| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| n/a |
Posted - 28/11/2010 : 15:04:04
Hi everyone. This is my first post. My son is 16 and has had a cornsnake for 6 years now. Setup is as follows
huge fish aquariam
aspen substrate
hide
basking log
under tank heater
ceramic heat emitter
1 frozen fuzzy or small mouse every 7-10 days
Butch has been fine in the setup for years now. However, he doesn't want to eat. My son is getting very concerned as he has not eaten in 2 weeks now. It seems Butch did this last year as well. Could he be brumating?
I had my son give him a lukewarm 5 minute bath last night as my son mentioned he looked "kinda gray". I figured maybe he is going thru a bad shed and told my son that the warm water would help hydrate him and help him shed. Son said that is really "calmed Butch down" after his bath.
I have no idea on his weight at the moment. I need to pick up a scale in order to weigh him.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. We are very attached to Butch and don't want anything to be wrong with him.
Thanks! |
| 20 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| eeji |
Posted - 28/11/2010 : 22:34:48
him getting ready to shed coupled with the time of year is the most likely cause for him not eating so nothing to worry about. You may find that after he has shed he might continue to refuse food, or at least not take it as often.
A few pointers from your posts:
* All heat sources need a thermostat, a pulse stat or mat stat for the heatmat and a dimmer stat or pulse stat for the ceramic.
* Thermometer goes in the warm end
* He seems quite small for a 6 year old so once he starts eating again from your photos he should easily take a medium or large mouse every 7-10 days. While he's been fussy stay with the small mice (fuzzys won't touch the sides!) he's more likely to eat these.
* my eldest corn is 7 years old and around 4.5' (average-ish)
* Despite Butch's relatively 'shortness' don't worry about it too much, he looks in great shape :)
....and welcome to TCS! :D you'll have to post some pics of Butch once he's shed to show off his true shiny beauty!
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| Sta~ple |
Posted - 28/11/2010 : 19:33:58
They can vary greatly in size, I think 3ft-6ft with 4-5 being the average. |
| n/a |
Posted - 28/11/2010 : 19:27:55
Ok..we will thin the substrate out. Can someone post a pic for me of what a 6 yr old corn should look like? |
| SexyBear77 |
Posted - 28/11/2010 : 18:17:24
Whoa, he's a weeny boy for 6!
I would definitely thin out the substrate a fair bit over that mat. The heat from the mat might be blocking and building under all that, which means that when Butch burrows he might run the risk of getting burnt.
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| n/a |
Posted - 28/11/2010 : 17:57:34
UTH is on the left side of the tank. |
| n/a |
Posted - 28/11/2010 : 17:56:00
Pictures were taken less than an hour ago.
Substrate is thick, yes. He likes to burrow and make lots of tunnels. His tunnels go all the way down to the glass bottom so I don't think that is an issue but then again, I don't know which is why I am here. :-) |
| Sta~ple |
Posted - 28/11/2010 : 17:51:59
Looks like he's getting ready to shed to me :) he is quite a tiny boy for his age but I still think he could manage a medium mouse easily! He has a very sweet face though! :) what side is the heat mat on? The substrate looks quite thick everywhere, just wondering if he can't get to enough heat with lots of it there and he's trying to hibernate? |
| gmac |
Posted - 28/11/2010 : 17:48:50
does crtainly look large enough to be taking bigger prey, when he is eating again try moving him up food sizes slowly. Ideally you want to feed prey that will leave a bump in his bely, I would be surprised if there is one with feeding fuzzies and smalls.
Also in that last photo he is very much in blue, was this taken today? |
| n/a |
Posted - 28/11/2010 : 17:38:44
Oh for Pete's sake...I started a new thread called Pics instead of replying here. Can a Mod move that to this thread please?
* sorted |
| n/a |
Posted - 28/11/2010 : 17:35:28
Ok...he is 32 inches long. he wouldnt stay stretched out long enough to get a picture of his length though. His eyes look cloudy. what could that be? |
| gmac |
Posted - 28/11/2010 : 17:16:04
quote:
Originally posted by Butchsgrandma
The under tank heater is a zoo-med 6x8 inches and is on one side of the tank. I do not have a thermometer in the tank. I have one two on order for my beardie tank so I will take one of those when it arrives and put it in Butch's tank. What's the best location in the tank to place the thermometer?
if you only have one thermometer, i would keep it in the hot end on the substrate, not much you can do about the cool end temps as they will more than likely be at room temp.
and to just check you also say you have a ceramic heat bulb, do you use a thermostat to regulate either of these heat sources. |
| Sta~ple |
Posted - 28/11/2010 : 17:14:04
I think one thermometer is enough for a corn, just need one in the hot end. It's not like you can do a lot with the cool end temp that is room temperature anyway. Maybe if you have a stack of viv's then maybe since of the whole heat rising.
It's also easy to manage without a proper therometre and a proper stat, I managed for 8/9 years.
Best place to put the thermometer is inside the tank since it's glass, lying direct on the glass on the side which the heatmat is on. |
| lotabob |
Posted - 28/11/2010 : 16:58:22
You'd need more than 1 thermometer ideally, to monitor the hot end and cold end, the MOST important bit is a thermostat though to regulate how hot the mat can get. Without they can get too hot, leading to anything from a snake who is constantly in the cold end to an overheating mat catching fire. I tested my mat and just plugged it in and watched how hot in went, it hit 38 degrees in half an hour, about 10 degrees too hot for a corn snake. How have you managed without a thermometer for 6 years? |
| n/a |
Posted - 28/11/2010 : 16:53:16
We assume he's male. I don't know how to sex a snake. He could be a Butchette :-)
The under tank heater is a zoo-med 6x8 inches and is on one side of the tank. I do not have a thermometer in the tank. I have one two on order for my beardie tank so I will take one of those when it arrives and put it in Butch's tank. What's the best location in the tank to place the thermometer?
Pictures coming shortly..charging my camera battery now. |
| lotabob |
Posted - 28/11/2010 : 16:48:31
Question to the experienced.
Could the small food size combined with a drop in temperature trigger an almost hibernation state?
Would the solution be increase size or frequency of feeding and increase temperatures?
(sorry thread-jacking, but best to ask if its somewhere near relevant). |
| herriotfan |
Posted - 28/11/2010 : 16:39:20
It could well be to do with the much colder weather and they seem to have an inbuilt season sensor!
Is the mat working on a thermostat so that you can regulate/set the temperature?
Try not to worry too much, snakes can go a long time without feeding.
I would be a great help if you could post some photos with the snake against a ruler so we can give you a good idea what size mice would be correct, the ones he's on sound rather small for a six year old male.  |
| gmac |
Posted - 28/11/2010 : 16:33:42
do you use a thermostat to regulate the heat sources?.
and yes photobucket is fine |
| n/a |
Posted - 28/11/2010 : 16:30:17
What do you mean by the heat source being statted?
Yes, he only eats small mice or larger size fuzzy's. I think he is rather small for 6 years old.
I will try to get a pic posted shortly. Same as posting in other forums...photobucket and upload the image??
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| SexyBear77 |
Posted - 28/11/2010 : 16:12:53
As gmac said. Also, is your heat source statted?
How big is he? At 6 years old I would expect him to be on large mice at least. |
| Sta~ple |
Posted - 28/11/2010 : 15:24:51
Is the snake about 6years old and does he normally eat fuzzies or small mice? |
