Tease feeding reluctant feeders

[ghosthousecorns]

I have had really good success with this technique for getting stubborn babies to eat. It's in Kathy Love's book with good instructions, but since there have been a few posts about non feeders I thought I'd write a post on how I do it.
To begin with, I like to do this at dusk when they are out cruising around. I have the f/t pinky ready to go and this is what I do.
1) pick up the snake, allow it to move around in my hands for a bit until it calms down and realizes I am not a monster.
2) gently but firmly restrain the snake with my left hand (I'm right handed) and allow 1-2 inches of its head to stick out while holding it so it can't go forward or backward.
3) holding the pinky in my right hand, I bump the snake's neck (not head!) with the pinky and try to induce a strike. Some babies are too shy and will be frightened, others will strike. Sometimes they will strike once and try to get away, when this happens I let them move around in my hands a little before repositioning them to try again. They may miss and strike your finger, but it doesn't hurt.
4) if they strike at the pinky, I hold still and let them think about it for a bit. They will either spit it out or decide to 'keep' it.
5) if they begin to swallow the pinky I keep still and wait untl they have swallowed it and it is well down their body before moving. Any movement can frighten them into spitting it back up. I try to do this in a comfortable chair with the TV on since it can take a while.
6) if it doesn't work, I leave them alone for at least 3 days before trying again so I will not condition them to fear food.
7) if it does work, the next feeding I see if they will eat on their own before tease feeding again. Most of the time by the third feeding they know it's food and don't need to be tease fed any longer.

I hope this will help some of you with stubborn babies, it has worked so many times for me with babies that wouldn't eat any other way and I don't see it get recommended often enough.

[Cam5]

Is this suggested for older corns as well?

[ghosthousecorns]

I have only tried it on babies, because I feel older corns should know what food is already. They didn't get to be older corns by not eating...

[Cam5]

Understood.
I was wondering in the case of males that go off food during this time of year(like ours...since April). Although he still appears healthy, I am always looking for new ideas in the event he needs an extra nudge, soon.
(We have tried everything except washing the mice...I will try in a couple weeks.)

Helpful post, thanks.

[ghosthousecorns]

yeah with breeding males like that I feel all you can do is wait until the breeding urge is gone, but it also helps if they are not in a place where they can smell the females. you could try putting him in a different room you may have better luck. Most of my adult males go off their food during breeding season, some for a long time, but unless they lose weight I don't worry about it as they always eat again sooner or later.

[Cam5]

We have no female snakes...he's just stubborn I guess:)

Thanks again for you post!

[ghosthousecorns]

You're welcome :) I hope he will eat, it does kinda seem weird he would go off food with no females around. I'm not sure if they do that, since I've always had females around mine. I keep most of the males in their own 20 gallon tanks in a different room from the rack of females, but they still go off their food.
I've been thinking on this and I'm not sure if I would try to tease feed an adult snake, I think I'd rather not have the snake associate my hand with food. I have that problem with one of my kingsnakes already.

[jaxom1957]

You're welcome :) I hope he will eat, it does kinda seem weird he would go off food with no females around. I'm not sure if they do that, since I've always had females around mine. I keep most of the males in their own 20 gallon tanks in a different room from the rack of females, but they still go off their food.The first year I had my creamsicle male, he went off food in mid-December and didn't eat until May. I had no other snakes at the time. The weather, the amount of sunlight, something in the atmosphere tells the snakes it's time to breed. In the wild, they would go looking for a female. In captivity, they pace their viv.

[Cam5]

The first year I had my creamsicle male, he went off food in mid-December and didn't eat until May. I had no other snakes at the time. The weather, the amount of sunlight, something in the atmosphere tells the snakes it's time to breed. In the wild, they would go looking for a female. In captivity, they pace their viv.

Did you do anything to get him off his hunger strike or was he finally just hungry enough? Did he repeat strike the next year as well?

[jaxom1957]

Did you do anything to get him off his hunger strike or was he finally just hungry enough? Did he repeat strike the next year as well?At the time, he only ate live mice. I'd already kept the last pair I'd purchased for him alive for two months, setting up a cage with a water bottle and feeding them a diet of cat food, parakeet food, cockatiel crumbles and scraps from my meals. At a loss as to what else to try, I left one in his viv overnight and hoped for the best. It was gone in the morning, and he ate its companion as soon as I introduced it to his viv.

Lucius is no longer fed live food. I was able to convert him to F/T at the end of last year. I did try buying live for him in late spring, hoping to lure him off his hunger strike. When that didn't work, I dispatched the mice with broken necks and froze them for later use. Luckily, my Taiwan Beauty almost never turns down a meal, so the thawed mice that Lucius disdained went to her. I just didn't thaw anything for her until I knew if he was going to eat.

[Susan]

You could try tease feeding an adult snake, but I would recommend that you use a pair of tongs and have the snake in a container so you aren't holding it. It's a bit late for a male to still be off food due to breeding season. There may be something else going on, so keep a close eye on him. One of the best ways I've found to get an adult eating again (I've had females refuse after egg laying) is with live rat pups (pinky to small fuzzy). My snakes already know how yummy rats are, and the combination of that and being live (and annoying if kept in a smaller container with the snake) makes them irresistible. I've only had one refuse that this year, but she took a live mouse immediately (female's right to change her mind).

