My corn is off his food.

[ruthupton]

My six month corn has stopped eating. I recently weighed him - he is 10g. He is roughly 14" long.

He spends all his time hidden under his bedding. If i disturb him in any way he just hides again. On the very few occassions that he comes out, if he comes across a pinkie he just looks at it and goes and hides again.

He last fed five days ago, just after a shed.

[Simon]

Going off food for 1 time isn't much of a problem....
they can last for a couple of weeks or even months if they're fat enough.

Try offering the food again in a few days...don't worry

[ruthupton]

Thanks. I am very new to this and have had no probs with my Cali King, though I have heard that they have very healthy appetites.

[ruthupton]

Panic over. I left a couple of pinkies in last night and around midnight he dragged them into his hide, one at a time. checked this morning and I had one content little man.

[BoidKeeper]

10g at six months, seems really small. My corns that were born in August now weigh over 100g.
They are born at about 7g. I think you need to check your scale it may be wrong.
Cheers,
Trevor

[ruthupton]

I have had him weighed on a very accurate set of scales. He is 14g so I am now very concerned. He is the width of a pencil and about 14" long at max.

[BoidKeeper]

How long have you had him? If you just got him it could be that he was under fed in order to control growth. A lot of breeders or stores don't feed their animals the way they should in order to keep them small. The smaller the snake, the smaller the cage. The smaller the cage the more cages. The more cages, the more snakes. The more snakes, the more money.
Your might just be one of those snakes.
Cheers,
Trevor

[ruthupton]

I bought snakie from the store the week after he had arrived there. There is a strong chance that he had not been fed properly prior to his arrival.

What can I do to help him build up his weight safely without over-stuffing him, please?

[BoidKeeper]

Feed him one item equal to his girth ever 5 days and keep a not spot of 88-90. This how I've kept all my corns and they grow like weeds. I got a femal last year that was 3yrs old. She was 570g when I got her, today she is almost 800g. I keep her warm and feed her a rat once a week.
For my hatchlings I move them up in food size every 20 meals. For example I feed them 20 fuzies then I go to hoppers. I one item every 5 days for the first year.
Good luck,
Trevor

[ruthupton]

Just a thought. I have been reading about snake poo. His seems a bit strange - black, runny but no white in it like normal poo. Could this be a sign of illness and if so, what?

[BoidKeeper]

Colubrid poo is pretty runny all the time even when they are not sick. I't a really good idea to take fecal sample to the vet to get it checked for internal paracites. If your snake is not gaining weight he could be carrying paracites. A fecal test will tell you that. If it is the vet can perscrib a number of drugs to help clear it up.
As for no white, the white is the urates. Make sure you corn has lots of fresh clean water available at all time,
Cheers,
Trevor

[ruthupton]

Thanks for your advice. I'll get him checked just to put my mind at rest.

[ruthupton]

My corn still is not feeding very well.

Today he passed the remains of his last meal and the smell was absolutely disgusting. I have never come across anything like it in my life - rotting blood would be a good description.

After the meal, he took a pinkie in his mouth but immediately spat it out.

The store said that he was fine but I am now thinking that I should get him checked over by a vet.

[BoidKeeper]

Agreed.
Keep us posted,
Trevor

[ruthupton]

I took him back to the store today. they thing there's something wrong with his digestive system.

They have swapped him - for the most beautiful Cali King. she has just fed and is coming around to shed. Black with narrow yellow banding.

I am very happy.

[Linds]

There could be any number of problems that caused your snake to regurgitate his meal. Parasitic and bacterial infections are common culprits. I wouldn't be inclined to believe there was something wrong with his digestive system. Anyways, hopefully there replacement snake is in better shape :)

[BoidKeeper]

So they are just going to sell it again to the next person, nothing was really solved here.
Cheaper to get a new snake then to go to the vet I guess:(
Trevor

[ruthupton]

No, they are not going to re-sell it. They have put it in quarantine until a vet can come in to check it. I know someone who works there and apparently they have a vet contracted to the place.

[BoidKeeper]

Well, then that is very cool. This is a first for me. Wish other stores would contract out a vet.
Cheers,
Trevor

[ruthupton]

I know. The person who runs the place is very good with the livestock. unfortunately the same cannot be said for the wholesalers and breeders.