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Baby corn won't eat

tompro019

tompro019

New member
I got this corn snake from Petco about 6 weeks ago. The store said it was fed the day before I got it. Well about 4 days after getting him, he started to shed, and had problems after a week just started peeling off little at a time, so I got some shed ease and got the shed off him. He still won't eat, tried everything. Just doesn't seem interested, and loosing weight. Any ideas? Should I try crickets just to see if he will eat them? Petco wouldn't take him back either to exchange for another one.
 
I have tried making sure the pinky is really warm, I have made sure his tank is the right temp, the rest of my babies eat, 2 of my adults are refusing to eat but only a couple of weeks, sometimes they do that.
 
How are your temps? Humidity? What size tank are you using? How many hides? These are important things for us to know so maybe we can help you better.

Try to use just the head of a very very small pinkie and put it in a small container with a lid. If it wont eat that, see if you can get a live 1 day old pink and use a small container also. If it eats it don't take it out of the container, just take the lid off and set it in its home so it can come out on it's own.


Do NOT try to feed it crickets! Cornsnakes do not eat crickets and they can not digest the exoskeleton on them. If the pet store tells you that's what they feed then never buy from them again.


If it's losing weight and getting weak, unfortunately, there's a good chance this little guy wont make it. Hopefully I am wrong and he will do a nice turn around and start eating for you. Petco is notorious for selling non healthy snakes.
 
When you say warm.... what does that mean to you? Really warm to me is if I can barely hang onti it and by the time I give it to the baby it is still about 100F. So, that is the point to my question :) Try feeding every 4-5 days. Try to be consistent in what you do too so that the snake will know it is feeding time. Such as getting it out of its viv/tub and putting it into the feeding tub and then offer the prey item with a pair of tongs. That will work for some....other dont like the zombie dance LOL If those dont work then its time for other tricks. (to be tried once at a feeding) Just need to search on here for it and you will find lots of info :) Good luck :)

Car
 
I'm sorry to hear you're having trouble with your little one. You might try doing a search for "problem feeder" threads. There's a lot of good advice in this forum on this topic.

Some babies won't eat if they're stressed at all. Try putting the snake and its meal in a small container, covering it, and leaving it ALONE for at least 2 hours without peeking. Overnight is even better. You can put the container inside the viv if you like, in case there's an escape.

Some need a different scent, especially if they've associated the smell of the mice with stress. You might try dipping or soaking the pinky in chicken broth, or in water from a can of water-packed tuna fish. You can also try washing the pinky first in mild soap (Ivory dish soap is a favorite for this) and rinsing it well.

Tease-feeding is another option. This involves holding the snake in one hand and having the mouse in the other. Forceps or tweezers to hold the mouse can be helpful. Try to get the snake's attention on the mouse. Once it's focused, FREEZE. If the snake tries to eat, you must hold very still until it finishes. You may try bumping the mouse gently into the snake's body, trying to provoke a strike. Again, if the snake strikes, FREEZE. Hopefully s/he'll decide to eat.

As Becky said, absolutely no crickets!! They're dangerous for corn snakes' digestive tracts.

I hope your baby will eat, but losing weight and getting weak is very dangerous in a little one. Keep us posted, and good luck.
 
I tried the small container, I think it had something to do with the shed. it was having alot of trouble sheding, it doesn't seem weak, just not much weight to it, and I have left it alone in the container with the pinky over night, I breed mice, so i will try a live pinky out of my next litter, thanks for your help. The temp is around 87 - 90degrees . I will just have to try new things. I am glad you told me about crickets, I have never fed a cricket, and didn't want to at all. either way, this is probably the last snake I will buy from petco the other one I bought died a couple weeks ago, and it was eating fine. I will just keep trying. Like I said all my other babies are eating. I got a yearling that isn't interested in eating right now, she is just interested in attacking. I got her last saturday. she bites me everytime I mess with her, she won't eat the food, only strike at it because it gets close to her. but I think she just needs a bit more time to settle in.
 
Sorry to hear the lttle guy won't eat. Hopefully it will feed soon. Don't feel like you have done something wrong. I have lost little ones here and there, it's nature, only the strong survive.
Since you have posted here, you are aware there are many people here on the site that breed. I would suggest perhaps looking to these people for any future snakes you may look to add to your collection. Stay out of those pet shops, rarely does anything good come from purchases of reptiles there.
Keep us posted, the advice others gave you is right on. Good Luck.
 
well I have several, I just need to get a few more, and I don't buy from pet stores anymore, get better prices elsewhere and better quality, I sold one the other day, and the buyer watched it eat before I sold it to him. It was just a plain Albino. I hope to have a clutch of eggs soon.
 
my corn snake wont eat neither i tried putting it in the dark and leaving it alone and i tried to wave it in front of its face and it did not work:cry:
u can try these and hopefully it will work. i got my baby albino corn snake from petco to about a month ago and i have tried everything i hope it wont die and i hope yours wont die to but i know a LOT about corn snakes and i think i can help. try any of these and hopefully they will work and mostlikey they work on some snakes. also try to feed it a LIVE pinkie. ill check on u tomorrow!:D
 
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