Baby corn snake not eating

[Jordanmurphy10]

I got a baby amel corn on Friday but the person I got her off said he's had trouble getting her to eat, I tried feeding her today and she won't go anywhere near the pinkie, I tried guiding her towards it and she just kept striking at me instead haha, any ideas how to get it feeding and how long to wait til I try again??

 

[Nanci]

Wait a couple days and then do this:

Thaw the smallest pink you have. pour boiling water over it.

Place the pink, hot, in a tiny container, like a deli cup.

Put the snake in. Cover the deli cup with a towel or T-shirt and don't peek for 60-120 minutes.

Do this in the evening.

 

[Jordanmurphy10]

That's what I did before, I got the smallest day old pinkies in the shop, how long would it be able to go without eating?

 

[Nanci]

You tried it on a boiled pinky??

Has it ever eaten?

 

[Jordanmurphy10]

Not boiled as in it was cooked it was hot tho, apparently it has eaten a few times but I'm not sure if I believe him to be honest

 

[Nanci]

There's a huge difference between REALLY hot and boiled so it is white and rubbery. A difference in acceptance.

 

[Jordanmurphy10]

What would I do if she just won't eat for me atall?

 

[Nanci]

You just keep trying different things until you find something that agrees with her. I have a huge list in my personal forum on this site. If you go to the main page and scroll way down, you'll see members' forums.

 

[cheryl40]

Im not an experienced keeper but ive had trouble with one of mine lately and tonight he finally ate i put him in his feeding tub with the pinkies then put the tub in his viv and covered it up with a very dark towel and left him alone for an hour and to my surprise he actually ate 2 pinkies so might be worth a try

 

[Elaine]

I've had the same problem with my new corn snake 'Fuzzy'. She's eaten very well for us 3 times but for some reason she wouldn't eat this week. So I waited a couple of days and I'm trying again tonight. I did like you said about boiling water an pouring it over the pinkie. I just covered her and I'm not going to peek for about 30 minutes. Wish us luck. Does it matter where you get your pinkies from? From one distributor to the next?

 

[hypnoctopus]

Sometimes changing your food source will affect their eating response, but unless there's something actually wrong with your pinkies, I think that it's rare that changing your source will get them to eat.

Elaine, is it possible yours is just about to start her shed process? Since she's eaten for you 3 times already, it's odd that she would refuse now. Have her temperatures changed at all?

 

[Elaine]

Okay, I check on Fuzzy and he ate her pinkie. Yeah!! For now on boiled pinkies it is. Thanks nanci.

 

[Elaine]

She not he. that's what I thought too. But these are pics right before I gave her her pinkie. Does she look like she's shedding? I can't tell.

 

[Nanci]

She may be just going blue. It's easier to tell by behavior.

 

[Elaine]

Since this is my first snake it'll take me a bit to learn her habits. I'm so excited that she ate though.

 

[smigon]

Yay! It is so cool to learn a new pet's habits, even snakes have very different personalities and you know pretty quick when to and (more importantly) when NOT to bug them!

And with each new corn (oh yes, you'll get more) you get a new personality to learn!

 

[Elaine]

She just shed this morning. So she was blue.
She's so bright right now.

 

[Nanci]

Wow- she looks completely different! So, usually we avoid feeding the snake when it is blue, because there is a good chance of regurgitation. So- if she's blue, then skip it till she sheds. If she refuses, and she might be blue- it's been about a month- then trust her and let her not eat- don't try to tempt her.

 

[Elaine]

Smigon- I already want a male to raise along with her and someday mate. Not sure if that's the right snake terminology.

 

[Nanci]

Males mature a lot faster, so you have at least a year to decide on the perfect mate.