Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hi, ive recently got a pet corn snake for my birthday, and mostly he has been fine, he has been eating and seems to be happy, buti have 2 worries about him number 1 he's shed his skin twice since he's moved in (which is nearly 2 months ago) is this normal? he's 7 months old but according to this book ive got, as babys corn snakes are only supposed to she their skins about 6- 10 times as babies.
secondly, i know this is probably the last thing you want to talk about, but my snake hasnt seemed to have gone to the toilet since ive had him, ive made a good search in his cage, but i cant seem to find any!
im probably being paranoid about this, but i thought i ought to try and get some advice from people who have had pet corn snakes for longer than i have!

He should shed about once a month. What type of substrate (bedding) are you keeping him on? If it is bark it can be hard to tell that they have gone. They should only go about once a week anyway. How much are you feeding it? If you feed it too little they tend to fully digest everything and only pass urates.
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0.1 Snow Corn "Hope"
1.0 Ball Python "Wilson" (Castaway)
1. Orange Albino Black Ratsnake "Chunk" (Goonies)
.1 Orange Albino Black Ratsnake "Peaches"
0.0.1 Mexican Black Kingsnake "Onyx"
0.0.1 Black Ratsnake "Shadow"

As we say in Missouri, "I ain't goin back to Missouri!"

i only feed him once a week, so maybe thats why he's not going to the toilet, i use this blue substrate, so it's pretty clear if he's gone or not, im still not sure about him shedding his skin though, coz he's shed it twice in about a month!oh well, he seems healthy so he'll probably be ok, i just worry about these things!

I suggest you get the book (or books) by Kathy Love. One is the corn snake manual and the newer one is along the same lines, not sure of the title though.
You can check out cornutopia.com.
I am kinda concerned about this "blue" substrate. Is it reptile carpet?
Try feeding two meals a week. This is entirely up to you, but my snakes get a meal twice a week. I generally don't feed them the largest they can eat, but a little smaller, more frequently. It is easier for them to digest.
If there was an injury, like a scratch or something, it would cause the snake to shed. I don't think it is a problem though. I have never heard of excess shedding being an issue. It just sounds like the snake is growing fast and needs to shed the smaller skin.
Good luck
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****Misty****

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1.1.2 bearded dragons
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2.4.5 leopard geckos
8.18.6 corn snakes
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5.2.0 king snakes
1.0.0 Sinaloan milk snake
0.1.0 Tri-Hybrid milk snake
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