Non-feeder Help!

[NickP961]

I have a baby, that was born on July 6th, that still refuses to eat. He drinks and I can see he urinates often. He is NOT lethargic at all, and sometimes strikes and rattles is tail, but will not bite the mouse. Here is a list of what I have tried:
Frozen thawed, frozen thawed and boiled, frozen thawed & washed in dawn dish soap, frozen thawed & washed in ivory soap, live, boiled chicken fat on mouse head/body, frozen thawed left in deli overnight, frozen thawed left in his container he lives in, frozen thawed left in dark closet, brained pinky, and a halved pinky.
I don't know what else to try. I feel like I am at the end of the road. I have tried some of these multiple times. I offer every 5-7 days, and nothing so far. I really don't want to force feed, or shove a tail down. Maybe if theres a video on doing a tail I might do it. I just don't feel comfortable enough yet. Any opinions or help please. Thanks. I really don't want this little boy to die :(

[Buzzard]

Have you tried scenting with a lizard? or scenting with a rat pinky? It may sound funny but a simple ride around the block in a car works sometimes too :)

[mini4x]

have you tried slapping him around?

[NickP961]

I haven't tried any of those. How exactly do you scent a pinky with lizard or with a rat? I have a crested gecko, but I don't think that would work. And I couldn't use his sheds, cause he always eats his sheds!!!

[NickP961]

have you tried slapping him around?

If you mean teasing him with the mouse, I have, and he has no interest and just gets annoyed.

[mini4x]

If you mean teasing him with the mouse, I have, and he has no interest and just gets annoyed.

Ok I've had very good success with this so it's what I try first now, but now all my guys are feeding well.

[NickP961]

Yupp, I tried that method first on all my hatchlings. All ate except two the first try. One started eating a couple weeks ago and this one still hasn't.

[alice green]

Do corn snakes like climbing rope I'm thinking of putting some as toys to keep the little one off the heat lamp is there any suggested fabric they like to climb??? Also are they ok with spider plants??? :)

[Pugsley]

Nanci has two very good threads on feeding non-feeders. Find them and try everything. Washing in Ivory dish soap seems to work well, also boiling water and dropping the thawed pinkie into it, leaving till the pinkie is white and rubbery seems to be a winner too.

Find Nanci's threads! She covers it all.

[Nanci]

He's tried both those, though. I'd seriously try giving him a tail. It is soooo easy. You don't want him to starve. He will learn that mouse smell = full belly = feels good, plus go through the mechanics of swallowing.

Second, what do you mean he gets annoyed when you tease feed him? Does he strike at all? If so, you can get him to feed, probably. Look down in Susan's forum- she has a video posted there about how to do it. The guy in the video uses live pinks. I've never found that to be necessary.

[NickP961]

OKay, tomorrow I will try a tail Nanci. I know I don't want him to starve, but I also don't want to hurt him. Thanks for the info.

He doesn't strike when tease fed, he just wants to get away as fast as possible and he just seems agitated that I'm messing with him. Thanks guys!

[Pugsley]

Nick -

Here are the two threads of Nanci's if you need more ideas.

http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=124856

http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=124002

Best of luck on the next feeding.

[Nanci]

If he hasn't had anything to eat in two months, I hate to say it but you're getting into the danger zone. You need to start feeding him. Take a section of adult mouse tail, about 1.5 inches long. It will look like it's too long to swallow, but it will be fine. you want to start with the fat end of the tail. Make sure there aren't any sharp bones sticking out. Open the snakes mouth gently. _Maybe_ you can just sneak the tail end in at the corner of the mouth but if not you can use the corner of a credit card, or a wooden skewer that is _blunt_ or anything else that is not sharp. Aim for the side of the jaw, not the center. You can get the tail wet and just slide it in and toward the back of the snake's throat. The opening to the trachea is in the very front so you don't have to worry about going into that. Gently twist the tail and very gently start it down. When it's about half way, pause to see if the snake will begin to swallow on its own. If the snake just sits and thinks, that's okay. If the snake tries to gag it back out, then hold him still and gently push the tail down a little further- say 3/4 of the way and give the snake another chance to swallow. If the snake isn't actively trying to spit it out, at this point you can gently ease him down onto your feeding surface (like a towel on the bed- somewhere the snake can crawl but not fall off of) and serif he will swallow naturally. I have _never_ had to insert the tail all the way down, the babies just instinctively swallow, even at the worst case, when there is about 1/4 to 1/2 an inch remaining. If you get the first tail down okay, the next time, get a little longer section, maybe 2". I would feed him tails at a two or three day interval for a few times to get some weight back on him (or at least prevent him from losing more) and then rotate through the most promising scenting methods again, following with a tail if he doesn't feed.

And watch the tease-feeding video down in Susan's private forum and see if you can try that. Sometimes you have to be very persistent to get the baby to strike, but this method is very effective on most hatchlings.

[NickP961]

Nanci,

I watched that tease feeding video last night, and I'm going to try that first today. Then later in the day if he doesn't accept it, I will try a tail just like you described. Thank you so much Nanci!!! I will keep you all updated!

[NickP961]

Nanci, thank you so much for that tease feeding tip and video on susans section!! He ate the small pinky after like 5 or so minutes of me holding him and putting the pinky up in his face at touching his face. I am sooo happy!!! Now, how often would you suggest feeding him since this is his first meal? I am thinking of doing this every 3 or 4 days to get him started. Thanks again Nanci!!

[Nanci]

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'd let him rest for four days. No handling whatsoever. Then try again. If he ate a whole tiny pink- I'd feed at a 4-5 day interval, no less.

[NickP961]

:D. Okay, I will wait four days and then try again. Yes, he ate a small pinky that I got from big cheese rodents when I made my mouse order. So happy!!

[Pugsley]

Woo-hoo! Good job Nick.

[DragonsDenSerpents]

Good job, Nick! Happy the little one ate for you. :)

[NickP961]

So, I forgot to update this :p Well, anyway, he has tease fed now, using the same method, for three times now!!! Every 4 days! He is so much stronger now, and he is going to go blue soon. His colors are much duller/darker today, but he ate again with no problem. 3 in a row, yay!

[Nanci]

Great! I would start offering him different choices again, and following up with tease feeding if he doesn't feed himself in an hour. But I'd give him the chance on each feeding. Just the basics; Ivory, Dawn, boiled, brained, maybe chicken or tuna scented. And keep rotating through them. Once he's tease feeding, it's just a matter of time. He will feed himself.

[NickP961]

Well, I've offered brained, & dawn and its still a no go. So about an hour after I offer those I tease fed, and that worked. Today I offered boiled and he wasn't interested, but I teased him a bit and he ate it! He is getting better though!

[Nanci]

As much as I've been frustrated with tease-feeding, and tired of it, a tease-feeding baby is still a billion times better than one that refuses even that!!

[NickP961]

Nanci, I agree!! Tease feeding isn't much of a hassle to me, as I only have 12 snakes, but I'm sure with a larger collection it would be a pain.