My 2 New Baby Corns Not Eating

[DarkRainbow]

Hey guys, I am a new snake owner (I just got two baby corn snakies on this past Monday) and I think I am having trouble feeding my new baby snakes. I looked online and there seems to be an agreement that you should wait to feed your snakes after you get them for around 3 to 7 days, depending on the website. I got my snakes 6 days ago, it took a couple days for me to get the vivarium to stay at a consistent temperature, and my first attempted feeding was three nights ago on Thursday. I thawed out the pinkies, made sure they were warm and not too big. My first attempt at feeding failed because of me I think, as I did not have an appropriately sized container to put them in, so they just kept crawling out. Last night and tonight, I tried in a much bigger, sealable, plastic container. My concerns are this- Petco is where I got the pinkies from, and their fridge broke down and had everything thaw out. I spoke with two different people and they both assured me that the product I was getting was fine, however the first employee I spoke with on the day I got the snakes said that they would have mice for a week or so, which makes me nervous. I do not feel Petco employees are competent in all aspects of things, but I have never seen pinkies before so I am not sure how they should look/feel/smell, etc. Could it be that my little snakies are being defiant on their own, could it be the Petco pinkies, or could it be my shortcomings on some part of the feeding? Or...do I even have anything to worry about? Tomorrow I will venture out to the other Petco to retrieve some other pinkies to narrow down what I've got going on. My snakies are named G'Kar, he is the shyer amelanistic cutie, and David Bowie, the anerythristic little trouble maker. Not exactly sure my classifications are correct, but they are so cute and so small! I want them to fill their bellies! Thanks for any input

 

[captainjack0000]

Okay, so that I have the facts straight.

Acquired snakes on Monday (17th)
Attempt to feed on Thursday (20th)

I would have waited a while to let them settle in before feeding, and a while after you have steady temps.

Secondly, you don't say when they last ate. Depending on where you bought them, I bet some stores will sell animals the day they're fed, not giving a second thought to the 48 hr waiting period. My thinking is that if they ate even as recently as Friday the 14th, and then you bought them, brought them home, and set them in their new individual tanks (cohabbing is bad idea), then they might not even think about food until the 21st or a bit later.

The other that could help solve this would be if we knew how your setup is arranged. What are your temps, how many hides, etc because stress might be a cause for a lack of eating.

It sounds like you're using a separate feeding tub. How long did you leave them in there to eat? Do you have a way of leaving them alone with the pinkie for a while, without risking an escape?

I had luck with one snake by putting a pinkie in a brown paper lunch bag, and then the snake in the bag, folding over the top and putting the whole thing in their permanent enclosure. I left it in there for a good hour. They can eat without fear of ingesting substrate, and should he choose to leave the bag, he's back at home. After the hour I checked on him, and found the mouse gone. So I gently tilted the bag on its side to let the snake out on his own and left the bag in there for the rest of the 48hrs.

If you google image search pinkie mouse, you can get an idea of what they look like.

Also, I would seek out a non big box store for food as I suspect they're charging more than they should. Check out RodentPro or GourmetRodent online for some cheap frozen mice.

 

[DarkRainbow]

Captain Jack, thank you very much. Yes, you have the facts right on date acquired (Monday) and first attempted feed (Thurs). Also, they did indeed eat last on Friday the 14th. The book I have and a few websites said to wait three days after taking the snakes home to feed them. However, I later found that waiting around 5-7 days was a more popular answer.

Their set-up is a 10 gallon viv (for now) with UTH, 1 hide, 1 vine they can tuck away in, 1 water dish and aspen shavings. I have got a probe thermometer, thermostat and humidity sensor. I got my snakes from Petco, which I now know is not the best place to get snakes from, but I got the stamp of approval and couldn't wait to hear back from the breeder I was trying to get in touch with because I was so excited. I asked the guy there if I could put both snakes in one viv and he said yes, I have learned from this while experience that Petco...is not the way to go. Anyway, thanks for giving me a heads up on that, did some research and I will be getting another viv & set up tmrw. The temp of my current viv is always around 80 on the warm side and around 60 on the cooler side (for now during winter, our house is quite chilly during the week/evenings).

I do definitely use a separate tub for eating, it is a plastic bin with a lid w/ airholes. It is 15 x 10 x 11 inches big (5 gallons). I left them in there, separately feeding each of course, for about appx. 20 min. each time. I am going to get a new bin tmrw, as this one they can kind of perch themselves under a lip in the lid. How long should I leave them alone in there with the pinky for? A have been lowering the pinkie down, shaking it a bit, and then kind of trying to put it in front of his face (as I saw someone do on a successful baby corn feeding on youtube). Writing this out now, I can see how this might be a little stressful for the little guys. I LOVE the idea of the brown paper lunch bag, very clever. I will definitely give that a go.

