If you’ve never kept a corn snake, you may be wondering: what do you feed them? Corn snakes have milky blue eyes and dull, whitish skin. Once their eyes clear up, they are shedding. You can keep your corn snake hydrated by placing a shallow dish of tepid water in the enclosure. However, they are prone to illnesses and parasites, so you should test them for both before bringing them home. In severe cases, it’s best to take your snake to the veterinarian for testing.
Contents
thawed frozen rodents
Feeding your corn snake can be as easy as giving it a handful of thawed frozen rodents. To avoid the risk of freezing the snake’s food, it is important to select the right size. Generally, a rodent that is smaller than the snake’s thickest part is safe. Frozen rodents can be purchased from most pet stores. Alternatively, you can buy live rodents from a store. If the snake doesn’t seem to be getting any food, the temperature and other stressors in the environment may be to blame.
Before feeding your snake, be sure that it is healthy enough to be handled. Live mice are dangerous for snakes because of their sharp claws and teeth. Even tiny mice can do serious damage. Using frozen rodents reduces the stress for both the snake owner. If you’re unsure, you can always check with a veterinarian. If you have a sick snake, don’t use thawed frozen rodents to feed them.
Rats
If you are raising a corn snake, you should never use rats or mice to feed it. These creatures have slow metabolisms and bites from rats or mice can turn necrotic. Similarly, you should never feed your corn snake with “pinkies” because they lack calcium bones, which are needed for healthy growth. Instead, use frozen or live mice. If you have a smaller snake, you may want to use newborn mice, which are less aggressive. They also don’t have any defenses and may be swallowed whole by your snake.
When deciding which food to feed your corn snake, you should keep in mind the weather conditions. A snake may become starving if it goes a long time without eating. Alternatively, it could also become brumated and have a reduced appetite. In such a case, you can rotate the feeders or change the prey. For best results, you should rotate the food once a week. You should also try to give your snake more than one meal per day.
Processed meats
Although live prey is more expensive and easier to find, you should not be tempted to catch rodents and other small animals from the wild. Not only can it cause your corn snake psychological stress, but it can also contain parasites. Moreover, live prey may also contain snake mites. So, it is best to choose pre-killed prey to avoid causing any harm to your corn snake. Nevertheless, you should never feed wild-caught mice to corn snakes. You never know what they may have eaten in the wild and may have dangerous bacteria.
Instead of raw meat, you can buy complete chicken, fish, and fowl from a local butcher. You should make sure to purchase the complete meat so that your snake gets all the nutrients from the animal. If you cannot find a live bird, you can buy frozen and thawed chicken. Whole poultry is the best choice for your snake, but it is best if you can find whole chicken and egg instead.
Fish
There are many fish you can feed corn snakes, but only a few are safe for the snake’s digestive system. They’ll prefer smaller fish, like minnows, because they’ll be less likely to choke on them. Frozen fish, meanwhile, will only cause your snake to choke when you try to feed it. You should avoid preparing fish in advance, because corn snakes won’t like the texture.
Ideally, your snake will be eating prey that is readily available to them. Corn snakes typically take a week to a month to reach adulthood, depending on size and age. Change up the prey in your feeder once or twice a week to prevent a long feeding strike. If your snake has a particularly stubborn appetite, you can always try rotating the feeder. If it doesn’t seem hungry, try putting the prey on a different surface or using a different feeder altogether.
