Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello

this is my first snake, first real reptile really..
also the first time feeding him

Ok, here's my story..the other night a purchased a "pinky" from petco, saying they only had one left(frozen). i get home and it turned out to be a fuzzy. I figured maybe i just didnt know what i was talking about...and it really was a pinky, so i put my snake and the fuzzy in a seperate tank to eat.

Here's what happened

I put a papertowel substrate down, along with the fully thawed fuzzy. I then picked up Zorro(my snake) and placed him in the tank too. When i was closing the lid, i obviously didnt notice his head, and it became squished against the plastic covering and plastic sides for about 5-8 seconds before i relized this. He seems to be fine now, but im worried if i hurt his Jacobson gland(or whatever..cant recall the name..the smell gland snakes have)..because he was pretty smushed between the plastic

Secondly, he obviously didnt eat the mouse because it WAS a fuzzy(after researching online i found it takes 10 days for mice to develop hair). Im purchasing pinkies today(the day after)...
should i wait a while before i attempt his 2nd feeding?
i purchased the snake last sunday, attepted to feed him the fuzzy on friday, and today is saturday

just wondering, THANKS for all of your help!

That's unfortunate, but it doesn't mean anything bad came from it. If the snakes tounge is not hanging out of its mouth and the eyes look OK that is a good sign. Also if it is sitting still and not squirming or convulsing it may mean it was not harmed from the squishing. Check the mouth area for dents or breaks and also try putting the snake on the edge of its water dish to see if it will drink effortlessly. Lastly if you dont hear any sounds like wheezing or sneezing you're in luck. If the snake appears to be OK I would see no harm in trying to feed it a small meal. Mine almost never refused a meal since birth and are in the category of tough snakes in my opinion. Make sure you don't startle the snake while it is eating. I recommend watching it, but be completely still. If the snake spits out the pinky you want to be sure it wasn't due to you scaring it. If it can't swallow you may wan't to take it to a vet though I am not sure what they can do for it? If it ignores the food don't panic, it may want to wait a day or 2 before eating. So give the snake a thorough inspection and if it seems undamaged it very well may be ready to eat. Let us know how it goes. Tom

OK!

i put zorro in a cottage cheese plastic thing along with one pinky...at around 9pm

11pm i check on it, and notice the snake with a little bulge halfway down his body!

hooray...i lifed the container and sat it in his terrarrium..unfortunatly hes not moving out of it lol..and i dont want to handle him since he just ate

Well, thanks Tom..zorro seems to be fine!
-----
Out from the night...when the full moon is bright
Comes a KINGSNAKE known as Zorro!

He has pitch black scales, and makes a Z with his tail
A Z that stands for Zorro!

Zorro! The nigrita so cunning and free!
Zorro! Who makes the sign of the Z!

Thats great news. I usually feed my hatchlings 1 pinky every 4 or 5 days. They grow fast and are really cool snakes to keep, I may keep my last 2003 hatchling for myself! Take it easy Tom