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I just seperated 4 corns(2 males/2females) in my class and their behavior has changed - any thoughts?
1. Two females very active during day and never in the past.
2. One of the females has mouth open a lot - like she is stretching her jaw.
3. All four try to get out of cage a lot- didn't try before seperation. Two tanks side by side and they can see each other.

Feeding - To save money I bought frozen 200 hoppers and I feed two at a time, but the bulge isn't big enough. Can I go to three before going larger(till I get rid of all the hoppers)?

Was given two other corns and neither one sheds - It comes off in little pieces. Any thoughts? One also has damage to the tip of her tail. Sheds never came off and prevented the tip from growing. I removed the old sheds but the tip is dead - Do I just leave it? Doesn't seem to bother her.

Thanks for suggestions!

1: Their active probably beacuase their in new environments and exploring their new soroundings. Also, they may have been stressed by living with the other snakes before, which would account for less activity prior to seperating them.

2: Define having the mouth open a lot. Do you mean as in yawning, or as in keeping the mouth open for extended periods of time? If its open frequently, then that could be a sign of respitory infection. If it has an infection, chances are likely your other corns might have it as well.

3: See answer one. =)

I'm not sure what size hoppers are. If your refering to pinkies (or any prey for that matter), the general rule of thumb is too feed prey 1 to 1 1/2 size of the snakes head. If you feel feeding smaller prey isn't filling the snakes up enough, maybe its time to get larger food. I don't know the general size / age of your corns or I would give you better examples. If your just trying to get rid of them before going larger, if the corn will eat 'em, three would probably be ok.

The dead tip thing is odd. I've heard something like this in the past but can't recall what the verdict on it was.

But for the rest of the shed pieces, try soaking the corns then gently rubbing the shed off. My bf's ball python always has a few shed pieces left. He just soaks it for about five minutes and they come right off. Don't try forcing the dead skin off though. If any pieces seem stubborn, just wait until the next shed and everything should be fine. Just remember to soak.

Hope that helps.

>>I just seperated 4 corns(2 males/2females) in my class and their behavior has changed - any thoughts?
>>1. Two females very active during day and never in the past.

Probably two-fold. They are getting used to their new habitat and they are not as stressed by the presence of the other snakes so they are more willing to explore.

>>2. One of the females has mouth open a lot - like she is stretching her jaw.

Keep an eye on this. It could posibly have blockage in the nostrils from a previous shed or posibly the early signs of a respiratory problem.

>>3. All four try to get out of cage a lot- didn't try before seperation. Two tanks side by side and they can see each other.
>>
>>
I think this kind of goes along with the first question.
You might also want to be sure the temperatures are correct. Providing them with a warm side and a cool side with hides on each. They could be looking for the optimum temprerature range.

>>Feeding - To save money I bought frozen 200 hoppers and I feed two at a time, but the bulge isn't big enough. Can I go to three before going larger(till I get rid of all the hoppers)?

Feeding three hoppers is better then throwing a lot of hoppers away. It should not be a problem. Maybe try to combine a couple of larger hoppers with a smaller one. (if they vary in size. some shipments I get have a pretty good size variety and some are almost all uniform in size)
>>
>>Was given two other corns and neither one sheds - It comes off in little pieces. Any thoughts? One also has damage to the tip of her tail. Sheds never came off and prevented the tip from growing. I removed the old sheds but the tip is dead - Do I just leave it? Doesn't seem to bother her.

If they aren't fully shedding it is a good posibility that the humidity isn't high enough. Add a larger water dish and close off about 50 to 75 percent of the top. This will help increase the humidity. Also the next time they go into the "blue" add a tupperware or similar type dish with moistened paper towels or moistened sphagnum moss. This can give them a nice himid hide to help them shed.
The end of the tail is dead. It will eventually drop off. I would not try to remove it but I would make sure that it doesn't retain any more skin with future sheds.
hope this helps
Jimmy