I've had a baby corn snake for almost a month now and have not gotten him to eat yet

Hello everyone,

So I bought a baby corn snake from underground reptiles on the 9th of September, so I've had him for almost a month now. Unfortunately during this entire time I have not gotten him to eat yet. When I first got him, I left him alone in his enclosure for 5 days so he can get used to his environment. I then tried to feed him, in which he refused to eat. I realized the next day that he was in shed because next thing I know, there is a piece of dead snake skin in his enclosure. So I tried to feed him that day as well cause I thought he would be hungry after he shed. Still did not eat. So I waited another 5 days. Still did not eat. Another 5 days. Still did not eat. Another 5 days. Still did not eat. I've tried multiple things. Braining, cutting, leaving the pinkie in the enclosure overnight, putting a sheet over the enclosure to make it more dark, all to no luck. I'm really not sure what I am doing wrong, if I am doing anything wrong. I had two corn snakes when I was a kid so I'm not a complete beginner. I fed them outside of their enclosures and they fed like champs. They were from Petsmart too, which I realize now never to buy animals from them. I don't want to feed him outside of the enclosure though because I've heard that can stress them. He already seems to get pretty scared just by me opening up the enclosure. The feeder I use is a frozen/thawed pinkie. I thaw it in a plastic bag in hot water for about 10 minutes so the scent does not get removed. I make sure the pinkie is at least around 92F before giving it to him. The first two times I tried to feed him, I simply used tongs to see if he would take, since that is what I did with my corn snakes when I was a kid. The next two times I tried to feed him, I cut and brained the mouse, as well as tried just giving it to him with the tongs. The second to last time I tried to feed him I tried using the tongs without cutting or braining. Since he did not take, I left it in his enclosure overnight. The last time I tried to feed him, I used tongs, cut and brained it and left it in his enclosure. Every time I have tried to feed him with tongs, he just try's to run away from me. The first couple of times I tried feeding him was during the evening. I noticed he was more active around dusk and night time, so the last few times I've tried to feed him was at night. I reached out to underground reptiles about this and they mentioned just giving him a head or parts of a pinkie and putting him in a smaller container to eat, since he might not be finding the pinkie in the enclosure when I have left it in the enclosure overnight. Like I said, I don't want to feed him in a separate enclosure and I would rather just have him eat a whole pinkie. They said that they fed him in his enclosure as well, leaving the pinkie with him in the enclosure, but I think their enclosure for him was smaller. He is in a 10 gallon enclosure. I use aspen bedding. The humidity has stayed anywhere from 40-60%. I use an under tank heater for heating with a thermostat. The warm side of the enclosure usually stays anywhere from 82-87F and the cool side anywhere from 71-76F. I give him fresh water every day and clean his water dish with soap and water twice a week. The only lighting I use is UVB, which is only on during the day. I've posted a picture of what the enclosure looks like as well. I also have not handled him at all during this time. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I know corn snakes can go without food for a long time but it is starting to worry me. I'm going to try to feed him again on Tuesday. If he does not eat then, I plan on taking him to a vet. Other than not eating, he seems to be healthy. When he shed, it was a complete full shed, no stuck shed. He is drinking water (saw him drinking last night) and is very active around dusk and night time. I see him flicking his tongue a lot too when he is active. This has become very frustrating for me and honestly I don't know if I have the time or patience to deal with a stubborn eater. I know corn snakes are known for being good eaters so it's very frustrating that mine is stubborn. Like I said, any help would be great. I can take a picture of my corn snake as well if that helps. Thanks in advance.

My suggestion would be to take the snake out and place it in a deli cup with the pinky and place it in a dark cupboard. This has worked for a handful of juveniles I've had that didn't want to eat in their tank. After a couple of feedings like this they usually had no trouble feeding in their tank going forward.

I don't subscribe to the theory that taking them out of their tank to feed stresses them out. I have done both in the past. When I was feeding them in a separate tub they would get so excited when they were placed in the tub as if they knew food was coming.

Gotcha, ya, I looked at a couple of other posts about corn snakes being problem eaters and it seems like the most common theme is to leave the snake with the pinky in a deli cup in a quiet, dark place. So that's what I'm gonna try tonight. I'll keep you posted whether he eats or not tonight. Thanks for taking the time to read and reply to my post, really appreciate it.

I would second that suggestion. I would also recommend putting a bit more ground cover and very small hides in your enclosure to really help him feel secure enough to eat. You can use little cardboard boxes or toilet paper tubes cut in half as cheap hides.

Ok, thanks for the suggestion. I'll probably add a couple toliet paper roll hides in there.

So I tried the deli cup method but unfortunately it did not work. What do you guys think I should do next? Take him to the vet? Try a live pinky? Try to use a pinky part instead of a whole pinky?

The vet won't really be able to help with this. I would continue your attempts once every 2 or 3 days. Here's a comprehensive list of tricks you can try: https://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=131573

The first thing I would try is a pinkie head, thawed and then dipped in boiling water. Put that in a small container with the baby in the evening, in a quiet, dark place.

Ok, I will try this on Friday. Thanks again for the continued help, really appreciate it.

You're welcome. I hope he gets eating for you. I know how stressful it is! If you find yourself getting too frustrated or anxious, maybe see if the seller will let you exchange him.

So I tried feeding him a pinkie head that was dipped in boiling water inside of a deli cup. I left him in the deli cup for 4 hours, from 7-11pm. Still did not eat. I guess the next step from the list is to try and wash the pinkie with dish soap right?

Yeah I would try that next.

Hey guy's, wanted to give you all an update. So I decided to send my corn snake back to the breeder. I just could not get him to eat and started to realize I just don't have the time to give him the care he needs to eat. So I sent him back and got another one from VMSherp. I got him last Thursday so I gave him a week to get used to his enclosure and I fed him today. He ate right away . Just want to thank you guy's again for taking the time to help me, really appreciate it.

That's great! I'm glad they were willing to take him back. Did you get the same morph?

Ya, classic corn snake. He's a little more red than the other guy though.