Hatchling won't eat

[Sweetooth710]

I have a corn snake thats a month, to to months old. I've had him for almost 2 weeks. I bought him on Aug. 28 and fed him a f/t pinkie the day after (the 29th), so its been about 10 days since I successfully fed him. He was shy and didn't strike at it or anything so I put him in a container and draped a towel over it and he ate the first time. After feeding him that saturday I tried to feed him again on wednesday not interested. I took him out of his container and back into his viv. I brained the pinkie and dropped it in over night.. Still nothing. I tried again a couple of days later.. I dipped it in tuna juice, tried teasing, no reaction whatsoever. I then tried braining it and then I left it in his viv overnight again... Nothing. Here I am 10 days later and decided to try a live pinkie (much to my dismay), because the breeder told me to feed him live, and that he wasn't taking f/t. So I again, put him in a separate feeding enclosure with a live pinkie.. Still nothing. I put the snake in a small deli cup with the pinkie and planned on leaving them in there overnight... Is this a good plan? What if he still hasn't eaten the little pinkie, what should I do with the poor little guy, can I take him back to the petstore?

[ladypunk123]

Well... Normally I only feed my snakes once a week. Feeding him every 3 days isn't something you need to do. Snakes can survive without eating for quite some time, so give him time. Try feeding him in another week. If he doesn't then, check your temps and perhaps consult with a vet. Bring a stool sample.

[ladypunk123]

My one snake (kenny) will go 2 weeks without eating sometimes. Then he'll randomly pick back up. Could your snake be about to shed?

[medusacoils]

I think you need to take a step back and let the snake settle before you try feeding him again. Give him about 4 or 5 days of rest. By constantly working on getting him to eat, you are probably stressing him out, which by itself, will cause him to snub his food.

Don't worry too much about his lack of food. They can go for a little while without eating. I realize that he isn't an adult, but just to give you an example, I had an adult male anery that went for seven months without eating. He is doing fine, now.

So, in about 4 or 5 days, try again. Place him in a paper bag or a deli cup, then drop the pinkie in. Put this back in the viv that you keep him and close it up. Check it in the morning and I will bet that he will eat it.

While you are waiting for the time to pass, read the FAQ section which will help answer a lot of questions that you may have, then read the Munsons plan, which is a good feeding schedule to follow.

Here are the links;

FAQ
http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28341

Munson Plan
http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50106

Good luck and keep us posted!

Wayne

[Sweetooth710]

Well... Normally I only feed my snakes once a week. Feeding him every 3 days isn't something you need to do. Snakes can survive without eating for quite some time, so give him time. Try feeding him in another week. If he doesn't then, check your temps and perhaps consult with a vet. Bring a stool sample.

I was planning on feeding him once a week also, but after 5 days I tried to feed him twice, on consecutive days. So the 5th and 6th day since his first feed, I tried to feed again. This might not have been the best thing to do (because as you guys stated, it can stress them out by trying to feed too much). I thought he was hungry bucause he kept cruising his viv at night, thought he was looking for food. I then waited 3 days and tried to feed him a live pikie to him (last night), I put him and the pinkie in a deli cup and left in his viv overnight.. Still didn't eat it, so i'm on day 11, now. I'm just gonna leave him alone until Saturday, to feed him so he can settle. It will have been exactly two weeks then. I will keep you guys posted... I'm just wondering what to do with this poor live pinkie? Hes still squiriming around trying to suckle.:awcrap:

[ladypunk123]

Uuuuh. Put him in a plastic bag and just give it a good wack on the counter... I know that sounds terrible but it's the best thing to do. Honestly. I'd give your snake a good 4-5 days before you try again. Then try warming a frozen one and putting him in the deli cup again. Are you covering it? Sometimes they like privacy my very first corn (Kellogs) would never eat while I watched. Ever. It developed when he was younger and he never got over it in all the 9 years I had him.
Snakes are nocturnal. They do a lot of moving and climbing at night... it doesn't mean he's hungry. I normally can tell when my one gets hungry because she'll move around during the day more than usual.

[ladypunk123]

You shouldn't need to feed live if he's been started on f/t... feeding live is a somewhat rocky road to take... if he decides he prefers live you'll end up with a snake like my BP who would literally starve before taking something that had been in the freezer.

[Sweetooth710]

I fed a f/t pinkie the day after I got him, even though the breeder I bought the snake from, told me that he was only taking live. So since he hadn't been eating lately, I thought I'd try a live, then try to get him back on frozen. I actually ended up taking the live pinkie, back to the pet store.. They were all surprised he was still alive! I will wait 4 or 5 days until I attempt to feed him again.. Thanks for the input.

[ladypunk123]

Hmmmm... it's interesting that your breeder would recommend you feeding him directly after purchase... I've always heard "leave them for a week then feed them". Well... either way, good luck with getting him to eat!

[Sweetooth710]

I waited 4 days and tried to feed him last night... No luck, but I did notice something today... He is obviously about to shed because his skin is raising off of his body, and his coloration is very dull. I look at him every day and never noticed his eyes go blue, so perhaps thats why hes not eating. I'm a little relieved now, but it's still been 15 days since his last feed. I will wait for him to shed before I try again, and hopefully that will do the trick... I need to do some research on shedding now...