View Full Version : New Snake Mom
I just got my first snake just over 2 months ago, apricot pueblan milk snake, he was a little baby. He has grown so much in such a short time. My worry is, when I first got him he ate 1 pinky, then 2, 3 and got up to 4 at a time and eating like a champ, then the last time he ate was 2-5-17 and only ate 2 pinkies. He is already on his 3rd shed but his belly didn't come off and is slowly flaking off. Temps and humidity are all in range. I'm just worried about him not eating.
Does anyone have any suggestions. I know he can go a little while without eating. he doesn't look like he is getting skinny or even lethargic. Man that guy is fast! Thank you all!!
jay's reptiles
02-21-17, 01:02 PM
if he still has shed on him, make sure to let him soak in luke warm water for about 30 minutes.
Aaron_S
02-21-17, 02:42 PM
I just got my first snake just over 2 months ago, apricot pueblan milk snake, he was a little baby. He has grown so much in such a short time. My worry is, when I first got him he ate 1 pinky, then 2, 3 and got up to 4 at a time and eating like a champ, then the last time he ate was 2-5-17 and only ate 2 pinkies. He is already on his 3rd shed but his belly didn't come off and is slowly flaking off. Temps and humidity are all in range. I'm just worried about him not eating.
Does anyone have any suggestions. I know he can go a little while without eating. he doesn't look like he is getting skinny or even lethargic. Man that guy is fast! Thank you all!!
Just move him upto a fuzzy or hopper sized mouse. Easier to feed one prey item than multiples.
Thank you, I read a little about letting him soak to get the old shed off. I'm sure he's not going to be happy about that.
Now on the fuzzy, if he won't eat a pinkie right now, do you think the fuzzy will entice him more and maybe eat? or just cause he still has some old scales still on his belly he's not eating
Thank you both for your help!!!!!
Just let him soak a bit to support him getting rid of the old shed... he could just be irritated to no end by it being stuck on his body that he refuses to eat. Also don't feed until he doesn't want more, milks and kingsnakes are genuine trashcans and literally just eat until they burst, but then need sufficient time to process all that.
How old/big is your snake anyway.
EL Ziggy
02-21-17, 04:11 PM
You can hold the snake with a damp cloth and let it move between your hands. That might get the remaining shed off or you can add a moist hide with damp sphagnum moss to your enclosure and the snake should get the shed off on it's own. A few weeks of not eating isn't a big deal and if your temps and humidity are on point, and the snake isn't showing other signs of illness, you just have to keep offering food every 7-10 days until he's back on track. How often are you feeding him btw? Can you post pics of the snake and setup? I also agree with Aaron that if you're feeding that many pinkys it's time to move up to larger prey.
I would say he is around 3 1/2 months old. Got him as a baby and have had him just over 2 months. He has grown a lot in that time.
I have been feeding every 5 days. Since he has refused I offer every 2nd day.
I'll get some pics posted. I think he is beautiful and trying to set his enclosure up to be natural environment.
Most of the belly shed is off now. I'm keeping a close eye on him. I'll try the damp cloth.
Thank you all for your help!
I hope I did this right, this is from a little while back.
Keep offering every 5 days, not every 2. Don't offer any more frequently if he refuses food as it may create the opposite response of what you want and stress him out. I will echo what everyone else said and suggest that he be moved up to fuzzies. He looks quite healthy in the picture. :)
I think he is just beautiful. I guess all mom's think that. I have a couple more pics of his enclosure and him with his new fake grass. He likes curling up with the grass, I guess he feels hidden but they are also rock on the bottom and warm. I have thought of getting him more grass or adding some decorative rocks.
Very nice. What kind of wood bedding is that?
I do thank you all for the help. I will definitely wait the full 5 day to try and feed him again and I go get him some fuzzy mice. He does seem a little stressed trying to feed him so often. Thank you all I do appreciate it very much!
The first picture is what came with the set up, Aspen chips. the second picture is all they had at the pet store forest floor, cypress mulch.
Perfect. Those are great substrate choices. Just wanted to ensure that you keep away from cedar. :)
Yes and thank you for checking, since he is my first snake. I did a lot of research before deciding to get one. Still researching for things, like finicky eater. He likes to be in a dark place, he's shy. But I'm so glad I came across this forum to get real advice from people who have snakes and maybe similar issues.
