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Non Feeder (Still hope)

RO8 H

RO8 H

New member
On the 13th November I purchased a new snake around 2 months old. After his first shed he was tried on a pinky and refused and was assist fed a section of a mouse tail. for the next few weeks I was told that the same scenario took place. Before I picked the little guy up I was told that with a bit of enticing the snake had taken his first pinky and I could go and pick him up. Once at the guys house I was taken to where the snake was and upon further inspection I saw that the snake had regurged his first pinky. I took the snake home that day knowing that even though it failed to keep the meal down it still ate it in the first place. A week later I tried it on another pinky and after really annoying the little guy he finally took a snap at it and then swallowed. I thought great. But then two days later I found that it had a regurged again. one again I waited a week or just over and offered a smaller meal in the form of a mouse tail. I had to assist feed him but he took it down in the end. I continued this for the next 3 feedings then upped the size of the meal to a mouse leg as he hadn't regurged the previous meals. Again with a little assistance as he had not been willing to take the food on his own the mouse leg disappeared down the snakes throat. This was also repeated two or three times. Finally I tried him on another pinky. Still assist feeding i managed to get him to take it down. Great I thought but just the other morning I found the pinky had been regurged. So now I guess Im back to square one.

My questions are. How long does it normally take for them to start readily taking food on there own accord if they are being assist fed? What are your thoughts as to why he keeps throwing up the pinkys?

Thanks in advance.
 
I think he keeps throwing them up because he hasn't had enough time between feedings for his gut flora to build back up & assist feeding is stressful and stress can cause regurge.

There is good info on how to proceed after a regurge in this thread http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=134064

Also make sure your temps are correct and that you are measuring them with a digital thermometer.
 
So this snake hasn't ever fed and kept in a whole pinky? I'm afraid it rings a few alarm bells and you should really hope for the best and prepare for the worst. A normal healthy hatcling corn would normally have had at least 3 pinkies before going to a new home.
Could you give a description of your set-up, temperatures (and how they are controlled and measured) and if possible how much the hatchling weighs?
 
I can only echo what others have said. The snake should never have been sold if it wasn't eating on it's own and digesting properly. You typically see very low success rates with baby snakes that have regurged 3 times.
 
The little guy is in a Cadburys box in a hatchling rack. The temperature is between 83-84 degrees. When I brought him home he weighed 4g. Now he weights just over 5g so has gained some weight. He's eaten on his own twice. one when he was first offered a pinky and the other time when I fed him his second pinky(I did however have to piss him off so that he would strike). I Have 11 corns in my collection at the moment and this guy is the only trouble maker. He has held down a good number of meals but never a pinky. Im prepared for the worst but hope for the best. He doesn't look under weight for his size but I know that he shoud be a lot bigger and obviously feeding on his own by now.

Here is a photo of him.

 
I see spine, which is never a good sign. Make sure he drinks, and make the next meal 10 days or so from the regurge and tiny. Take your time working him up to larger prey items. Some of them seem to just have a problem eating "normal" sized meals, and never outgrow that. I wish you the best.

For comparison, here is a healthy well-fed baby of about the same age:
2wmm149.jpg
 
I am aware that assist feeding causes stress and is obviously unnatural. I am doing my best to keep him alive. He behaves just like all of my other snakes. Doesn't mind being handled. poos and drinks as he should but just doest bloody eat on his own.
 
Thanks for the advice a best wishes. Ill keep you all informed. hopefully he will be a success story. He hatched on the 7th September 2013 and has held on this long. My fingers are crossed.
 
Fingers crossed for you. If you get grapeseed extract from a healthfood shop, a couple of drops to a pint of water can help with regurging snakes. One thing (I'm not sure if you know, so bear with me if you do) is that the regurges could possibly be due to crypto, seeing as it sounds like you have appropriate temps and the prey items don't sound too large. Is his belly swollen or is it just the way he's coiled up in that photo?
 
Crypto? please could you explain what this is. And his belly is not swollen but has a meal in there. The photo was taken about a week ago.
 
Phew. Repeated regurges and thickening of the belly can be signs of a disease called Cryptosporidium, which can wipe out a collection.
If it is a case of him just being so small he can't handle pinks, can you get day old mice ('reds') and just feed a head for the next few weeks after his 10 day fast? If you are anywhere near Crystal Palace Reptiles they should be able to supply them if you ring and ask. You'd literally want his meals to be 1/2 a gram, no bigger, IMO.
I know the 10 days sounds excessive, but it gives the oesophagus a chance to heal up and improves the chances of survival. Good luck with the little fighter
 
I have 1 day old mice. Tiny little things. I will have to wait the 10 days and start feeding heads for a few weeks. Hopfully if this works and he is up in health he will start taking food on his own .
 
In the meantime, the grapeseed extract might help too. You can get it in Holland and Barretts etc. I use it routinely with hatchlings.
 
No worries. I had an epic battle with a non-feeder in my first year of keeping corns and couldn't have got through it without the help on here.
 
After you give his stomach time to rest up, I think I'd try just a pink head. You know he regurges pinks, so you have to go smaller. Also, many of us have gotten reluctant feeders to take boiled pinks. I think I'd try him on a regular pink head, or even a boiled pink head, and if he takes that, very, very gradually work up to day old reds. It's perfectly fine to feed heads, or thirds, or halves of pinks.
 
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