2nd week of not eatig for a new born corn?

[Arpolis]

Hello all
First of all pre-thanks out to eeryone in the forums because since I have joined the community I hae learned s much; but I must call apon the vast colctio of expirience one more time. :bowdown:

I have a Male Amel Corn Snake Gallafrey only 1 to 2 months old. I received him from PetCo and the lady said that they only had him for about 6 days and he had not eaten. I gave him a pinky the next day and he ate it after an hour or two of refusing it. The next wek was the same. Both times I ended up waiting for him to curl up in his cave and put the pinky in front of him and held it until he stated snapping at it. The third week we had him I was out on vacatin and or house siter tried t give him apinky but he refused. Now this week he is refusing again. I just tossed up last week's deal to it being new people in the home. My question is that is there any "tricks" to get him to eat or should I be worried enough now since He is young and ned to force feed him? A few other things here is that the mice I am using are live mice. The "cave" you can see in the second atached picture has a small ledge on the inside where he can curle up into making a real nice tight spot for him to hide. The tempature is around 80 - 85 through the day and 75 - 80 degrees F at night. If you need any other info I wil be glad to answer. Here are all the pics Ihave on his cage and of himself.

[Arpolis]

Sorry for the double post but the bucket thing inthe pictures is my attempt this week to give him soe alone time with his meal in hopes of him getting hungry and eatig it mut so far nothing.

[diamondlil]

As he ate for you already, I'd guess either he's going into shed or perhaps would benefit from being left a week with no handling or disturbance before being put in a small (ventilated) tub with a warrm pink.

[Arpolis]

The last time he ate was the 4th. We have not handled him fro about the 10th to the 17th. Since today marks his second week of not eating that is what I am concerned. Does anyone know how long they have had new snakes not eat and still be ok?

[northwestcorns]

I've had a few babies that needed a smaller enclosure as babies. Sometimes all that open space is intimidating. I put mine in a Sterilite shoe box for a few months.

My first corn was from PetSmart and she wouldn't eat either. I think that when they are stressed out by these big chains, they need a small, dark quiet life for a while until they get some size and confidence.

Maybe a live pink in a small, warm enclosure in the dark before you go to bed would make him feel more comfortable about eating.

[Caryl]

Healthy babies can easily go over a month without eating. Don't worry yet. I know, I know - it feels to us humans as if they must be starving, but relax. Your little one has eaten before, so he will do so again. Your temps are okay, your viv has lots of hiding places so he can feel secure. The timing would be about right for a shed cycle, and some do refuse food when they're preparing to shed. I'd leave him alone for a few days and then try again.

Where are you feeding him?

[Caryl]

Healthy babies can easily go over a month without eating. Don't worry yet. I know, I know - it feels to us humans as if they must be starving, but relax. Your little one has eaten before, so he will do so again. Your temps are okay, your viv has lots of hiding places so he can feel secure. The timing would be about right for a shed cycle, and some do refuse food when they're preparing to shed. I'd leave him alone for a few days and then try again.

Where are you feeding him?

[Arpolis]

Thanks for the reassurance there. The first two succesfull feedings happens when he was curled up in the thing that looks like a WWII plane crashed. The inside of it has a couplie of crevices that Gallafrey can slither into and get cozy and just poke his head out and that was when I would entice him with a pinky.

[Arpolis]

Well he shed this morning so i think I will venture away from my pact to only fed live mice to my guys "Since our town supply only come in on tuesdays and they are sold out the next day" and get some frozen pinkies and a couple of days and try to feed my guy that.

[Caryl]

I'm glad to hear he shed. Chances are that he'll eat again for you. You might want to put him and his dinner in a smaller container for feeding. It's easier to prevent him from ingesting bedding, easier to clean afterward, and it gives him a chance to forget about distractions and concentrate on food.

I like the WWII plane "crash," BTW. :-)

[Arpolis]

Cool you have shed so much light on this for me and I do feel better about my snakes situation. You see I am just spoiled with my snow corn because she is an awsome eater and has been since birth. I can plop any kind of mouse or rat and she goes right for it. I will get some frozen pinkies tomorrow and try to feed him again. :wavey:

[Caryl]

You're more than welcome. I've learned so much from this site - it's great!

[PJ@PJCReptiles]

Please do not shot me. I did NOT read everyone's replies.

I am not an expert, I can only offer my advise based on my experiences.

1. Big home for a hatching, so you should feed him in a deli cup or small container with holes to breathe or use a small brown paper lunch bag. Sealed safely of course. Most breeders keep hatchlings in small bins or deli cups. The hatchling eats in there as well. In a small container they do not have much of a chance to be distracted from eating.

2. You can safely leave your hatchling overnight in a container to eat. You can even place the feed container in his home sealer so you know he wont get loose. Most snakes are more active at night so feeding at dust does produce more eaters. (keep in mind I have over 300 reptiles in house and about 100 are hatchlings)

3. PetCo...they get in many hatchlings that have not eaten at all since they were born.

4. You could try braining as well or scenting. Make sure it is a small pinky. I have found that room defrosting has produce more first time eaters than when I hot water defrosted.

5. You might want to keep a log of his feedings & sheddings. Some corns just dont like to eat in blue/shed or at some stage of blue/shed. He might like to eat 2 and not eat 2. Keeping a log would help you figure that out.

Best of luck for you lil one!
PJ

[Arpolis]

Yay!!!!! He ate for today! I went to PetCo and bought some frozen pinkies and I roof defrosted the pinkie right by the heat lamp until the pinkie was warm to touch but not hot. I then took a sterile razor blade and cut through the skull and took the liquid inside and smeared that over the pinkies head. I put him in a deli cup and placed a peace of white paper lightly over the top. within 15 min the pinkie was gone and in my happy little gallafrey's stomach.

Thanks allot for every ones encouragement and suggestions.

Now 10 points to the person that can correctly guess the origin of Gallafreys name "It may be misspelled but the pronunciation should be correct."

[Caryl]

:cheers::cheers::cheers: Yay for full bellies!

[tinybubbles]

Possibly Galafre one of the least important knights of the round table?

[Arpolis]

Close for the guess on the name but the only thing you got right was the pronunciation. You have got to be a really big nerd to guess the names originaton. Here is a hint for the names origination. Another name that is closley related to Gallafrey is "Dalek" or "Time Lord".

[PJ@PJCReptiles]

Gallifrey is a fictional planet in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who and is the homeworld of the Doctor and the Time Lords.

Correct??? :shrugs:

[Medevil_Nuke]

Heh I like your viv setup. Ya the WWII plane crash is a nice touch.
As for his eating its good to hear it was just because of his shedding, but I agree with Caryl. A nice smaller container would do the little guy some good, but remember that only you know your snake the best.