I do apologise if this is in the wrong forum ^^'''
Thanks again! |
| 9 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Mouse |
Posted - 01/06/2010 : 11:44:48
Good luck! glad he's safely back!!! |
| tehbunneh |
Posted - 31/05/2010 : 17:55:06
Yeah, my parents and brother did a lot of research when they first considered getting Flo, and my dad has many corn snake breeding friends, who gave a lot of advise in the first instance. I will be phoning tonight, so I will ask then if they have any thermometers in there. I believe my bro has some in with his beardies, so they may have put one of those in there with Ripley, to make sure he didn't bake ^^
As for his poo, no, I don't know what it looks like. I will try and get a reasonable answer from my parents later XDD |
| Kellog |
Posted - 31/05/2010 : 03:06:53
It is great to hear how well he is doing Emz....and how well your mum and dad are doing looking after him. If he was on 2 pinkies before he escaped then I would have thought that it is definitely worth offering him 2 pinkies when it is feeding time. As he still has a bump in him and is still pooing it is probably taking him longer to digest the vole than the normal 48hrs, probably because it was a prey item that was really too big for his digestive system (but it shows what they can handle!). I would THINK it a good idea to wait until the bump has disappeared and he has gone a few days without poos before offering him food....but I am NO EXPERT, so wait and see what others may have to say.
I know this sounds gross but do you have any idea what his poos were like....colour/consistency? I know it is not something usually discussed  but it could give an idea as to what is going on in his gut.
Am glad he is on a heatmat. Do you know if it has a thermostat and if the temp in the tank is being monitored by digital thermometers? If not then it is vital that a thermostat is got as soon as possible, heatmats can overheat and you dont want a burnt snake after all he has been through - I dont want to scaremonger but it is an important piece of equipment....as is the digital thermometer so you can be 100% sure of what the temps are.
It does all sound really positive though and I know I cant wait til you get him under your care  !!
xxx
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| tehbunneh |
Posted - 30/05/2010 : 22:49:24
I will have to check up with the parents on a lot of these questions, but I am hoping to be going home in the next two-three weeks, so will be able to get the majority of the information to you then!
The tank he is in is one of those clippable, grate-topped plastic fish-tanks that can house, like... one goldfish at a stretch. He has been in it for just over a week, so I am assuming it is snake-proof. I will be checking over the viv when I return home to check if it is now snake-proof. I saw an image of Zebedee (sorry, can't remember who owned him) who was squeezing out from between the two sheets of glass at the front of his tank - this leads me to believe that both may have escaped this way, and I will be making sure there is either a) new sheets of glass on the front or b) a piece of card slotted and stuck in so that he cannot get through again!
I will definitely look around both Surrey and Worcester for a suitable vets, and take a sample and possibly him to them in order to get him checked over - it seems like a good idea, considering his adventure.
I believe when he escaped he was on two small pinkies every saturday. He was slightly bigger then Flo was when she first arrived, as as was in the large but flat RUB - Trigger (the one that Ripley replaced as he was VERY aggressive) was also very small and only on one pinky, as was Flo. I will certainly refer back to this very helpful guide, as it will help me deduce the sort of feeding schedule I should have with him in order for him to grow well!
I believe he is being heated by heating mat at the moment, place under the plastic of the tank, and only over one side. He is on paper-towel as they did not have any substrate at the time, but I will tell them to continue this and look out for mites or blood specks. He is said to have done a number of poos now, though he did still have the large bump of vole in his middle, so that may have been other prey he had gotten hold of. He seems to be very resourceful!
As soon as I get concrete knowledge of what his set up is (possibly with some pictures as soon as I can!) I will come back and let you all know how he is doing - from what I've heard, he is doing really well ^^ |
| Kellog |
Posted - 29/05/2010 : 03:42:54
What an adventure poor Ripley has been on Emz. I am just so glad your mum 'swept him up' and found him when she did. The fact that he was eating a vole at the time just shows how hardy corns are and that they can survive for a long time after we have given up hope. (Who knows, maybe Flo will turn up one of these days and you will find you have a 2nd corn too adopt!)
I think one of the first things you need to be sure of is that his tank is escape proof. I know that your brother thought that his vivs were, but he was proved wrong....so the smallest holes need to be covered, you would be amazed how much a corn can flatten its body and squeeze through the tiniest gap  .
