Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Okay, one of the corns that I rescued back in late April has only been sporadically eating lately. He didn't eat for three weeks when offered his usual f/t mice. I haven't changed a thing, aside from cleaning out poop, cleaning the water bowl, refilling it, etc... since about May, so he hasn't had any major habitat stressors. I thought it was possible that the temperatures may have gotten too hot in his tank (I do live in the Florida Panhandle). I have a probe to check his "hot" side and "cool" side. The hot side stays around 80-82 during the day and the cool side sits at 75-77.

After the three week fast, he ate for me again, two weeks in a row, but then refused again this last feeding. The other cornsnake's cage sits right next to his, has the same temperatures, same type of hides, etc, and he eats like a garbage disposal. Is it possible that my "brown" corn is just a pickier eater than my "orange" corn? They're both a healthy size, they've shed a few times since I rescued them and don't have any visible scars from the live mice that the previous owner had left in the tank with them.

I hadn't posted about this earlier because I wasn't terribly concerned, he is old enough that I'm sure he could manage a month without eating and be fine. He drinks regularly and everything else appears to be normal (no mites or discolorations and his poo is perfectly normal).

My sporadic eater:

My garbage disposal:

The pictures are kind of old, sorry. They're not currently on that substrate, I switched to paper towels after having a gnat problem this summer. The hides are still the same though.
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Holly

0.1 Lavender California Kingsnake (Lizzie Borden) (missing )
1.0 Florida Kingsnake (Eddie Gein)
0.0.2 Cornsnakes (Lyle & Erik Menendez)
1.0 Bearded Dragon (Charley Manson)
1.0 Orange Marmalade Cat (Oliver)
1.0 Black Cat (Shadowfax)
1.0 Egyptian Arabian (Bagan) (Deceased )
1.0 Tennessee Walking Horse (Durango)

2.0 Toddlers (Justice & Trevor)

Just "my guess"

1 It is breeding season still. And your dates coincide with it.

2 If he is still that heavy, I would not be all to worried. He's a "husky" lad as they say.

I personally have a female like your male. Although no real relation to seasons, and shes not near as "husky".

When he eats, feel him well, if you think he's losing some weight.

Good luck
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Thanks for reading.
Big Tom

www.HerpZillA.com

Hi Holly!,........Yeah, those two look great!, and yes, I have some that will refuse some meals now and then for no apparent reason(s) at all as well. some, just a single feeding, and won't take a second, some absolutely no way while in "blue", etc...

As long as your husbandry conditions seem very good(and they do), and a good body weight is maintained,...I wouldn't worry about it in the least,....I wonder about this stuff sometimes too, but getting any hard answers to some of this is just simply impossible..LOL!

Glad to see they are doing so well!,....I'm sure they are "lovin' life" in your care, as opposed to their other "dungeon" of a home!

best regards, ~Doug
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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

Although it is very late for most now,...there is a very good possibility your male is still somewhat interested in some sexual activity. Did he refuse to eat at all this spring during April through June at all?. If not, maybe he's just a late starter, or he caught some exceptionally interesting wiffs from the female, maybe from a nice fresh shed from her, etc...

~Doug
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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

The mating season thing is entirely possible.. I never did go get them sexed, just didn't have time or a major reason to. I just assume I have two male cornsnakes, but I don't know. My "orange" boy might be a big girl... he/she does like to chill out in one very closed up hide ALL the time. Eats like a maniac.

The brown guy is obviously more restless than my orange one. I forgot to mention that earlier. He wanders a lot. He's my television-watching snake... raises his head up and "stares" at my 42" tv if we're watching it.

Yeah, actually he has put on more weight since those pictures were taken. They're both very healthy snakes, IMO. These two don't shed frequently anymore... my orange boy's last shed was July 11th, and the brown guy shed back on the third of June.

Since they were in such poor conditions through what would have been breeding season, I could fully understand if my brown guy is just now feeling "up" to it..

