baby corn not eating.

[austinpaul1]

I am having trouble feeding my baby corn snake, can anyone help me? its about 6 weeks old now and im getting worried about it.

[little twiglet]

Has he eaten before??
how long have you had him if it's only a short time it might be due to stress. try coaxing him everyday and hold the pinky by the tail and jiggle it about to make him think it's moving if that doesnt work there is force feeding but it is very stressful and half the time the regurgitate anyway.
The only other thing i can think of is that he might be due to shed and some times they wont eat then
Have a go with the jiggly thing and come back to me

Good luck

[austinpaul1]

no it has not eaten before. Ive tried putting it in to a small box with a pinky and leaving it for a while but nothing. ive also tried tapping the pinky against the corns snout, it did snap for it but it then let it go and wasnt interested anymore. should I keep trying to do this?

[bmm]

Some totally random suggestions I would try:

1. Place snake in a small, SECURE box overnight with pinkie.
2. Place snake in a small, SECURE box overnight with LIVE pinkie.
3. Brain a pinkie, leave with snake overnight, in box same as above.
4. Try scenting your pinkie with a Green Anole. These are readily availble at local pet stores, just rub pinkie on anole then leave with snake overnight.

If all these things still do not work, which I am sure one will, then you can think abouyt force feeding, but that is a LAST resort. Also try feeding at night, morning or dusk...

bmm

[little twiglet]

Try not to bang the pinki on his snout rub it just behind his head ans tease him with it.
make sure the pinki isnt to big either
My corn is six weeks old too and i have been fortunate enough to have fed him three times and he has shed aswell with no problems
Keep at it im sure u'll get there soon if not go here is the number of a specialist vet u can speak to him his name is david ashton and he is london and whipsnade zoo reptile keeper
01707 331 963 try him
Good Luck

[little twiglet]

Try not to bang the pinki on his snout rub it just behind his head ans tease him with it.
make sure the pinki isnt to big either
My corn is six weeks old too and i have been fortunate enough to have fed him three times and he has shed aswell with no problems
Keep at it im sure u'll get there soon if not here is the number of a specialist vet u can speak to him his name is david ashton and he is london and whipsnade zoo reptile keeper
01707 331 963 try him
Good Luck

[reaper]

hi i had the same problem with a amel i bought from a shop she would just not feed tried a few things then phone shop and they swop amel for a anery yearling and he is feeding fine so if you got from a shop could be worth a try.

[kenalotia]

Bmm had some good suggestions. Just to add to that list, if you've tried those suggestions and they haven't worked, offer an anole (same kind of animal you used to scent the pinkie). Some corns prefer to have these lizards as their first meals. You can also cut the head off of a frozen pinkie and offer just the head, thawed.

The other thing is to give the snake a couple days off between feeding attempts. If you try it every day the hatchling could get stressed out.

The Cornsnake Manual by Bill and Kathy Love is a great resource for corns, and has tips about feeding reluctant hatchlings. If you can't get it in local pet shops, you can buy it online at CornUtopia.com (http://www.CornUtopia.com) or Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com) .

Good luck with your new snake!

[Iris]

everyone's already posted what I was about to suggest! The only other thing I want to tell you is don't bang the mouse on the snake's head. They get scared when things touch their heads so making them terrified of the mouse by hitting them on the head with it is probably not a good way to try to get your snake to eat it.
Dusk and dawn are the best times to try feeding and make sure the temperature is around 80º. That seemed to help get a few of my stubborn hatchlings to eat.

[little twiglet]

any luck with ur little one yet
I meant to ask did u buy him or breed him??

[austinpaul1]

Hi again. thanks for that number i'l probably end up having to ring him! i didnt buy it, it was bred (my 1st hatchling) the parents are quite fussy eaters so maybe that could be why. just tried the idea of cutting the pinkies head off, but he wouldnt eat that either. il let you know if he ever eats. il try that idea of rubbing the pinky on the back of its head. thanks alot, paul and beth.

[kenalotia]

BEHIND his head, not on the back of his head. Corns get scared when things touch their heads. You don't want him to be scared of the pinky, that could turn him off from eating it. Touch it to his neck, behind his head, or even further down his body to see if it'll make him strike at it.