still not eatting

[superchole]

ok its week 3 for my corn snake and he still hasnt eaten anything i have him in a container with a pinky right now but what should i do if he doesnt eat. im starting to get real worried i dont wont my first snake to die it might lead me away from snakes if i think there too much work. any suggestion would be great

[damzookeeper]

I'm fairly new at snakes myself and I too have a corn that is not eating. Going on a month and I've tried just about everything so far. Only a couple things left to try advised from the breeder.
How old is your snake and what have you tried so far for feeding. When I first got my girl I tried f/t and she wouldn't eat, then I tried f/k and she wouldn't eat, then she shed so I chalked it off as that and tried the f/k again still nothing. so I tried a live pinkie. Nothing, then a lizard scented pinkie, nothing, then a brained pinkie. She still hasn't eaten. I've left her alone (again) for a week and I'll be trying a pinkie head scented with chicken broth with a drive out next. lol. Dang snake, she is scaring the crap out of me, but she has water and she seems to be alright otherwise. luckily with snakes they can go a long time without eating but at such a young age is kind of scares me. If she was my adult I wouldn't think so much about it till she hadn't eaten for over 2 months. Most corns are easy to feed but then you get some that are a bit more skittish I guess. have you tried giving her live, as long as it is something small enough that there are no teeth yet, like a pinkie or fuzzie (eyes still closed) or is the snake too big for this?
I hope you dont' scare off snakes, they are awesome pets and very fascinating to watch and learn about. Hope he/she eats for you soon. Good luck.

[hooter]

damzookeeper,

If your snake wouldnt eat after that many tries you seriously need to check your husbandry habits and or take it to the vet asap to be checked for parasites or infections.

[Tim_Cranwill]

superchole, give us some details about how you are keeping the snake (enclosure type, size, temperatures, hides/furniture and etc) and what feeding methods you have tried. Hopefully someone can give you a hand once we get a bit more info.

[superchole]

the snake itsself is about 12 inches long and its in a 40 gal breeder that i just had from a tortoise that i moved into a new home, newspaper substrate plenty of hide spots inculding under the newspaper, water dish, some small logs(they are clean), 85 during day and 78-80 at night(is that to cold). he/she seems real active and is fast when i try to pput him/her in a container for feeding but all he/she does is hide during day and night. ive tried holing pinkie infront of it for a little while, i put it in a container with it over night and he/she just wont eat. i always warm it up by putting it in a baggy and run warm water over it and then put it in a cup of hot water (still in baggy) for a little while and the pinkie if nice and warm by then. when i had it in the container last it was wrap up around the pinkie sleeping but not eatting it, the pinkie was just like on top of it kinda. should i try a live pinkie next? how long can a corn go without eatting? i just dont know what to do anymore.

[Andy_G]

Move it into a much smaller cage...that is way way too big for a baby corn. Also, instead of taking your animal out, leave the food inside the cage overnight and see what happens.

[superchole]

yea i was thinking the tank size mit be a problem but then i was like well the bigger the better but i guess i was wrong. a 10 gal should b fine for now right

[damzookeeper]

Originally posted by hooter
damzookeeper,

If your snake wouldnt eat after that many tries you seriously need to check your husbandry habits and or take it to the vet asap to be checked for parasites or infections.

Well. I checked my temps and all. I used them for my prev. baby and he did fine, grew fast and ate like a pig, ever 5-7 days. But I guess this one is more fussy. The temps are 73 on the cool side and 85 on the warm side, I'm guessing I have to lower it a bit? I lent my cornsnake manual to a friend and havn't got it back yet, he lives out of town, hubby is supposed to get it back for me tomorrow since they work together. Anyway, I have him in a shoe box rubbermaid on paper towel with a coconut hide and a water dish. Exactly the same as my last snake. All I can see is the temps?! I took them down a bit.

[Queensnake29]

Ok...I'm no expert either, but I have 4 cornsnakes now and here is how I got ALL of my snakes to eat. I will start from the beginning.
I bought my snake and left it alone for a day in it's containment. Then (you can choose either or) I have a huge enclosure that I put my snakes in when they got bigger. However, I started with a sterilite (rubber-maid type) of containment with a double locking top and drilled holes in the top (the smallest I could...that way your little wiggle-worms don't get out) it is .
I got a small hide for a baby snake that has an attached water dish and when I brought the baby home I led it into it's hide/cave. I placed the containment in the dark, so that the snake felt comfortable and ready to explore. (I have read most babies think EVERYTHING will eat them...so it makes sense for your's not to be doing much)
After another day (being the second day) I got a petite pinky and placed it right infront of the snake's hide entrance. I left it there for several hours. I have only had 1 snake that didn't go for it! The one that didn't take the 2nd day took it the 3rd day I offered her one.
Also, holding your baby might be stressing her/him out-----so feed them without holding him/her. Also, feeding time I have read it primarily during the evening....so, until she/he gets useto eating pinkies....feed only at night when it is natural. I hope this helps you out!

[damzookeeper]

Queensnake, thanks for the advice, wish it helped me out though. lol, I have actually left my baby for 6-7 days without interacting and she still wont eat. I tried again this week with a pinkie head scented with chicken broth and still nothing. This isn't my first baby, my first one ate for me first offering wich was 3 days after being home. This one just wont! I have it in a small rubbermaid, the shoe box ones. In a rack system (so it's dark) she has a hide and water dish and is on paper towel, just like my previous baby. knowing who she comes from I highly doubt she has parasites and I dont' want to take her to the vet and stress her even more at this point. Maybe it's my temps, I've brought them down a bit and I'll see from there. I tried feeding in her tank last feeding but I was told that that might be too big a space, but lifting her into a sandwich container might be stressing her too. BAH, I'm at a loss! I think next week I'll try the drive out. :(

[vanderkm]

Simplicity seems to help when we were dealing with non-feeding corns. We use a tub that is about 4 inches by 8 inches, paper towel for bedding and a puppy water dish that is hollow underneath for them to hide under. They get a constant temp of about 83 degrees daytime and 75 degrees nighttime - too hard to maintain a gradient in such a small container. Absolutely no handling (except to remove them to clean tub) until they feed. We actually use 1/2 inch diameter plastic tube hides as well and they spend much of their time crammed into those. Security is important for baby corns.

We offer the very warm pinky (F/T) or live (if they have refused F/T a couple times) with nose into the hidespot - late evening and leave it overnight. We don't offer more often than once every 5 days. We have had almost no luck with scenting or holding corns and tease feeding. Some that are reluctant to strike, we have been able to attract to the dead pinky by gently twitching it.

Overall, the less disruption to the snake during this time the better. If they fail to feed after 2-3 attempts like this for new owners, we would replace the hatchling. We have not had established feeders that we have sold stop feeding in their new homes if they were left alone for a week to settle in before feeding. Not having the mouse warm enough or the snake being in a shed has been the most common reason - after excess handling and cages too big - for snakes not eating. Assist or forcefeeding should likely be left to your breeder - the success rate is variable in our experience.

best of luck with these guys,

mary v.