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Feeding problems

T

Tommy

New member
I have an about one and a half week old corn snake and it refuses to eat. I tried both frozen and live pinkies. I heard that you can cut a hole into the pinkie to make blood come out to entice the snake, but how long should I wait until I try doing this while feeding him again?? I mean how long can he survive w/o any nutrients beside what he got in the egg? Please write back as soon as possible, thanks.
 
Don't know much about hatchling's really but I do know they need to shed before you feed them. Has it had it's first shed yet?
 
I have heard that they can go quite awhile without eating so I wouldn't panic just yet. Also babies sometime want those little Anoles sp? Some ppl buy one and rub it on the pinky to trick the snake. Others have cut the head off of the Anole and fed that then slipped a pinky in as it's going down. I'm sure that others with experience will help you out more.



:D Hope it works out! Keep us posted.

Colleen
 
Give it a lil time, it is not easy being born :) and make sure it has shed first. If it has then try giving it just a pinky head if it eats it slip the body inthere and it might just keep eating it :) gl and keep us informed
 
If your hatchling doesn't eat within a week after the first post-hatching shed, get back to us quickly. Although an adult snake can go months without food, a 2 week old hatchling doesn't have substantial reserves. I don't know what the danger zone is for a hatchling this young, but a hatchling that is 3 months old can get into real trouble after about a month of non-feeding. I suspect that non-feeding any longer than 2 weeks after the first shed might be a reasonable milestone at which you should consider "assisted" feeding with ESU Jump Start, or the veternarian snake food "AD", which can be injected by a vet into the esophagus of your snake. I'm probably being more cautious than most in my recommendations, but better safe than sorry is one of my operating principles.

Best of hatchling health and appetite,
Doctor Mike
 
Feeding Problem

the snake has already shed about 2-3 days ago. I was just wondering that since I tried feedin him on Thursday, then how long should I wait until I try feeding him again? And is nighttime better for feeding since they're nocturnal?
 
Corns are nocturnal, and do prefer feeding at night. [Most, though not all snakes are nocturnal.]

David Kershaw is a corn enthusiast and breeder who has written an excellent article on feeding recalcitrant hatchlings:

Feeding Difficult Hatchlings by David Kershaw

Also, you should buy The Corn Snake Manual and read it 5 times, if you have not done so already:

The Corn Snake Manual - Corn-utopia.com

Best of appetites to your hatchling,
Doctor Mike
 
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LoL Doctor Mike I wish you were my Dr. I could go in for a broken arm and my Dr would throw it in a sling and hurry on to her next patient...I love the multidr pratice...It is like Fast Food!! Only more expensive. TG for insurence!
 
I got a site from Doctor Mike which was very helpful about feeding stubborn hatchlings, but it said that you can try feeding the snake every 3 days. I found another site that said you can do it every other day. Is this ok to do, or is it too stressful?
 
Numerous steps to try to get a hatchling to eat: F/T, live, F/T in small paper bag, live in small paper bag, F/T that has been "brained" (top of head cut so brain comes out...very yummy), F/T brained in paper bag, lizard scented F/T, lizard scented in paper bag, lizard scented and brained, lizard scented and brained in paper bag. Make sure pinky is not too big...use only head if necessary. Try everything at least twice, 2-3 days between attempts. After all these have failed, then try force-feeding or tube-feeding. I've had hatchlings go longer than a month before finally deciding to eat. And only force-feed once, then go through the whole routine again before force-feeding again. And always remember, not all hatchlings were meant to survive, no matter how hard we try.
Good luck.
 
i had same problem

i had the same problem by the sound of things, i bought a hatchling snake from a local pet shop. The guy that sold it to me sed to feed it about a week after i get him home and to just leave him to settle in. I did that and tried feeding and he wouldnt take it, i tried every four days and it just wouldnt take it. in the end i went and bought a product called lizard maker, because i read that young corns prefer lizards to mice but if you fed them lizards they dont grow as fast. all i did was put a drop on the pinkies head and placed it right at the entrance to his hide. The next morning it was gone, Lizard maker is great stuff.
All you have yo do then is ween it off the scent, you do that by putting less of it on the mouse each time.
 
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