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Once an non feeder always a non feeder???

(Resident non-feeder expert here) lol.
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Sorry I didn't see this earlier;
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What I have noticed with non-feeders is they will be very picky for the rest of there lives, and no longer will I put up with it. If they refuse to take anything, they will be euthenized.
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In your case, if you got her eating I would not give up hope for a long while. I would give the snake a break first because you don't want the snake to be conditioned to not recognize the prey item. Wait about 7-10 days before another attempt, if your snake was eating every 4 days for 2 months It will be okay to go that long.
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After that try whatever was the last sucessful meal of that snake. Leave in a deli cup, in a paper bag overnight. Do NOT check on the snake after being put in the cup. Put it in a warm spot and flip the lights out. Check again in the morning and the pinky should be a lump back in the belly.
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Beyond that, it is possible that your husbandry conditions have been changing lately, which is something you should look into.
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Have you recently changed mouse providers? If you changed providers, it seems that some mice have different scents to them provided the place they came from.
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Have a great day,
Ryan McCullough
 
In my opinion, YES it is neccisary to try EVERYTHING all over again, it's a hassle but the little guy is worth it dont you think?
 
Fenderplayer108 said:
(Resident non-feeder expert here) lol.
.
Sorry I didn't see this earlier;
.
What I have noticed with non-feeders is they will be very picky for the rest of there lives, and no longer will I put up with it. If they refuse to take anything, they will be euthenized.
.
In your case, if you got her eating I would not give up hope for a long while. I would give the snake a break first because you don't want the snake to be conditioned to not recognize the prey item. Wait about 7-10 days before another attempt, if your snake was eating every 4 days for 2 months It will be okay to go that long.
.
After that try whatever was the last sucessful meal of that snake. Leave in a deli cup, in a paper bag overnight. Do NOT check on the snake after being put in the cup. Put it in a warm spot and flip the lights out. Check again in the morning and the pinky should be a lump back in the belly.
.
Beyond that, it is possible that your husbandry conditions have been changing lately, which is something you should look into.
.
Have you recently changed mouse providers? If you changed providers, it seems that some mice have different scents to them provided the place they came from.
.
Have a great day,
Ryan McCullough
Click to expand...

I already have waited 7 days since his last refusal, She knows the pinks there.. she goes up to it, but shes just not interested.. She stopped eating for 1 month and 1 week now... Im going to wait another 7 days...

Yes I did change mouse providers, thats the first thing I thought of.. So I went back to my old provider and still she did't eat..

So basically your telling me im right... Once an non feeder always a non feeder... So this snake is going to be giving me problems for the rest of her life?? And that I should put her to sleep.... :cry:

The last time she ate was in a open feeding container!! THis is what upsets me.. From eating washed pinks in a paper bag to eating unwashed pinks in a bag then finally eating in front of us with no problems! At first I thought she wasn't going to make it.. THen she ate for me and I saw all the improvments over time made me so happy.. But after one shed its all gone... not eating a single thing... I really don't know what to do anymore... As I heard someone say in here.. " Some haltchings just weren't meant to be" ... All I know is that im not going to be force feeding everytime and stressing myself out over this one problem feeder... The question is when... When should I give up...
 
I don't agree with once a non feeder, always......etc. My Okeetee's, while not non-feeders, were certainly very difficult. One wouldn't eat in a seperate container and had to be fed in the viv for quite some time. After that she'd only take food if hidden in a dark box and left for a long while. My other two went off food for 2-3 weeks at a time before shed. Now as adults they are eating machines. Very aggressive feeders.
I stopped offering so often though. Went to every 10 days or so. I think it makes them a little more hungry and apt to eat.
 
581775017 said:
From eating washed pinks in a paper bag to eating unwashed pinks in a bag then finally eating in front of us with no problems! At first I thought she wasn't going to make it.. THen she ate for me and I saw all the improvments over time made me so happy...
Click to expand...

Don't you give up on that snake!!! She is NOT a non-feeder!! Who knows why she isn't in the mood- but she ate for you, consistantly, before, and when she's good and ready, she will again. I'm sorry it is so stressful. