my lavendar cornsnake starved himself to death

rmfsnakes32 · 11-03-12, 03:45 AM

I am sad my brand new lavader cornsnake refused to eat on the 3rd week I force fed because he was abviously weak he then regurged that back up friday I thawed out a pinky mouse and found him belly up in his water dish! Pleazse no nasty remarks about so called husbandry I know mine was right I believe I got a snake that was not an established eater

infernalis · 11-03-12, 04:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rmfsnakes32

I am sad my brand new lavader cornsnake refused to eat on the 3rd week I force fed because he was abviously weak he then regurged that back up friday I thawed out a pinky mouse and found him belly up in his water dish! Pleazse no nasty remarks about so called husbandry I know mine was right I believe I got a snake that was not an established eater

Baby rats, milks and corns can be very stubborn.

Breeder or pet shop?

CK SandBoas · 11-03-12, 04:55 AM

How long did you have the cornsnake before it passed away? And what were the temps and setup like? Also, how often was it offered prey? And force feeding should only be done as a last resort, and by someone who has experience with the technique.

Sorry about the loss of your little one.....

shaunyboy · 11-03-12, 05:43 AM

i'm not having a go at you mate,but force feeding should be a last drastic option

how old was the snake ?

when did it last feed before the force feeding ?

what were your hot end temps ?

sorry for all the questions,but they will help us figure out what may have been wrong

that said...

snakes die through no fault of the keeper

i'm sorry for your loss

cheers shaun

Donnie · 11-03-12, 07:41 AM

Sorry to hear of your loss

exwizard · 11-03-12, 07:56 AM

I got Rmf this snake from a breeder at the Tinley Park show which was 3 weeks ago. He was a baby and very small. We tried multiple time to feed him but to no avail. We did try to force feed him at a mutual friend's house earlier this week but he regurged on the way back home. We were going to try it again soon because it became critical that he get something in him but he died before we had the chance to do that. Looking back it's aparrent that this snake was not an established eater when we got him but that's only a suspicion of mine. Anyway, that's what happened.

marvelfreak · 11-03-12, 08:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by exwizard

I got Rmf this snake from a breeder at the Tinley Park show which was 3 weeks ago. He was a baby and very small. We tried multiple time to feed him but to no avail. We did try to force feed him at a mutual friend's house earlier this week but he regurged on the way back home. We were going to try it again soon because it became critical that he get something in him but he died before we had the chance to do that. Looking back it's aparrent that this snake was not an established eater when we got him but that's only a suspicion of mine. Anyway, that's what happened.

I would be contacting the breeder.

Lankyrob · 11-03-12, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by exwizard

I got Rmf this snake from a breeder at the Tinley Park show which was 3 weeks ago. He was a baby and very small. We tried multiple time to feed him but to no avail. We did try to force feed him at a mutual friend's house earlier this week but he regurged on the way back home. We were going to try it again soon because it became critical that he get something in him but he died before we had the chance to do that. Looking back it's aparrent that this snake was not an established eater when we got him but that's only a suspicion of mine. Anyway, that's what happened.

Isnt transporting a snake after eating (especially force feeding which is stressful in itself) an issue? I would also say that trying "multiple times" in just three weeks is kinda excessive too. How many times did you try in the three weeks?

Personally i would say that there was something more serious wrong than it just not eating if it went downhill that fast

aaron_cg · 11-03-12, 11:47 AM

Aww, im sorry. I would hate to lose a snake

Snakefood · 11-03-12, 11:52 AM

Sorry to hear, I would be calling that breeder pronto!!

shaunyboy · 11-03-12, 12:50 PM

if a snakes that weak or run down...

the route i would have went was,i would have tube fed it,with high protien cat and dog food from the vets

the foods designed to get sick animals back to health and full strength after periods of illness

i use a 10ml syringe and an infant feeding tube to do it

also i would never buy a snake,that did not look like it was in 100% full health mate

cheers shaun

Revenant · 11-03-12, 01:52 PM

Sorry you lost him. Just for future reference, trying to feed a snake again so soon after a regurge can be a much bigger risk than letting them go longer without food, even if you're not force-feeding.

It is possible you just got one of those babies that didn't want to start. I'd hope a breeder wouldn't put such a baby through the stress of a show and being misrepresented to the new owner, but it does happen.

I hope you have better luck with your next one and it is a normal, piggy, garbage-disposal of a corn.

iBaman · 11-03-12, 02:09 PM

i'm so sorry, rmf =[

**Aaron_S** · 11-04-12, 07:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by exwizard

I got Rmf this snake from a breeder at the Tinley Park show which was 3 weeks ago. He was a baby and very small. We tried multiple time to feed him but to no avail. We did try to force feed him at a mutual friend's house earlier this week but he regurged on the way back home. We were going to try it again soon because it became critical that he get something in him but he died before we had the chance to do that. Looking back it's aparrent that this snake was not an established eater when we got him but that's only a suspicion of mine. Anyway, that's what happened.

Who drives home with a snake they just force fed? I also highly doubt it was force feeding. Probably assist feeding. Force is when you literally take a pinky pump and pump pinky puree into the snake's stomach. Highly doubt it was that.

Anyway, who did you buy the snake from? One of the big breeders or a small timer who had them for cheaper than anyone else?

infernalis · 11-04-12, 07:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron_S

Anyway, who did you buy the snake from? One of the big breeders or a small timer who had them for cheaper than anyone else?

For those who wonder why both Aaron and I asked this..

Every breeding season for the last several years, I have lost neonate snakes from refusal to eat. (trust me, force feeding a 4mm diameter snake is not easy.. never had any success with it.)

A breeder with integrity would never sell an animal until it was established feeding, meaning it has taken a few meals without hesitation.

Often this takes a lot of work, for instance... Baby corn snakes may require a live anole or two at first to "trigger" the feeding response, some may even require starting this way and then gradually moving to pinkies.

Now we have invested time (often weeks) getting the baby to eat, and we can't charge a penny more for the work put in.

Here is a first hand example - Toby my Black Racer was $10 when I purchased him, he would eat nothing but live anoles (at $6 each) for the first two months before he would even consider a pinkie.

That's around $100 worth of feedings just to get to the part where he would eat pinkies for me. If I tried to sell a $10 snake for $110, no one would ever buy it.

So quite a few breeders will just sell the baby without putting in the effort.

Several breeders I know just put down the stubborn snakes (unless we are talking a high dollar morph) rather than get egg in the face later for selling a non feeding baby.