Dinner Bell

[Scubadiver59]

Okay, I put some Aspen substrate down for my juvenile King and Corn, and last night was feeding time; however, I was stood up and both snakes were "no shows" and the food sat out all night without being taken. Well, I retrieved the cooled carcasses this morning and trashed them, and I'm not sure I want to waste food, thawing nightly, waiting for them to show up.

Sure, burrowing is natural for them, and so is going lengthy times w/o food when food is scarce...but, what do the rest of you do, those that have substrate and burrowers? Do you dig them up, or just wait for them to become more active up top, in hunting mode, so to speak? If I dig them up, they might just take off and hide in their faux hollow log pile, but at least then I can put the food at the entry points and they can eat when they come out.

I don't keep thawed food ready until the day before scheduled feeding, so it takes a day of thawing, and an hour or two at room temperature, and then a 10min heat treatment before feeding.

My Corn is still small that I can't see it waiting that long to feed, but you know snakes--just when you thought you had them figured out... :rolleyes:

[dave himself]

Do you know if they are in shed, two of our snakes will eat in shed and the other two won't. Also if you find out this is case it will save you defrosting and wasting feeders in the future :)

[Scubadiver59]

Thus far, when they've shed, all of once for each, I would find them at the bottom of the sphagnum moss bowl I keep in their enclosures for humidity balancing; however, neither we found there last night, nor this morning.

That's what I get for putting in substrate...sigh... :rolleyes:

Do you know if they are in shed, two of our snakes will eat in shed and the other two won't. Also if you find out this is case it will save you defrosting and wasting feeders in the future :)

[Andy_G]

Provided the cage isn't so large that they can't find the food, no action should be required.

[Scubadiver59]

They've always been in the 40gal vivs, and I always put the food at the base entrances of the faux hollow log structure they hide in when I can't find them to present the food in person...but now, they're buried somewhere in the substrate, who knows where, and they didn't clean up last night's meal like I expected.

So, I'll have to wait for them to come out topside. The last time I saw the Corn, she was poking her head up from the front left corner, but then I didn't see her again.

Sigh...

Provided the cage isn't so large that they can't find the food, no action should be required.