As far as the pinkies, I am using Petco just for right now, for immediate usage, and plan to order some online after I finish writing this. I will check out the ones you suggested. Thank you again for your help, I am a first time snake owner who has dreamed of having snakes since I was a little kid! I am very excited and determined to give my little snakies the best life possible

 

[Skully23]

Yes, knowing what your setup is like will help. BTW, are you housing them together?

Wait until this coming Friday to start feeding. The stress of being moved and in a new place will factor their feeding. General rules: 1) Wait 1-2 weeks before feeding a new snake 2) don't handle after a feed for about 2-3 days 3) try not to handle in shed and do not feed during shed.

You should be able to tell when a mouse is bad. Another suggestion is to buy in bulk from a breeder or online site to prevent lack of mice in pet stores. Much cheaper to find another way to acquire mice.

Separate feeding is good! Just make sure the container allows space to move and is kept dark. This coming Friday try covering the containers and leaving them in a warm room for about an hour. Check on them. Try this for maybe 3 hours. Then leave the mouse on a napkin in the enclosure over night to see if that works.

-Skully-

 

[Skully23]

Their set-up is a 10 gallon viv (for now) with UTH, 1 hide, 1 vine they can tuck away in, 1 water dish and aspen shavings. I have got a probe thermometer, thermostat and humidity sensor.

The temp of my current viv is always around 80 on the warm side and around 60 on the cooler side (for now during winter, our house is quite chilly during the week/evenings).

First off. Another general rule is never listen to pet store employees unless you know they have the experience

A 10g will work for now. However, separate them immediately before feeding again. Like I said try Friday to feed (post above)
You'll also want two hides. One for the warm side above the UTH and one for the cool side. Keep the water bowl more to the cool side. Eventually add more crawling items like vines.

Also your temps for the hot spot should range from 85-88F. The cooler side shouldn't be any lower than 65F. 60 should be ok but how I see it is, if I am a human and I shiver in 60F then that snake can't enjoy it too much. I have my air temps at 75-80F. Hot spot hitting 85-90.

The reason they might not be eating is because they are housed together, still stressed from the move, stressed from lack of places to hid, or stressed from the low temps.

Any snake will readily take a meal even if they were fed 3 days ago or so on. It is in their instinct to eat when they have the chance.

Any other questions?

 

[DarkRainbow]

Skully, thank you VERY much as well. I will set them up to have their very own little snake vivs tomorrow and take all of you and Captain Jack's words of wisdom. I have faith that my cuties will eat very soon Also, should I hold off handling them any more until the eat? Thanks very much guys!

 

[Skully23]

Yes just leave them be until their next feed but of course holding off on handling 2-3 days after that.

 

[Nanci]

They need to be housed separately. You need to heat the pinks up to HOT- 101F- so as hot as your tap water will go- drop the pinks in, thaw for a minute, feed HOT. And they need to be fed in a SMALL, covered container (with air holes). Think a small margarine tub. At this point I would feed in the evening, and I would cover the feeding containers with a dish towel or T-shirt, whatever, and not peek for 30-60 minutes. If they haven't eaten, reheat, leave one hour. If they haven't eaten, reheat, leave overnight, in a warm but not hot place IN their vivs, IN their feeding containers.

 

[captainjack0000]

Listen to Nanci. The paper bag I mentioned is similar to her idea of covering the feeding tub. They need to feel secure, and a dark small space helps with that. Skully had some good tips too.

 

[DarkRainbow]

Hey guys, I have tried all of your suggestions and my little snakies are still not eating. Also, I housed them separately the day after I read your post about this. The next step we are going to try is to feed them live pinkies. When should I get concerned about it being too long in between feedings? As a quick reminder, the last time they ate was December 14th, 3 days before I acquired them. I have been doing lots of research on this. We have tried the paper bag idea from Captain Jack. Tried braining the pinkies and rubbing the brain on the pinkies nose/face. Fed them in small tuperware containers, covered with a towel to keep it dark (and by the fire place to keep them warm). Last night, while I was attempting to feed, I added a few paper ball hides that I made, thinking that perhaps they still don't feel secure. We have covered their vivs with beach towels, so as not to let them be startled by our passing by. We have cut up a pinkie into smaller pieces (something my fiancee read online as an idea). Also, I read something about scenting the pinkies with tuna juice, anyone ever had any luck with that? Once again, the main question here is when do we start getting concerned about how long it has been since they have eaten last. We have been trying about once a week to feed them. Thank you so much!!!!

