Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just wanted to post a note to let you all know that our baby ate a pinky tonight. This was the first in his/her new home.

We truly appreciate all of the advice you all have given, not just specifically to me, but also the advice to other people which also helped us out.

I'm sure, had we not come here and read, we would have been freaked out that the snake hadn't eaten, and we probably would have been pushing the food at him instead of just letting him adjust to his new home. (Hope he's not a girl, cuz it sure is easy to call it HIM!)

We got the snake on Saturday, and tried to feed it immediately because that's what we were advised to do from the pet store. After coming here and reading, we just waited a few days and only watched the snake when he came out. Tonight, I put the thawed pinky in the cage on a papertowel. We all watched in the semi-dark for about 20-30 min. and finally when we turned out all the lights he made his move. We got to see him from the point of almost half way.

My husband & I have two kids, they are 12, daughter & 9, son. Our daughter is the one who has always been interested in snakes. I'm not sure why, because neither of us parents had much interest. We're certainly trying now, most parents wouldn't even consider getting a snake and trying to overcome a fear.

We are all really relieved that the snake ate, I was figuring with our luck it would be a problem feeder.

Thanks again!

Tracie

THATS AWESOME!!!!
I too am patiently waiting a corn to eat its first meal...its SO exciting to watch a snake's 1st meal under your care (but frustrating while waiting) but worth all the wait if things work out like they did for you!

Its always nice to hear a success story!
Now you just have to post a pic soon!

Thanks

I wish I could post a pic, maybe someday I'll be equipped to do so. For now, I'll just have to describe it. I believe, from reading and looking at other pics, our snakes is a "normal". It is kinda brown/black & tan-ish. I've seen some pics that look just like it.

It is about 9" long and quite a bit thinner than a pencil.... part of why it was amazing to watch that pinky go down!

Welcome to the fascinating world of pet snakes. They do make the hands down best, easiest pets ever with very few exeptions.
Corn snakes, in particular, are addictive. They are not my favorite snakes at all, but with so many morphs, once you "get in," its difficult to "get out."
Congratulations and kudos to you and your daughter. The hobby is multi-faceted, and the longer you keep a pet reptile, the deeper you go. I won't even mention the other aspects of the hobby-you'll discover them slowly and happily at your own pace.
Enjoy your snake for a long, long time.
-Jack
-----
...and I think to myself, "What a wonderful world."

Thanks for the reply.

Our daughter has been in 4-H for 2 years. She showed poultry the first year and rabbits this year. She said next year, she wants to show snakes, but they don't have a snake project. They do have one called "Self Determined", and she is going to turn that into a snake project. Depending on how much she gets into the project, we'll see what our future holds with snakes. One of the other girls in the 4-H group last night was quite jealous that we got a snake, her mother won't let her.

I envy you the relief! I purchased 3 corns this week at the IRBA in Pomona, CA. The dealer informed me that they had each had one shed and that none had eaten. He guaranteed me they would and against my better judgment I fell for it. I have spent weeks preparing their cages and doing my late night “homework” in these forums. I am now in this holding pattern for them to adjust. I am going to wait until this weekend and offer a f/t pinky to each one. This is my first post (and its a reply…???) and I truly appreciate all the advice that so many of you offer up so freely. It helps us herp rookies out more than you will know. As soon as I get the hang of this forum stuff I will post pics of the snakes and of the cages…

Jonathan
Aka Tyler’s Dad

1.0 Bearded Dragon
1.2 Corn Snakes
0.1 Mexican Rosy Boa
0.1 Shih Tzu
1.0 Children
0.1 Wife

Thanks for the reply & good luck to you with your babies. After reading all I read on here, I just told my kids that they would just have to pretend we didn't have a snake at all for a few days.

It was really hard to convince them that we needed to leave the room and turn out the light. They wanted to watch the snake eat. I had to ask them which was more important, them getting to see it or the snake eating. They finally left the room and the snake took the pinky in full darkness.

We don't have our snake named yet, have you named your babies? I was trying to think of a neutral name, and I have a few, but it's not an easy task. We got a few mice yesterday, hoping to start making some babies, and my kids named them in the car before we even got home. They named them Stinky (boy), Cinnamon & Koto (girls), LOL.

Here are our name ideas (some are not uni-sex): cruiser, snickers, zipper, khan, stinker, smiles, smooch, sam, bandit, rusty, slinky, slither, mojo, cosmo, and my husband's favorite (don't know why, cuz I don't like it much) Heywood (???!)

We are considering more "corny" names, no pun intended:

Pop
Candy
Caramel

I know, very corny but sooooooo appropriate!

Jonathan
Aka Tyler’s Dad

1.0 Bearded Dragon
1.2 Corn Snakes
1.0 Mexican Rosy Boa
1.0 Russian Tortoise
0.1 Shih Tzu
1.0 Children
0.1 Wife

Like the others above me ...Congrats to you.

There is so much good advice here, if only more would take it in and stop stressing, and stressing out their snakes. We too have corns at the request of our kids (3 girls 3, 5, and 7)-hence....3 corns - so far.

My middle one was the instigator. On a "date" we ended up at a pet store and she was begging for a pet mouse or rat. I had used up all my arguments against the idea until I told her "These aren't pets, their food for those snakes we were just looking at." That's when the light came on in her eyes and she said; "Good idea dad, lets get a snake!!"

So we went home and did some research for a couple of weeks (including considerable time on this forum) and now we have 3 -a male snow ("Snow King", a female Creamsicle("Queeny", and our most recent (2 weeks ago) a female Okeetee (named ET).

A lot of fun, and a great education and responsibility builder for the kids. (But I think Mom loves it too, - a month after we started with the snakes we went back to LLL Reptiles and got her a Tegu !!)

Enjoy.....MAP