Problems with first feed...

[SPARTAN 77]

I have a four week old corn and can't get him to eat, I tried a week ago, but he refused the food no matter what i did. so i froze the pinkie and i tried it again today... no luck. this guy just won't eat i have another one that ate okay but i've tried everything but feeding it lizards which i really don't want to do, any advice?

[NennaMeerkat]

Need to know setup, temps, ect. Everything you do and such with the snake. Have you left it alone between feeds? Is it in a busy part of the house or in a place in the house where it doesn't see much traffic?

[SPARTAN 77]

I don't know the exact temps, but it's a ten gallon with a heating pad on the bottom (off to one side) and i have to log hides and a small water dish, aspen bedding and news paper in the tank. it's in a bedroom so there not a terrible disturbance of the tank. the two corns are in the same tank.

[Nismo89]

I would suggest investing in a few probe thermometers to get the temps all dialed in and separating the snakes as they are solitary creatures in the wild and don't like company unless mating for the most part

[Uncle_Rev]

Take a thawed pinky and give it a snip with a pair of shears. Try feeding it a half and see how he reacts.

You can also use the bag trick, but my corn ate a quartered pinky without much effort at all.

[Uncle_Rev]

Have you left it alone between feeds? Is it in a busy part of the house or in a place in the house where it doesn't see much traffic?

This is dead on. My little guy will NOT eat at all if anyone is around him or there is a lot of traffic.

[NennaMeerkat]

1. Separate the snakes. It is probably stress from being with another of its own kind in such close proximity that keeps it from eating.

2. Wait a week after separating before feeding again. The snake has got to get de-stressed before it will eat again.

3. When you do feed it again try "braining" the pinky. Basically after it is thawed split the head open with a knife. It really brings out the scent of the pink.

4. Do not remove the snake from the tank when feeding. Either buy a hide that is sort of hollow with a bottom that you can put the pinky in (some snakes like to hide while eating...mine does) OR get a small plate and put it in the tank with the pinky on it. Cover it with one of the hides.

The fourth step is how I got my baby snake eating after she went on a hunger strike for about 3 months. Now she eats like a champ cause she can hide while she eats. But for your corn I bet just giving it a home by itself will help out a lot.

[candyraver69]

I'm interested to hear all the answers here too because 3 of mine don't want to feed either. The hot side of the viv right at the heat tape sits at about 80, the other side about 65-70 depending on the time of day. They have a hide at each end, water is in the middle but closer to the cool end. Humidity is running about %70 right now.

In the beginning I had a lot of trouble getting them to eat. One meal of live, putting them in a deli cup with holes and a live pink in a dark cupboard for 30 minutes did the trick for all but the three, they took f/t 5 days later like pros. However, others have cautioned it may be hard to switch after doing this so use your own judgement.

I'm going to try again tomorrow, I wish you the best of luck getting your little guy to eat.

[NennaMeerkat]

Every snake likes to eat differently. So some will eat out in the open, others like to hide away. Some don't mind being picked up and put into a different place to eat, others are home bodies. So really you just can't stress and sort of work to find out what works for your snake.

But before anything else I stress again to separate the two snakes you are housing together.

[Lankyrob]

The hot end for corns needs to be 86f - if it is too cool then they wont eat as they need the heat to aid their digestion.

To the OP - you have a heat mat under the enclosure with no thermostat? How do you know that oyu arent cooking the snakes? All heat elements near an animal NEED to be thermostated so that the temperatures can be kept at the correct levels.

[youngster]

Sounds exactly like the conditions mine is in and he eats like a champ so I don't know what's wrong. I would get a thermometer though.

[ladyjustice33]

Let me tell you how we got our baby corn to eat. First I used a little box my bank checks came in and poked a few air holes in it. I put Juno in and put him in a dark spot for about 15 minutes to get him settled. Then I took a frozen/thawed pinky, made sure it was warm all the way through, and cut it's head off. As quietly as possible, I lifted the lid and set the head in with Juno. Checked and after 15 minutes, he had ate the head. I then made sure the body was still warm and set the body in. Checked about 20 minutes later and he had ate the body too!!! Success!!!

[SPARTAN 77]

Ok, i'll definitely look into separating them, i'll set up another tank and dig up another heat pad somewhere, but it's been three weeks... should i really wait another week? I probably shouldn't worry about that because some people say that they wait a month before the first feeding.