Kehhlyr has given you some really good advice. I have mentioned this in my welcome to you, but he needs to be left for a week so that he can recover from his ordeal, the stress of being found and being in new surroundings, and so that he can slowly get used to your smell and not feel threatened by you. Now, if my memory serves me right (which it often doesnt  ), you are not at home at the moment....so you will need to pass on these suggestions to whoever is looking after him. When you move him to where you are living he will again need time to settle in....although he will have got used to his tank he will need to recover from the trip and will need the time to get used to you.
Getting a faecal sample checked is a really good idea. It may also be sensible to put down kitchen roll instead of substrate in his tank for a bit. This way you (or whoever is looking after him) can check the kitchen roll easily to see if there are any black specks (mites) or red dots (blood from the bites of external parasites). I know a check up with a vet is not cheap but it is probably a good idea, especially as you know he has been outside. Try and make sure that it is a vet that has experience with snakes, so it may be worthwhile ringing around first....maybe ask your local reptile shop or pet shop for a recommendation.
What food was he on when he escaped? There is a VERY ROUGH guide you can use to give you a basic idea of what size food he should be on....but I know forum members whose snakes should supposedly be on a certain size cos of their weight but arent big enough for them yet, so you should only use it in conjunction with common sense and a knowledge of your snake, it should not be followed religiously.
Snake (4 – 15g) = 1 Pinkie (0.5 – 3g) - feed every 5 to 6 days
Snake (16 – 23g) = 2 pinkies (3 – 4g) - feed every 5 to 6 days
Snake (24 – 30g) = small fuzzy (3 – 6g) - feed every 6 to 7 days
Snake (30 – 50g) = fuzzy (7 – 9g) - feed every 6 to 7 days
Snake (51 – 90g) = fluff/hoppers (7 – 12g) - feed every 6 to 7 days
Snake (91-170g) = Small Adult/Weaned (13-18g) - feed every 7 days
Snake (170g+) = Large (19 to 25g) - feed every 7 to x days
Snake (170+) = X large (30g +) - feed every 10 to x days
What Kehhlyr has said is right about feeding Ripley a prey item just slightly thicker than his body. It is important that the prey's girth is no wider than 1.5 times Ripley's body girth. It doesnt actually have anything to do with the size of your snake's head ....as their jaw dislocates to accommodate what they are fed....but more to do with what can fit in their body.
I would start out on a smaller size than you actually think Ripley needs, just to be sure and then feed him up very slowly. Dont be tempted to over-feed him cos you are worried he is underweight or has gone without food for so long. Once he is eating, the best guide is whether there is a bump after you have fed him, if there is no longer a bump then it is time to either increase his feed to multiples or move onto the next size.
Considering that he wasnt expecting to be found you were so lucky to have a tank handy to put him in. What sort of set-up is it? How is it heated, what are the temps and how are they being measured? Sorry for all the questions , it just would be good to double check that he has everything he needs....and I am sure you feel the same  .
And no need for the apology, you posted in the perfect place.
xxx
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| tehbunneh |
Posted - 29/05/2010 : 02:21:23
Thank you so much! That REALLY helped! I will do that as soon as I can, and I will get back you on on his size and health then ^^ |
| Kehhlyr |
Posted - 29/05/2010 : 01:18:40
Might be worth waiting until he has a nice big poo as well and getting a faecal test done at the vets on that to check for internal parasites, and when he's done it you'll be able to give a body inspection as well to check for any damage or external mites.
The rough guide to feed on is a prey item something fractionally thicker than his body, but up to a maximum of 1.5X thickness.
Depending on how long ago he fed, i'd personally leave him settle with very little interaction in the viv for about 7 days, then try him on an appropriate feed size on about the 10-12th day.
Once he's poo'd out the vole, if you can try to get a piccy of him with something like a biro next to him that'll give us an idea of scale to help recommend a feed size. |
| tehbunneh |
Posted - 28/05/2010 : 19:02:38
Yeeeah, this was preeetty bad. They tried for weeks to find them, pinkies in humane mouse traps, pinkies in cardboard boxes. Nothing coaxed them out. It was suggested they might have gone into the walls to hibernate. Ripley is the only one to have been found since, however. Flo, my brother's first, a candy-cane corn snake, still has not been found T^T |
| n/a |
Posted - 28/05/2010 : 18:59:42
omg i lost kellogs an i found him in my hairdryer n i thaught that was bad lol xx |
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