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When should I start worrying?

Kevin S.
07-31-2004, 04:01 PM
Hey guys. This is my first time breeding my snakes and my first clutch hatched last weekend. Of the 7 hatchlings, 5 ate the same day or the day after they hatched. This weekend, all but 2 have shed, with only 2 of the original 5 feeders eating this time (both ate after shedding). I'm thinking the other 3 will resume feeding after they shed. However, the 2 that still haven't eaten have me puzzled. They take notice of pinkies and sometimes nose prod them (one is especially interested in tongue flicking if I scent the pinkies) but never eat. I've left them alone in deli cups with them, brained the pinkies, put shed house gecko skin on the pinkies and still no luck. I know it's just been a week so it's no big deal yet, but I was wondering how long I should wait before I should start worrying. I'll be out of town for the next 2 weeks for work, but I'll be back on weekends to feed. Any other tips for things I should try or will I just have to wait another week and try again? Thanks in advance for any advice.

Missy
07-31-2004, 07:03 PM
well for starters kevin, you are not meant to feed them until they have had their first shed, within 7-10 days of hatching, however at this moment i wouldnt worry to much about it. i am surpirsed that they did eat soo soon though.
the 3 that had eaten but have not yet shed, will more likely eat once they have shed. give them a few days
the 2 that have eaten, then shed and have eaten again are fine.
the 2 that have not yet ate, let them shed first before you try again, once they have shed, leave them a day then try again, they should eat. maybe try braining the pinkie again, or cutting the pinkie in half, if all this fails, you may have to force feed. they all should be okay though
good luck and hope this helped.
:-)

Kevin S.
07-31-2004, 07:25 PM
Well I thought they weren't supposed to eat till after their first sheds, but when I went to find info. on first feedings I couldn't find that in writing anywhere. It's not even mentioned in the Corn Snake Manual. I saw a few of them drinking a lot right after I got them in their tubs and they were moving around a lot, so I decided to try it. The 5 that ate took little tempting and seemed ready to go. The 2 that didn't still seemed interested, in fact they're less interested in pinkies now than they were before. They've all shed now, so I'm going to try again tomorrow. I'm not too concerned about the ones that already ate, I just want to make sure I get something in the 2 that wouldn't eat before too long. Thanks for the help, I may try cutting one in half if the braining doesn't do it again.

Missy
07-31-2004, 07:38 PM
hehe kevin, i wasnt trying to say you did wrong, i just assumed everybody knew that. silly me. ive just never heard of corns eating before their first shed, they always have their first shed, then they eat, it probably wont do them any harm either way.
well good luck with the last 2 then. they may just be slow starters, its ok, you do get those little ones that just do some things later than others.
let me know how they go
:-)