Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Sadly I had to take my baby corn back to Petco today..He was the tiny one that wasnt eating the two weeks I had him...He was starting to look real lathergic and sickly.. I took him to a different Petco then where I purchased him, and they said he looked like he hatched about 3 weeks ago, and should have never been sold to me... They traded me another corn snake that they had there, and right in front of me, made apt w/a local vet for Monday morning to look at the one I took back..I feel bad, I take it stuff like this happens(thats what I get for going to a petco)..Anyways, they did trade me, but before I picked out a new one, I chose three in the tank who I liked.. two were black and white(I think Anerythristic) and one was like a light brown and white.. I asked petco manager if they could try to feed them before I chose....so they put them in a separate pet carrier, and put pinkys in w/them...withen 2 minutes, the two black and white ones were gulping down the food....so I narrowed it down to those two, she put another pinky in w/each, and one of them ate a second pinky no problem(guess which one I chose)..this one is alittle bigger then the one that i had troubles with.. He is probably around 14 inches long, and about twice as fat. the manager said the store got them all in one week ago, and they were all hatchings(even though this one was alittle fatter then the others from that hatch, which by the way, is that normal to have big babys, and smaller hatchlings?).. I will post pics later this week, I want to give him 48 hours to digest, then Im gonna start light handling...then feed him another week...
anyways, too make a long story short, I guess If I learned anything, and were to give advice to anyone thinking of buying a snake, wether from a herp breeder, local petshop, or a national chain like petco or petsmart, my advice is, make sure it is a proven eater....Ask the rep if you can see it eat, or atleast atempt to try....I thank everyone once again, and hope im finally on my way to enjoying my new pet...Pete

Hopefully the new one works out for you. BTW....at that size, those are not hatchlings. Those are '08s.

Great, thanks,...BTW...is being an 08 a good thing or bad thing? I kind of like how he seemed like a better eater, and was not skittish at all, and all the while, still not much bigger then a baby(he still looks smallish, like a young king snake that you would find for sale) thanks for the help, PEte

being nearly a year old is not a bad thing. It just means they are more likely healthier, better adjusted and have lived this long so far so unlikely to have any genetic defects or weak constitution which may have done in your first one.

corn snakes are typically about 8-12" at birth though it can depend on the size of the parents. If both parents are small the babies can be small.

As your new one eat two pinkies fine, you probably could start feeding it fuzzies once all your pinkies are gone.
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PHLdyPayne

Hey Pete,

Sounds like you did the right thing even though it was hard. I had one last year that I bought from a reputable breeder that would not eat. I tried everything thing out there. It unfortunately died, and I got a credit from the breeder. Still haven't replaced it.

I would definitely say that a 14 inch corn is not a hatchling, especially if it is eating double pinks. I don’t think I have ever heard of a corn snake hatchling eating double pinks.

Anyhow, good luck with your new one. What are you going to name it?

Stephanie