[Lankyrob]

another week should be fine unless you are worries about the condition of the snake? Shauny had a carpet go 10 months straight form the egg with no food and that snake is still fine.

[SPARTAN 77]

another week should be fine unless you are worries about the condition of the snake? Shauny had a carpet go 10 months straight form the egg with no food and that snake is still fine.

yep, the snake appears healthy, no worries. but i have another pinkie that's live so i'm going to try it, but if that fails i'll have to freeze the pinkie :(

[NennaMeerkat]

Curious now...

Is the other corn that the corn that isn't eating is homed with eating okay?

[SPARTAN 77]

Yes that one eats fine. he's eaten twice now, i think separating them will really help the situation.

[SPARTAN 77]

And, of coarse with my luck, I'm going to have to give it back to the guy i got it from so he can start him out. :mad:

[shaunyboy]

have you got plenty hides in their tank and maybe some fake plants.this will help make them feel more secure

i would seperate them as well,incase the non feeder does not want to make its self vulnerable at the point of eating.it can't defend itself with a pinkie in its mouth,so may fear the feeding snake.it may be dominating the other and stressing it out

cheers shaun

[SPARTAN 77]

have you got plenty hides in their tank and maybe some fake plants.this will help make them feel more secure

i would seperate them as well,incase the non feeder does not want to make its self vulnerable at the point of eating.it can't defend itself with a pinkie in its mouth,so may fear the feeding snake.it may be dominating the other and stressing it out

cheers shaun

Yes i have them separated, didn't help, and I tried rubbing the pink with a lizard, that didn't work either, but when i put the lizard up to him he bit it. so I don't know where to get baby lizards to feed him and i don't like the idea of that either.

[Lankyrob]

Why lizards? I may be way off the mark here and forgive me if i am but corns eat mice.

[Gungirl]

How are the temps in the tank?
Do you have it in a quiet room of the house?
Are you not disturbing it except for water changes?

If all this stuff is correct and what you are doing then .....

Take a F/t Pink heat it up really well at night before you go to bed. Place it on a small plate near the hide the snake is in. Shut off lights and walk away. The pink should be gone when you wake up.

[blindfireak40]

Why lizards? I may be way off the mark here and forgive me if i am but corns eat mice.

Ideally, yes, but lizards can be the prey of choice for wild neonates; sometimes that preference comes to the surface in CBB specimens as well. I seem to remember reading that an entire locale (Miami, perhaps? I'm not sure) is known for a continued preference for lizards through life.

Of course, Mice are healthier, easier to procure, and more readily available in frozen form, but lizards are also realistic prey items, at least for the first few weeks.

Best of luck, Spartan...hope the little guy eats for ya :)

[SPARTAN 77]

How are the temps in the tank?
Do you have it in a quiet room of the house?
Are you not disturbing it except for water changes?

If all this stuff is correct and what you are doing then .....

Take a F/t Pink heat it up really well at night before you go to bed. Place it on a small plate near the hide the snake is in. Shut off lights and walk away. The pink should be gone when you wake up.

Ok the the tank has a heat pad on the bottom off to one side. but the snake prefers the hid on the cool side. but i don't know the exact temps.

[Gungirl]

Ok the the tank has a heat pad on the bottom off to one side. but the snake prefers the hid on the cool side. but i don't know the exact temps.

You need to get a temp gun and figure out your temps.. this could be why its not eating.

[Lankyrob]

It could be only using the cold side cos the hot side is way too hot, you MUST know the temps for the reptile.

[Snakefood]

I agree, he could be staying only on the cold side if your heat pad is uncontrolled. Heat pads without thermostats, riostats, or dimmers reach 111-120 degrees or more.

[millertime89]

<-has awesome thermostat solution, working on write-up now. I'll make them to sell as well if you don't want to do the wiring work.

[SPARTAN 77]

Well, I acquired a baby lizard and he ate it fine, now the trouble that comes with switching him over to pinks. but he did eat so the threat of starvation is gone.
:)

[Gungirl]

Well, I acquired a baby lizard and he ate it fine, now the trouble that comes with switching him over to pinks. but he did eat so the threat of starvation is gone.
:)

You should have kept the lizard and just rubbed a pink all over it to see if he would take scented...I'm glad he ate for you though.

[SPARTAN 77]

You should have kept the lizard and just rubbed a pink all over it to see if he would take scented...I'm glad he ate for you though.

tried that a million times, this was the last resort. I hate having to feed lizards to snakes.