Help, I think my snake is starving

[Nabbig2]

I have a baby corn snake and I went on vacation about a few weeks ago. When I came back I could see his ribs I think; in a couple sections of his body. Those parts were very thin. I got really panicked, so I fed him a mouse and he did eat it. 5 days later I fed him another mouse (about 5 days ago from today). Today those areas seem a bit better, but I can still see the ribs.

he is shedding; it's strange because his back, the top, is shed but the rest has not shed yet. I'm so sorry I don't have pics because my damn camera is being fixed by the company. So thankyou very much if you can help; I'm going to feed him another mouse today or tommorow.

 

[Pyramid_Party]

II think he will be alright. As long as hes eating and you are feeding him on time, he'll be fine. Snakes should be fed atleast once a week. If you leave for longer than that it could be trouble.

 

[Jfitz]

II think he will be alright. As long as hes eating and you are feeding him on time, he'll be fine. Snakes should be fed atleast once a week. If you leave for longer than that it could be trouble.

As long as its eating i really don't see any problems... The real problems come when its starving and it doesnt eat, but it probably will take a bit of time before it gets back to its normal state.

 

[Nabbig2]

Okay, thanks guys. I'll feed him every 5 or 6 days.

 

[dde1878]

hey your snake will take time to digest and process the food he has eaten. feed him again and in another week if he hasn't fattened up post again with pics and we can go from there. about the shedding, have you put him in to soak yet? putting him in an enclosed container with plenty of holes for ventilation and some water will really help the shedding process. keep us updated please.

 

[Nabbig2]

I don't grab and dip him; he has a bown of water that he can fit into. He has shed many times previously before (Twice, perfect, whole body shed). He drinks water but I've never seen him go into it.

 

[dde1878]

by putting him into a closed container with water he has to be in the water and it will tremendously help the shed process.

 

[lovespunaround]

II think he will be alright. As long as hes eating and you are feeding him on time, he'll be fine. Snakes should be fed atleast once a week. If you leave for longer than that it could be trouble.

Feeding once a week I think is asking for a fat snake, unless the food items are very small. Even if your snake is underweight, I recommend feeding it only four out of five weeks.

If it's eating and drinking and not gaining any weight back, it could have parasites.

 

[smijeha]

i agree with everyone else. id feed the snake once every 5-7 days. the snake is young and this is when most of its growing its done, so i dont think it will be getting fat. if it was an older snake then yeah i could see it getting obeses and maybe going every 7-10 days with a feeding and no harm skipping a week. corns are pretty active snakes though...........

also, if you are gonna soak the snake in an enclosed container make sure you have air holes. you dont want to suffocate him. and make sure the water isnt to deep/ water should be just deep enough that he can submege his body but not to deep that he cant res on the bottom with his had above the water. dont want him to drown either. use luke warm water.

also, next time you go on vacation make sure you have someone ( a relative or friend) to go over to your house and feed/get fresh water for your snake. if they have never careed for a snake before then make sure they come over in advance so you can show them how to thaw out a rodent and how to wash teh water dish and get fresh water. also a good idea to make sure they arent afraid of snakes and show them how to handle one.

 

[Jessica Dring]

Even if your snake is underweight, I recommend feeding it only four out of five weeks.

Umm. Not with a baby corn snake you don't.

I reccomend carry on feeding every five days hun. Once he is back to a healthy weight then go back to every 7 days. I would weigh him weekly (on empty) aswell so you know if you should be concerned.
What are you feeding him on, pinks?

I feed most of my snakes weekly unless they refuse. They are all a healthy weight and not fat at all.
My female royal is around 1500 g and my male royals are at 600-800g (they need some weight on them but are still young). With these I do not mind overfeeding a little (aslong as it doesn't get excessive or even coming close to power feedng) because they do tend to fast and this extra weight is needed then.

Baby royals and baby corns get fed twice a week or once every 5 days with me, until their growth starts to slow down, then I slow the amount of feeding right down.
Just my opinion anyway. Also, as said, it could be parasites so I'd keep feeding him for another 4 weeks like that and if hes not back to normal get him to the vets with a fecal sample. I would get him checked over by the vet anyway just incase.
In regards to shedding, soaking really does help them. Also put a humid hide/box in there available at all times so if they need that extra humidity, they have access to it, as it does sound humidity related.

Good luck, and keep us updated