 

[bitsy]

(and by the fire place to keep them warm).

A Corn's safe maximum temperature is 90 degrees, which is below human core body temp. If something feels warm to you, it will feel scalding to them. It's not a good idea trap them in an overheated space they can't move away from, as this can cause neurological damage or even kill them. This is why Nanci suggested putting the feeding containers back into their home vivs - you have a UTH and thermostat, so you know they won't overheat. It's also double escape-proof, so safe to leave them in with their food overnight.

 

[beautifullywild77]

How long between trying to feed them are you waiting? Sometimes trying to often can stress them out too.

I would totally leave them alone, no handling, no disturbing them for 4 or 5 days and then try boiled pinks. Serve them really hot in the deli container. Leave them alone for an hour without checking on them at all. After an hour if they haven't eaten, reheat the pinks again put in the deli container but the whole deli in the snakes viv and leave over night. If this doesn't work. I wouldn't try again to feed for another 4 days. At that time we can try something else.

 

[DarkRainbow]

A Corn's safe maximum temperature is 90 degrees, which is below human core body temp. If something feels warm to you, it will feel scalding to them. It's not a good idea trap them in an overheated space they can't move away from, as this can cause neurological damage or even kill them. This is why Nanci suggested putting the feeding containers back into their home vivs - you have a UTH and thermostat, so you know they won't overheat. It's also double escape-proof, so safe to leave them in with their food overnight.

Yes, no worries, I do understand this. I put them near, but not right by our fireplace. I would say its about 80ish (our house is SUPER cold during winter) where we have been feeding them.

 

[DarkRainbow]

How long between trying to feed them are you waiting? Sometimes trying to often can stress them out too.

I would totally leave them alone, no handling, no disturbing them for 4 or 5 days and then try boiled pinks. Serve them really hot in the deli container. Leave them alone for an hour without checking on them at all. After an hour if they haven't eaten, reheat the pinks again put in the deli container but the whole deli in the snakes viv and leave over night. If this doesn't work. I wouldn't try again to feed for another 4 days. At that time we can try something else.

We usually wait around 5-7 days to retry the feeding. Interesting idea with the boiling...I'll have to try that. I have tried the deli container inside the vivs as well. Also, I have tried paper bags in vivs and just a plain piece of paper bag the pinkie on top of it...thanks for the advice

 

[khaleah]

hi

have you tried boiled pinkies? how long are you leaving them in with thier food? I had one that wouldn't eat for a while and i just have to put her in a small box from pet smart and i put that closed in her viv left her alone over night and she ate her food.

btw 4 of my babies are from petco. right now they just had to pull all thier reps. because of a mite our break. Have you checked for mites? or is there a vet in your area that you could take them to?

 

[scubahunter1021]

Not for nothing....I too recently bought a baby corn strawberry anery. For the life of me, I could not get her to eat no matter what I tried. I purchased her from a local breeder in the little deli cups that are so common and put it in a drawer..... I must have gone through 10 F/T pinkies and tried every trick in the book as everyone mentioned above. One day I put the pinky inside the deli cup and put her inside as well with the lid on and placed it inside her tank. Wouldn't you know...she now eats every 4 days like clock work and WILL NOT eat any other way EXCEPT inside the deli cup. Hopefully you are having better luck by now! After 30+ days of no eating, I was as concerned as you. The silly deli cup made all the difference. Who would have thought..... not sure if baby snakes "reason" or just get used to comforts like humans but....for whatever its worth. Best of luck!

 

[mattsnake]

What size tank are you keeping these baby corns in??? A big enclosure can cause enough stress to turn them off of food. Also using a very small feeding container is important. If its too big they will just wander. Maybe you should try housing them in little containers for a week and then offer food. Swithching into a (smaller) container worked for one of my finicky feeders.

 

[diamondlil]

Now they are in their seperate tanks, could you go over the set ups? Temperatures, hides etc? Incorrecect temps are the first suspect with non-feeders. Have they got plenty of hides? toilet roll and kitchen roll tubes scattered in there give lots of hiding choice, fake flowers and vines add to the security. No handling or disturbance apart from feeding attempts will help.
Then I suggest either overnight in a small feeding tub in the viv with a live pink or with a hot boiled thawed pink (literally pour boiling water and wait for it to be pale and rubbery), no peeking at all.