Running out of options

[cejean]

I got Calypso from Petco back on Dec 3 after finding the hatchling I'd previously purchased from them dead. Since bringing her home I've had absolutely no luck in getting her to eat. At first, I thought maybe she was due to shed but weeks have passed and she never did. I've tried just about everything I can think of to get her to eat and nothing has worked. I've left her alone in dark quiet rooms in tiny containers so she can't possibly get away from the pinkie. I've given her an hour at a time to eat before checking on her. I've left the pinkie in the tank with her overnight. I've left her in the feeding cup with the pinkie overnight. I've offered her super hot pinkies, boiled pinkies, pinkie heads, pinkie bodies, brained, lizard scented, chicken broth scented. I've put her on top of the washing machine. I've even tried tease/slap feeding and couldn't even get her to strike the darn pinkie more than a couple times. She just kept trying to get away. I've moved her out of the 20g tank I had her in and into a much smaller Kritter Keeper hoping a smaller home would make her feel more secure and maybe she'd want to eat then. I just went out and bought Ivory soap today but just tried to feed yesterday so can't test it for a few days yet. I also have mice that are supposed to be pregnant and due around the 10th, so hopefully I'll have live pinkies to offer soon.

I'm really getting worried about her and honestly don't think she's going to make it at this point. She's still very active and constantly trying to escape, but she seems to be getting weaker. Is there anything I've missed? She consistently weighs 5g each time I weigh her, so doesn't seem to be loosing weight. Is there anything I should be doing differently? I only try every 4-5 days, so I don't think I'm offering too often but looking back at everything I've tried in the time I've had her makes me wonder if I'm just making the problem worse by changing things too often.

[Joba]

As a last resort, you might consider assist feeding. Some folks on here might flame me for bringing up this practice, but let me tell you my experience and you can make up your own mind. My baby Dumeril's Boa would not eat for the first six weeks that I had him. Like you, I tried EVERYTHING, dead or alive. He wouldn't eat. Then I met a guy at the Repticon, a local shop owner, who very kindly offered to help me with Dexter. He tried to feed him; nothing. Then he assist fed him ASF rat pinkies, and when he got the pinkie into Dexter's throat, Dex's swallow muscles were either doing nothing, or working in the opposite direction, trying to reject the pinky. Essentially, he had to work the pinky down into Dex's body before Dex slowly took it the rest of the way. It was not fun to watch.

A week later, we did it again: four ASF rat pinkies. The first one happened pretty much like the previous ones, with us doing most of the "swallowing" for him with gentle fingers. But as we continued, Dex began to take over earlier and earlier every time. By the fourth pinky, we only had to place the pinkie into the back of his mouth and hold it until he bit down. But once he did, he began to work his jaws and the pinkie and swallowed it entirely by himself.

So far, he's downed seven ASF rat pinkies and kept them all down. He is gradually learning to eat on his own, and I'm very grateful to my new friend for probably saving Dexter, as he didn't appear to even know how to eat. I'm not going to say that you should do assist feeding with your corn, but investigate it as just another option for you to consider. And if you choose to do it, try to get an experienced person to do it or at least show you how to do it.

Good luck!

[Nanci]

I would cycle through Ivory-scented (make sure you leave _some_ soapiness on the pink- do not rinse completely), boiled (fed right out of the boiling water) and chicken fat-scented, from KFC or whatever. I would feed in a very small deli cup, at night, covered up, no peeking for two hours. I would brain everything.

If the snake refuses, I would that night attempt slap feeding for about 10-15 minutes.

If you can't get her to strike, I would feed a tail- about a 1" section of adult mouse tail, big end first. You just slip the tail in the corner of the mouth, or gently open the mouth with something safe like a blunt toothpick, and twist it GENTLY in and down, about half way, then pause to see if the snake decides to swallow. If she tries to spit it out, ease it down further. Once the tail is completely in her mouth, she will almost guaranteed swallow it.

View the slap-feeding video in Susan's private forum. You need to hold the snake so about an inch of head/neck is free. Then jab the snake in the neck, not the face, repeatedly. If she strikes, FREEZE!!! If she strikes and spits it out, keep trying.

I would also try live at the earliest opportunity, but I wouldn't expect a miracle. I think you are most likely to get her going with one scent or another.

You might also try taking her out for a long car ride, packed up like you would be shipping her. Shipping frequently gets non-feeders going for some reason.

If you are maintaining her on tails or pink heads, I would attempt to feed, and then assist-feed, every four days.

[bitsy]

As well as the excellent advice above, maybe just a quick double-check of the tank? Warm side floor surface in the mid-80s constantly, cool side floor in the low 70s, with snug hides on both warm and cool sides?

Also, did your new snake come with a feeding record? Is there any chance that she wasn't feeding before you got her?

[cejean]

After watching some videos on assist feeding, I decided to try that. It looked super simple and I figured that at this point it couldn't hurt to try it. Well, she took half a pinkie first try and swallowed it right on down! I didn't shove it down her throat or anything, just made sure it was in her mouth good. I'm super happy and relieved right now. Just hope she keeps it down. Maybe this'll buy me some time to figure out how to get her eating on her own. Thank you everybody for the help. If I don't have live pinkies by the 10th I'll try the Ivory scented first and work from there. I have hope for my girl yet!

[Nanci]

Yay!! If she took assist fed once, she most likely will again. And if she eats assist-fed, just keep offering her something first- boiled, Ivory-washed, whatever, and if she doesn't take that in an hour, covered, then assist feed her. She WILL eventually start eating.

[Joba]

Congrats on the successful assist-feed. Good job.

[AliCat37]

Cool! Sometimes they just need a little help to learn what to do :)