Milksnakes tend to be a bit shy and may flea when you try and take them out and/or are in your hands but generally mellow down after 30-60 seconds in that case. Always try and cool them down when they go into escape mode (for whatever reason) before putting them back... otherwise you make the snake believe that when he does that, he will be put back into his home and you unintentionally program him into such behavior. The snake will always prefer his home over your hands and merely tolerate handling based on the trust relationship you build up with it.
Anyways, your snake looks to be in great health. In my opinion a milksnake tends to require a little higher humidity than a kingsnake (but still dry) especially during shedding. So a spot in the enclosure kept a bit more moist that the snake can use whenever it feels like, isn't a bad idea (f.e. humid hidebox). Never spray down the entire enclosure to raise humidity during a shed, some caresheets state this, it's very bad for the snake to be kept on wet substrate with no option to escape from it. Also feeding it wet mice (as in thawed in water without a bag) helps to ensure the snake gets sufficient water into his system to shed well.
Depending on the size of the fuzzies you can get, he can move up to it. You can also determine the proper amount of food for it by weighing the snake and the pinkies... if 2 pinkies weigh as much as 10-15% of the weight of the snake (properly frozen pinkies weight as much frozen as thawed), the snake should still be put on pinkies. If you need to add a 3rd pinkie there it is generally time to move on to the next size. Feed every 5 days with 0-1 year old snakes, then 5-7 days in the 2nd year, 7-10 days in the 3rd year, 10-14 days in the 4th year. The reason it is a range of days is because each snake has a different metabolism which depends on the individual somewhat, and the temperature it prefers. You will be able to tell eventually when your snake is hungry because it starts to actively hunt for food. That doesn't mean you should run out and get him food right away, but it does tell you that when that happens after 5 days when your schedule is 7-10 days, likely you should feed on every 7 days.
Thank you for all your great advice. I do always wait till he calms down before I put him back up, thinking of what you stated. "if I freak out they will put me back up".
Now that it's warming up here the natural humidity is going up, I've noticed in his tank it is also up, staying at 50%. I am looking to get the humid hide box as well. I have thought about the wet mouse, thinking it would also help it go down a little easier, but I just followed the directions on them. I have saved you post for future references or maybe pass along to another new mom. Thank you again for all your time and help!
The problem with wet prey is that substrate will stick to it. I am not a fan of offering wet prey--there is water content in the fat and blood of the prey item and if husbandry is correct this shouldn't be an issue and there are better solutions in my opinion. I'd also say that misting the cage won't pose an issue provided air flow is proper...it should not take long to dry out properly and won't pose a problem unless you're misting excessively. Furthermore, although the feeding regimen mentioned works for a lot of species, pueblans really shouldn't be offered food any less than every 10 days at any point in their life due to their fast metabolism. Again, though, just my opinion.
When I feed him I take him out of his tank into a plastic bin with no substrate. When I mist his tank it doesn't seem to hold the humidity very long, he has the screen top for fresh air. Since it is getting warm and more humid here I can tell the humidity in his tank is holding at 50%. I'm still going to do the humid hide. But do you think I should keep it on the warm or cooler side. Right now while he is just laying around chilling he is always on the warm side in his fake grass. I don't know if he just likes to hide there or if he likes the rock part that holds the grass, for more warmth. His cool side is 72-76 and warm side is 80-82. He has his night light on the cool side and day/heat lamp with an under the tank warmer on the warm side.
In fact he might like it a bit warmer on the warm end of the enclosure, say 85-88 F... however if he just ate, they prefer to sit on the heat continuously to help digestive processes (this is normal).
If the snake is continuously on the hot end, even when the food is digested, then likely the cool end is too cold or the hot end not hot enough (or both). If he's constantly on the cool end then the hot end may be too hot. Can also be that either end doesn't provide sufficient security for him to feel safe. Hard to say like this, a lot comes from observing the snake over a longer period of time :) Your enclosure does look like providing sufficient hides, and you just fed him, so likely he's just digesting... if he remains there forever then likely it's a bit to cold for his liking.
I'm not sure how to get his temp up. He's always in the same spot. Now at night who knows. I can tell he goes other places. But he stays in the same corner in his grass from there he watches us and we can watch him.
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