Stressed out Corn

Discussion in 'Corns & Rat Snakes' started by IronButterFly, Jan 22, 2004.

  1. IronButterFly

    IronButterFly New Member

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    Hopefully you guys will give me some good ideas to make a rescued corn feel safe. I own a 16 month reg.corn and just received another corn that I rescued from this family. Long story short they just owned it for show they threw in a fuzzie and walked away never holding him etc. I got him yesterday (he let me hold him for a few mins). He was really stressed out so I didn't mess with him to much and just put him in his new home. My problem is these people used to feed him live mice which I am totally against because we all know the older your snake gets the bigger the mice and the harm they can do to the snake.
    Which brings me to my question since it is already about 19 months old and has been all his life on live mice will it be possible to switch him over or am I going to fight a losing battle?
     
  2. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  3. biochic

    biochic Well-Known Member

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    Well, it's possible to switch him over. It depends on the snake. You can probably switch him over to F/T or fresh killed in time. Make sure it's warm and you could try using tongs to "move" the prey. Do you know when the last time he ate was? A lot of times, when their hungry, theyll strike at anything that smells like prey. If you can get him to strike at it then he'll most likely take it. Short answer: it's possible to switch him over, you just may have to try a few variations.
    As for calming him down, I'd put his cage in a high traffic area in the house where he can hide in his cave (or whatever hidebox you're using) and still hear and see activity in a less stressful manner. PLus he'll get used to seeing you and smelling you around. I would refrain from hadnling him too much for a week or so, just so he can get acclimated to the surroundings, then I would try handling him for 5-10 minutes every other day for a week, then slowly increase the time and number of days each week. Corn usually tame down easily, so as long as he was never abused or tormented, he'll probably fall into place soon.
    Good luck! Let us know how he does!
     
  4. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  5. Axe

    Axe Well-Known Member

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    It is possible. Like Biochic mentions above, fresh killed can help with this, and can be a good transition on the way to F/T.

    I had several babies that had been raised previously on live pinkies & fuzzies. They would not take frozen/thawed no matter what. So, I had to get live rodents. Obviously, I wasn't going to feed live. The snakes were whacked, and then fed straight to the snakes.

    While the mice were obviously not alive & moving, all other indications (body heat, nerves twitching) told the snake that this was a mouse, and they ate them.

    After just a few feedings, they all started taking frozen/thawed. Every single one of them. Granted, they weren't 19 months old, they ranged from 3-6 months old, but they all switched eventually.

    As for handling, Biochic's suggestion is good, and can help. Personally, I wouldn't necessarily go in a very high traffic area (living room, TV blaring out, kids running around, etc.) but I would put him somewhere that he has constant exposure to at least one person (me). I work a lot on the computer, so I'd setup the tank next to the PC. Get him used to seeing me all the time. Talk to him when he comes out - yes, I know snakes are deaf, but they are VERY sensitive to vibrations, even your voice. So, this can help too. But that's just me, Biochic's method would work too. :lol:

    Good luck!
     
  6. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  7. IronButterFly

    IronButterFly New Member

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    update on corn

    From what I was told he did eat this past Saturday. He was very active last night getting used to his surroundings and checking the place out. I took your advise and moved him to the family room maybe he can watch spongebob with my kids :)
    To my knowledge I don't believe he was ever abused or tormented. I think it was more of a pet to have in the house to show off to friends. It's just really fustrasting to think people would just get a snake or any animal and not give a crap about it. At least I got him before they were going to let him loose in the woods.
    I will let you know how it goes when feeding time comes along and I will try all the methods you suggested. I just wanted to get another point of view to see if it was worth a try since he is used to eating live prey.

    Thanks biochic
     
  8. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  9. biochic

    biochic Well-Known Member

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    I wouldn't recommend whacking the snakes. They wouldn't take that very well! LOL!

    Sorry, John...had to!!! ROTFL!!!



    John's right, I wouldn't put them in too high a traffic area. You don't want too much noise. I should have been more specific.
     
  10. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  11. IronButterFly

    IronButterFly New Member

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    Ok, so Family room is a No No? ..... I never thought about putting him in the pc room. I also do work on computers and I have room in here for him. The only person that comes in this room is me so it's really not a high traffic area but it would make sense since he can see me all the time. I have to agree Axe I do talk to my snakes and my family thinks I'm nuts :lol:
    Thanks to the both of you and I will sure let you know how it goes in the next couple days. :lol:

    Thanks again!
     
  12. Axe

    Axe Well-Known Member

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    lol, whoops!!!

    Yes, I did mean the mice where whacked, not the snakes... That's for correcting that biochic, hehe.

    Family room could be ok, but it depends on the family. If it's just you, mum n' dad, and they like to just sit n' watch relatively quiet TV all night, it could be cool...

    If they've got a 52" big screen TV, loud 5.1 surround sound for it that makes the room shake every time somebody on the movie takes a breath, two or three kids playing XBox til 2am, it can get a bit stressful, heh.

    You want it fairly calm & quiet, but still in viewable area of slow-to-average-moving humans :lol:
     
  13. IronButterFly

    IronButterFly New Member

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    109
    I'm back again and I'm hopping you guys won't get tired of me asking so many questions :lol: I tried feeding Rocky (that's the one I rescued) yesterday fresh kill. Well, it didn't go so well. He did not eat at all and pretty much stayed to himself and has not come out of his cave.
    First I thought maybe he is to cold. On the cool side I get a reading of 70-75 and on the warm side I get between 80-85. Do you guys think he is still stressed from the whole experience? How long should I wait untill I try again to feed him again? He hasn't ate since Saturday 1/17

    Thanks!
     
  14. Axe

    Axe Well-Known Member

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    It's possible he could be stressed out, that's the other good thing about fresh killed, if he doesn't eat right away, you can freeze it, then defrost it the following week. If mine refuse a meal straight away, I usually leave it in for 24hrs. After that time, if it's still there, I remove it. Then I just try again the following week at the next feeding time.

    It's usually best to stick to a regular weekly schedule whether they eat or not. That way, if they do refuse food, the following week, they'll be that little bit hungrier and there's more chance he'll strike. If you offer daily, it can often just piss them off more. :lol:

    And we're not getting tired of the questions. Asking questions is one of the best ways to learn! :lol:
     

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