[Nanci]

I am so sick of the male feeding strike thing I don't think I will ever buy another male snake, unless I need him for breeding purposes. Zee hasn't eaten since June 1st, and Maizey, who did the hunger strike very late last year, is this year trying to gain weight back without regurging, and has now started throwing in a refusal here and there, that I am sure will become a full-blown hunger strike at any time...Jake missed a couple meals, but he's too much of a piggy to strike for long. Still- it's stressful for me, even though I know it's a natural behavior.

Nanci

[Cam5]

Your Beauty sounds like one of my kids "are you ganna eat that?"
Between our 3 human boys someone is always picky and someone is always hungry...I guess we can't expect our snakes to be all that different in some ways.

[ghosthousecorns]

Bump for the season...

[Airidies]

I recently got one of my non-feeders to eat like this. I'd heard about it before, probably from Kathy's book, but hadn't seen it done or tried it before. But I picked the little guy up to put him in the deli cup and he started flailing about, so I moved up his body to hold him and try to calm him down. He kept swishing his head back and forth and biting my fingers! So i picked up his f/t pink and put it close to his face. He bit the pink and started chewing, I was so happy to see it Lol. I let him finish then set him back in his tub. I did it again last feeding and he took it very quickly, i'm hoping to try just setting him in the deli with the pink next week. Maybe he's finally ready to eat :)

[Nanci]

I am so sick of the male feeding strike thing I don't think I will ever buy another male snake, unless I need him for breeding purposes....Still- it's stressful for me, even though I know it's a natural behavior.

Nanci

Funny I said that- now I look forward to male feeding strikes as vacation time for me!!

I have a clutch of babes that don't want to eat on their own this year. 2 of 13 ate on the first try. Of the refusers, I got 8 of 11 to eat using Jenn's method. You just have to be really patient. Sometimes it takes them several strikes and spit-outs before it clicks in their brains that they are supposed to swallow. My babies now are small- 4.5-6.5 grams. Some of them have been easier to feed a head and shoulders. Maybe it isn't so intimidating to them to try to swallow. It also helps if you can aim the pink so the snake strikes the nose perfectly aligned to swallow. If they have to manipulate it at all that leads to spitting out. Also it's best to _not_ try to set the snake back in the dish if it seems at all tentative.

Good luck! I'll try to remember to report back on how many of the tease-fed once babies ate on their second meal.

[Nanci]

Checking back in. The babies have now had four meals each. Each time I feed, I put them in their delis and cover them up for an hour. On feedings two, three and four, more babies ate by themselves, so I am up to 10 of 16 feeding themselves. I think only one or two converted on their second meal; most were on three or four.

Of the remaining 6, all have eaten one meal at least by tease feeding. Some have eaten two, three or four. Four are being "difficult" and have been offered pinks overnight in their bins once, which they all refused. I feel like it's just a matter of time and getting hungry enough, though, because the last time I fed, meal four, three new babies decided to just eat. So nice!

[Airidies]

So far my little one still will only eat if I hold "him" and put the pink in front of it. I've tried the deli cup but he didn't touch it. i'll try again next feeding but i'm just happy he's eating lol

[ghosthousecorns]

So great to hear it's been working for some of you.
I finally got my peppermint baby to eat - by tease feeding WITH a live pinkie! Poor little pinky though, I felt like a monster :(

[cobained]

I'll have to try this technique...I have a clutch of bloodred babies, 12, of which only about 3 or 4 voluntarily ate their first meals. They're pretty little, so I'm worried about waiting it out for too long. What if the babies are too timid/scared to actually strike? I'm also kind of worried about trying to restrain such little hatchlings; it seems so easy to hurt them!

[ghosthousecorns]

With the real timid ones, I am persistent, if they figure out they can't get away from this thing that keeps tapping and pecking at their sides, they do sometimes get mad enough to strike. Some of them will strike at anything, others have a slow fuse or something... I give them about a minute of pinky torture before giving up lol

[Nanci]

Sometimes the ones that won't actually strike will just open their mouths and bite if you hold the pink up against their nose. For a long time.

[ghosthousecorns]

I'm bumping this old thread because I'm having such good luck with this again this year. Just had a baby that hatched in July finally eat for the first time. I have started holding the pinky with a pair of plastic tweezers that makes it a bit easier, I think it might be a bit less intimidating to the snake that way, and also it makes it so the snake doesn't bite me instead, and I don't have to touch the pinky.

[Nanci]

Reporting back on last year's tease feeders. I had one hold-out. He was actually sold just about the minute he hatched, but he wouldn't eat anything, by himself. I tried all the tricks. Eventually, the buyer gave up and decided to take the brother, and we were waiting for good shipping weather. Then- I ran out of pinks and got some from a different supplier, and he ate that pink instantly, on his own. He went on to eat just fine- the buyer stocked up on a pack of pinks from that mouse supplier, and off he went!

Now this year I only have one tease-feeder, and he swallows on the first strike, but I MUST be holding him, and I cannot set him down.

Snakes are so weird...

[Nanci]

Reporting back on last year's tease feeders. I had one hold-out. He was actually sold just about the minute he hatched, but he wouldn't eat anything, by himself. I tried all the tricks. Eventually, the buyer gave up and decided to take the brother, and we were waiting for good shipping weather. Then- I ran out of pinks and got some from a different supplier, and he ate that pink instantly, on his own. He went on to eat just fine- the buyer stocked up on a pack of pinks from that mouse supplier, and off he went!

Now this year I only have one tease-feeder, and he swallows on the first strike, but I MUST be holding him, and I cannot set him down.

Snakes are so weird...