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New corn owner...? about first feed

M

mgwood81

New member
Hello

Introduced myself in the new comers forum, this site has helped so much. I plan on doing my first feed tomm and have a few questions. Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated.

First: f/t vs live vs fresh kill
being that he is a baby about 15" long and his first feed in new home i should go with the live pinkies since there is no real threat to injury with live pinkies. Then later on switching over to the f/t or fresh kill as he gets bigger.

Second: feed in viv. or separate container
i would say its about 50:50 on this issue i have read. this is what i plan on doing. i was planning on picking up one of those reptile hooks and use that to pet him with when i open the tank, pick him up with it to put him in his separate feeding box to eat. i was thinking he would associate the hook with feeding so when i put my hand in there to pick him up he knows its not dinner time.
 
I feed (and recommend you do to) f/t, easier to buy in bulk, no stink if you plan on raising your own.

I feed in a separate container, so they dont eat any of the substrate (although many people do and have not had problems) and so I can spot clean their viv's.
I take them from the viv like I normally do, handle them for about 5 minutes, then put them in the feeding tub, put the food in, let them do their business, usually let them stay in the tub for about 30 minutes after they are done eating, then pick them up and put back into viv...no hooks, no gloves, I havent been bitten...yet.

mine never get excited during feeding time until I lower them into the tub, then they know its time!
 
I meant to say, "no stink UNLESS you plan raising your own"

and it might be harder to find "live" pinkies, I looked around my area...not that I would feed live, I was just curious.
 
theres a mom and pop reptile shop just down the street that sells live...she says she has always fed live pinkies or fresh dead
 
up to you, but personally I think its easier to just buy in bulk f/t, if you have just the one corn, then you could just run down there every time you need to feed it.
then you would need to hope they have them in stock when its feeding time.
then you would need to kill it, unless you stick with feeding live.

of course I have 4, soon to be 7 corns, so I bought online frozen mice, different sizes for my different sized corns. was a lot cheaper than going to my local feed store.
 
There's no way it's safe to pick up a baby corn with a hook. Also no need to. People don't hook train corns- that is for big snakes that can actually bite. You are very likely to injure the baby- probably when it goes flying, because they don't coil and hang on to the hook like a boa or python would. Bad idea.

It's a very rare corn that will associate your hand with food, and bite. Just pick it up very gently and place him in his feeding container.

There's no reason to use live unless other methods have failed. You have very high odds of the baby feeding on a FT pink if you feed in a reasonable method.

First- let the baby settle in for a few days without handling before attempting to feed. A minimum of five days, and seven is better.

Next- feed at the time of day that the snake would normally be active- at dusk or a little later.

Next- feed in a very small container. You want the snake to be trapped where it has to see and smell and taste the pink, not where it can wander away and forget about it.

Next- you want to offer an appealing meal. Thaw the pink for a minute or so in warm water, then heat up to as hot as your tap water will go for a few seconds. Cut a few small slits in the back of the pink with a pair of small scissors. Place the pink in the feeding container, then immediately get the snake and place him in with the pink.

Next- Do Not Disturb! There is no need to feed with tongs, do a "zombie dance," try to tease the snake into feeding. Just place him in the container, in a quiet, dimly-lit room, and walk away. Don't hover over him waiting for him to feed. Check in about 15 minutes. If he hasn't eaten, cover the top of his container with a dish towel and leave him for an hour. If he still hasn't eaten, reheat the pink, cover him up, leave him another hour. If he still hasn't eaten, reheat the pink, place the feeding container in the viv, closed, viv closed, and leave over night. If he hasn't eaten by morning, try the same thing again in four or five days.
 
Thanks for all of the advice. All sounds really good. I will go with the way you explained nacie, sounds like a really good way to go. Let you know how it goes.
 
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