baby albino corn snake

Question
hello.  i recently (three to four weeks ago) purchased a baby corn snake from a local pet and pet supply store.  it was a decision i weighed very carefully for quite some time, as i have two small children (four and six).  his setup consists of:  a tank which measures 1'x3', and 1' high.  he has a daytime heat lamp on the warm end and an ambient red heat lamp at the opposing end.  on the warm end, there is also a heat pad on the side of the tank, as i had trouble keeping that end at a high enough temp.  the substrate is aspen bedding.  the warm end of the tank is at eighty, and the cool end (where his hide bed is)is just a few degrees  cooler.  he has a centrally located water dish and a few vines and moss to keep the humidity (50 percent) consistent.  
now here are my problems:

i have not been able to successfully feed him.  he was fed frozen pinkies at the pet shop.  i tried about a week after i brought him home.  i then tried a few days later, then a week later.  i have tried to feed him three or four times since he has been home.  the second time, after thawing (by placing the frozen pinkie in a dish at room temp until completely thawed) i pierced the pinkie's head an placed him in the feed box i made.  i even took a pair of hemostats to create motion in the pinkie, hoping the movement in combination with the smell would excite my baby, but to no avail.  the last time i tried (yesterday evening) i placed his feed box i his tank without the lid and he just crawled right out.  i was told by the pet store that they are able to go awhile without eating, but this just doesn't seem right to me.  he doesn't appear that he's about to shed. additionally, i noticed two lumps on his spine.  they have a very slight slope and are mostly unnoticeable.  i can certainly feel them.  as of late, it seems like he now has four or five lumps.  his movement does not appear to be restricted, and he loves to crawl about my hand when i take him from his tank.  have you heard of anything like that?  I'm worried on both accounts and certainly appreciate any wisdom you may have to impart upon me.

thank you!

Answer
Here are a couple of thoughts...

your cage is actually on the large size for a baby corn. Sometimes this can cause a problem with them finding their food, but I'm not sure that's the total cause of the problem with your snake.

The temp on the warm end of the cage should be 80-85, and the cool end should be around room temp (70ish) so that it can escape the heat. They really just need the heat for digesting their food.

You did the right thing with trying to feed it a brained-pinky. Usually that will stimulate feeding. Some other things that you can try are a live pinky, if available, or buying some catfish from the grocery store and heavily scenting the pinky with the catfish. That has worked on some stubborn feeders I've had. I've rarely found hemostats to work with problem feeders. It seems to scare the snake more than entice it.

Regarding it's spine, your description leads me to believe that it has kinks in it's spine. This is usually caused by too high of incubation temps. There's nothing that can be done to fix it. When I have hatchlings like that I either freeze the snake to put it out of it's misery, or if it's not severe give it away as a gift. My guess is that it's somewhat severe with your snake and that it may have never fed at all before. Hatchlings can go a few months without eating depending on how much egg yolk they absorbed, but obviously can not go on forever if they won't eat. I would suggest trying the live pinky mouse and/or catfish scenting, and if those two don't work I would ask for a refund from the store. In fact, if the spinal issues are severe enough, you might just want to do that right away. I know that it's easy to get attached to a pet and not want to give up but I think your corn probably shouldn't have been sold to you in the first place.

Sorry I can't give you better news. Good luck.