I got a baby corn snake about 2 months ago but it won’t eat. I’ve tried exposing the brain and it still acts like it isn’t interested. i try feeding it twice a week but nothing. Is force feeding too stressful for a 3 month old snake? the diameter of the snake is smaller that the diameter of the newborn pinky.
First of all, warming rocks are horrible and can electrocute the snake. this happened with my friend’s snake. Second, dont try force feeding yourself. See if the local vet would do it or even thinks its advisable. How long since it last ate? My baby cornsnake Princess was about the same age when she went off food, and she died a short time later. The vet said something was wrong with her from birth and it just took a while to show up since my other cornsnake was in the exact same conditions and she eats like a pig. Also, a heat lamp would be a good source of heat to encourage a picky eater. Good luck with the baby!
Cornsnakes need belly heat to digest properly. You should have an under the tank heat mat that sticks under the tank on one side. Substrate can be aspen or even a thick layer of paper towels for a baby. A hiding place on the warm side and on the cool side. They also need a shallow bowl to soak in so they don’t become dehydrated.
To feed, put the snake in a container, like an empty Coolwhip container, and put the dead pinkie in there too. Put the lid on (with air holes) and leave it for 20-30 minutes. Hopefully this trick will work. Be sure to leave her alone for a few days after eating. Here is a helpful website:
http://www.kingsnake.com/rockymountain/RMHPages/RMHnewpage11.htm
Make sure your snake isn’t stressed. Needs to be in a quiet place where it can hide when it wants to and gets a natural day and night cycle. Also needs to be warm when you feed it (above 65 degrees F, better at 75-85). If you are feeding frozen pinkies, make sure they are thawed and warm (place them in warm water). I was able to get one of my young ones to eat by dipping the pinky in chicken soup broth first. Has your snake gone through a molt recently?. Sometimes they aren’t hungry just before they shed. Getting young reptiles to eat is sometimes difficult and the last resort is force feeding small pieces of the mouse. This really is a last resort and should only be done by someone with experience because you can injure the snake. Most will eventually eat on their own but watch for weight loss. If your snake starts looking noticeably thinner (or sides get sunken) then it is an emergency situation and force feeding may be the only answer.
There are lots of things to try before force feeding. You didn’t say if the snake ate during the time you got it and now won’t eat, or if it hasn’t eaten at all for 2 months. You might only try offering food once a week. Offering too often can cause refusal. You might also try washing a frozen thawed pinky in very hot water and Ivory soap or any mild soap. Rinse well in hot water and dry thoroughly. Place in with the snake and leave it alone. You also didn’t mention if you are feeding in the enclosure or in another cage. If you are feeding in a seperate container, I’d try feeding in the cage instead. Remove any substrate you might have and replace it with paper towel. Make sure you have numerous hides. Feed at dusk and placed the washed pinky in front of wherever the snake is hiding. Leave it alone. Cover the tank with a towel if necessary. You can also try live, if you haven’t tried that yet. Try scenting with a lizard. I had a couple of difficult feeders from last years clutch that ate when I offered f/t pinkies that had been washed and scented with lizard. They eventually transitioned to regulare f/t pinkies. Make sure you have a warm side of 85 degrees and a cool side of mid 70’s. I would refrain from handling your snake during this period to cut down on stress. Once it’s established feeding, then you can start handling it. I would assume you bought this one at a petstore so you won’t have someone to ask about it. This is one bad thing about petstores. Babies can go a long time without food, especially if they’ve been eating and it only recently went off food. You might even try holding it and feeding it as a last resort. I had one problem feeder that would only eat if you held it in your hand. Go figure! It went on to eat normally from a seperate container later, although for a while it had to be put in a dark box to get it to eat.
Have a look at this site,
http://members.aol.com/Kathandcam/Hawkherp/care.html
It is possible that your snake is stressed or sick.
Make sure you are following all the appropriate guidelines for keeping a corn snake. Have a clean cage with a good heat range. You can use a heat lamp (that the snake cannot touch), or a heat pad under the tank, on one end. This will allow your snake to move to somewhere warm if it wants or cooler if it needs to. Make sure you have a good cycle of night and day. You should be able to get all this information by looking for an online care sheet.
If you have a clean cage, with a good heat gradient, fresh water, and maybe some toys to climb on, a place to hide, in the warm and cool end of the cage, then that is a good start. If you are missing some of these things, re-think your cage design.
Assuming your cage is okay, and the animal is not sick, it should eventually eat. Take a frozen pinkie and place it in a cup of boiling water for 10 minutes. Then using a set of feeding tongs take it out of the water, shake of the excess, and wave it around in front of the snake. See if it will strike the prey and eat it.
Some people prefer a separate feeding cage with nothing in it. Leave it in there with the prey for a while in peace and quite, probably low light or covered cage.
If your snake is a wild caught one feeding it may be problematic for a while. But there are some good articles about feeding problem snakes online if you look.
February 8th, 2010 at 1:59 pm
does your snake have a warming rock where it can get and keep it’s body temp. at a good level? Was this a snake bought from a reputible dealer or one you found in the wild? Lots of things can keep a snake from feeding.
I’d find a vet that specializes in snakes and take the little guy in to make sure that there is nothing seriously wrong with him. Good luck.