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Cornsnake will not eat!!

Juno2011

Juno2011

New member
We have a phantom hatchling that will not eat on her own, in fact she seems to be terrified of mice. My parents were able to force feed her 3 pinkys(not all at once, and she hadn't eaten since she hatched,a month and a few weeks. She would have starved if they hadn't force fed) hoping something would click and she'd start eating. That didn't work. We tried scenting it with Ivory soap, nope. Tuna scent, nope. Live pinky, nope. I want to find an anole or a toad to scent the pinky with, but I don't know if it will work. I know feeding her a wild anole or toad is risky because of parasites, but if all else fails, is it worth the risk?

We leave her with the pinky in a cleaned out cake icing container in a dark cabinet for an hour. Should we try overnight?

Please leave some suggestions, my parents are ready to give up and just keep force feeding. I really don't want that to happen!:(
 
She definitely would NOT starve in only two months. Trust me.

Leave her completely alone for at least a week at this point. Next time you feed, do it right before you go to bed. Boil some water, drop a thawed pinkie in it for about 5 seconds, then put the snake and pinkie in the deli over night. It also helps if you cut the skin on the pinkie in a few places.
 
I have a list of tricks for getting babies to eat down in my personal forum, here. I'd try her on boiled, and then blue Dawn for starters.
 
Something I heard another breeder (albeit of ball pythons) say that stuck with me is, when you've tried "everything" that can be the problem, too. Pick a solid method to try a few times - once per week only - and don't change it up every time.

I myself have no had any experience with a refusing baby corn, so I can't say from personal experience, but this guy's suggestion made sense to me and worked for the person who was in need of suggestions.

All the best!
 
Thank you all for the suggestions! I really appreciate it :) This little girl is a beautiful snake, and I really don't want to lose her.

She did show some interest in the tuna, though she didn't eat it. Maybe I should leave the tuna scented pinky, along with a few slits in the skin, overnight...
 
If they refuse, I always leave them overnight, alternating in a deli cup or in their bin.
 
I agree with leaving over night. I have some snakes that won't eat right away, especially if I'm still in the room.

Also, How often are you offering food? If you are offering too often, that in itself, could be stressing the baby enough to not eat.
 
MysticExotics said:
I agree with leaving over night. I have some snakes that won't eat right away, especially if I'm still in the room.

Also, How often are you offering food? If you are offering too often, that in itself, could be stressing the baby enough to not eat.
Click to expand...

We offer food every 3-4 days. Sometimes 5
 
She did it!!!!!!she ate by herself! No scenting or boiling just a plain room temperature pinky!! I'm so happy right now!
 
YAY!!! Now I'd let her wait 5-7 days and get good and hungry, and then do the exact same thing.
 
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