Help AGAIN!!!

[CORN_SNAKE91]

I fed my corn snake an unthawed mouse on Monday. It seemed to have problems gulping it down but it finally did. After it did it went to its hiding place. It is now Friday and I haven't seen any feces. So I wanted to see where my little critter was. When I opened the aquarium and lifted its house, he was there. There was a problem though cuz i coud see a lump still in him (like he still didn't digest his food. Why is it talking so long????????:(

[Auskan]

Why on earth would you feed an unthawed food item?

[Dark_Angel_25]

i hope you meant you fed him a THAWED food item.. anyway it could be that it was too big for him so it is taking more time to digest.. that or your temp isn't hot enough.. they need the heat to digest their food..

[CORN_SNAKE91]

sorry i must have gotten the words confused. I let it stay in hot water for like an hour (just to make sure it was unfrozen). Soryy about the mixup

[Dark_Angel_25]

ok well like I said, check your temps, maybe it isn't hot enough. also what size is your snake? what size was the prey? i do think it may be your temps though....

[CORN_SNAKE91]

Oh is like 73 degrees ok? that book that bill and kathy love wrote the lowest temp can be that. If it is not strong enough, could someone who is in the Toronto canada area tell me what kind of lamp to use and what kind of wattage?

[CORN_SNAKE91]

it has to be the temps.....my snake is 35 cm long, the mouse actually looke a lot smaller than the first one i fed him more tan a week ago....

[Dark_Angel_25]

ok cornsnake, first rule, go buy a under tank heater
snakes need belly heat to digest.

second, 73 is the minimum for the COLD side... you have to have a HOT side too... lamps are not enough because it is belly heat they use to digest. first thing tomorrow AM promise me you will go get a undertank heater that covers at least 1/3 of your enclosure. you put 1 hide over the heat pad and one nide on the cold side...

Promise me now... :D you will see it works wonders...

[Auskan]

What a relief! Belly heat is the best for digestion, so instead of a heat lamp, get a heat mat that mounts underneath the tank. Then plug that into a lamp dimmer so that it doesn't get too hot. (Invest in a thermometer if you haven't already). You can go a little warmer than 73 degrees in your hot spot & that will probably help in digestion.

[CORN_SNAKE91]

If i use a bottom heater, what kind? also, i put it IN the tank? where does the wire go?

[Auskan]

Oops! Guess Dark Angel and I were posting at the same time, but at least we both offered pretty much the same advice.

[Dark_Angel_25]

Zoomed heaters (ask the guy at the shop) and they go outside your tank, underneath they stick on the glass. you should also get a rheostat so you can adjust the temp from low med and high. I dont know the perfect temp on the hot side for a cornsnake, so you would have to look that up. but that will DEFINATLY help.

Getting a heat pad is NOT an option, it is a MUST.

So let me hear you say you promise.... :D

[Auskan]

You mount it on the outside of the tank and it plugs into the lamp dimmer from there. There are several brands - just look in the reptile section of a pet store for under tank heater (UTH).

[CORN_SNAKE91]

I PROMISEI PROMISE :D

The first time I fed my snake I fed it a live one. I'll be sticking to the live. Oh two more questions. Is it normal for a corn snake to eat the mouse ALIVE?? and that bottom heater sticks?

[reverendsterlin]

heating lamps for snakes are like trying to warm your feet by wearing a cap, doesn't work well. glad others gave the advise. My neos have a lump after 3 days because they are now eating adult mice (born last July), but then they are now on 7-9 day eating schedules as well..

[Auskan]

On the live feeding: Yes, they will sometimes eat it alive if they don't feel it is big enough to be worth constricting. But don't feed live. It is dangerous to the snake as an angry mouse or rat can turn on the snake and cause it serious damage.

The UTH's have adhesive that will stick well to glass. Be sure of your position before adhering as it will not be able to removed. Alternatively, don't use the adhesive, and instead just use electrical tape to hold it in position. Be sure to position it at one end of the tank, so you still have a cool end for the snake to retreat to when it wants to thermoregulate.

[CORN_SNAKE91]

Thanks a lot. Isn't it ok to feed the snake live mice when it is a baby mouse?

[Auskan]

When the mouse is a pinky, it can't hurt the snake, but why bother, and then have to switch to frozen/thawed (F/T) later? Why not just get it used to F/T from the beginning?

[CORN_SNAKE91]

How long would it take to thaw a pinkie?

[Auskan]

Only a few minutes. You could leave it at room temp and it would be defrosted in 10-15 minutes. Even faster in hot water. But how big is your snake? What have you been feeding? Pinkys are for hatchlings, but the idea is to move them up to fuzzy's as soon as they are able to handle them, as they are more nutritious. As a general rule, feed a food item that is roughly 1 - 1 1/2 times the size of the girth of the snake.

[CORN_SNAKE91]

he's 35 cm long and i have been feeding him the fuzzy's

[Auskan]

If he's 35cm and his girth is proportionate to his length, I would think he could be eating hoppers or sub adult mice at this size.

[CORN_SNAKE91]

thanks for all the advice.....its all working.

[Dragon_Slave]

Have you gotten the UTH yet?

I use a lamp dimmer, I bought from Lowe's Home Improvement store. It's by Lutron and it's perfect. I use it instead of a rheostat, it was about $10 USD, compared to $20-25 USD if I bought a rheostat at the pet store. You just have to test it out, like any rheostat, to find the correct temps. I keep mine at about 85 degrees on the hot side and 75 on the cool side. I have two hides, one on each side, and a water dish.

As far as feeding goes, I agree with not feeding live. You should just use f/t, even if it's just pinkies. There's no sense in trying to switch your snake to f/t later in it's life.