If the orange one is indeed a girl, will I need to watch out for duds, like with a chicken or lizard? I'm sure that sounds silly, but I've never had a reproductively mature female snake before.
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Holly

0.1 Lavender California Kingsnake (Lizzie Borden) (missing )
1.0 Florida Kingsnake (Eddie Gein)
0.0.2 Cornsnakes (Lyle & Erik Menendez)
1.0 Bearded Dragon (Charley Manson)
1.0 Orange Marmalade Cat (Oliver)
1.0 Black Cat (Shadowfax)
1.0 Egyptian Arabian (Bagan) (Deceased )
1.0 Tennessee Walking Horse (Durango)

2.0 Toddlers (Justice & Trevor)

I wouldn't be too concerned with watching for duds, but it has been known to happen on rare occasion nonetheless, although even rarer, they have even been known to store sperm for prolonged periods, and have unexpected viable eggs from past breedings as well, but don't loose any sleep over this happening..LOL!

I would certainly look into the sex of them one day, there must be SOMEONE in your area who is qualified enough to do this for you. I know it was not a real paramount concern before, as you were more comcerned about getting their health back up to snuff, but later on, you may want to try your hand at producing some, ....or maybe not, just a thought.

If you post some good shots of both their entire area from tip of tail, to just above the cloaca, with you holding the very tip of the tail nice and straight down, and the pic taken straight on, I and some other forum member's could certainly tell you what you likely have, but the photos have to be taken exactly as I said, or it will be tough to impossible to say.

~Doug
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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

Pictures of their vents... yes, I can easily do that. ^_^ I think my closest herp vet is up in Chipley, kind of far to travel just to find out their sex. ^_^

I'd love to breed some snakes eventually, just not while I'm still living by the grace of my parents in one of their homes. ^_^ I'm pushing it with the three snakes I already have, lol. Good thing my mother loves reptiles.

When I finish my master's, get an excellent job, and buy a house, then I'll work on breeding some adorable corns or kings. First things first, of course.
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Holly

0.1 Lavender California Kingsnake (Lizzie Borden) (missing )
1.0 Florida Kingsnake (Eddie Gein)
0.0.2 Cornsnakes (Lyle & Erik Menendez)
1.0 Bearded Dragon (Charley Manson)
1.0 Orange Marmalade Cat (Oliver)
1.0 Black Cat (Shadowfax)
1.0 Egyptian Arabian (Bagan) (Deceased )
1.0 Tennessee Walking Horse (Durango)

2.0 Toddlers (Justice & Trevor)

Yes,...that makes perfectly good sense to me!

~Doug
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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

i had a few corns like this... but when i brumate them for a few months and bring them back, they are just normal...

~kin
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~Sober Serpents~
www.freewebs.com/soberserpents
Corns, Creamsicles, A Black Rat, A pair of Leucistic Black Rat X Leucistic Texas Rat Intergrades, Thayeri, Cal Kings, A Jungle Corn, Ball Pythons, A reverse Trio of Candoia, Leopard Geckos, Green Anoles, a Snapping Turtle, a White Cheeked Mud Turtle, a Bearded Dragon, an Adult Rescue Iguana, and A Baby Iguana

Holly,
Are we seeing the same snake? He does not need more food; he has plenty of body weight. Do not worry. As for the cage activity, he wants something, whether to find a suitable area for Winter, or a mate. Especially if there is a female corn close by.
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Mark

Holly,
Are we seeing the same snake? He does not need more food; he has plenty of body weight. Do not worry. As for the cage activity, he wants something, whether to find a suitable area for Winter, or a mate. Especially if there is a female corn close by.

This was why I wasn't terribly concerned about it. He is definitely a healthy snake and I figured it wasn't too much of a cause for worry that he was missing a couple feedings here and there. Like Doug and I are thinking, it's entirely possible that his "next door neighbor" is a female corn.. They both look so different from each other that it's quite possible they are opposite sexes. (and I mean length, width, and color)

Now that he's healthy, it is certainly possible that he's looking for a mate, or specifically looking for my other corn.
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Holly

0.1 Lavender California Kingsnake (Lizzie Borden) (missing )
1.0 Florida Kingsnake (Eddie Gein)
0.0.2 Cornsnakes (Lyle & Erik Menendez)
1.0 Bearded Dragon (Charley Manson)
1.0 Orange Marmalade Cat (Oliver)
1.0 Black Cat (Shadowfax)
1.0 Egyptian Arabian (Bagan) (Deceased )
1.0 Tennessee Walking Horse (Durango)

2.0 Toddlers (Justice & Trevor)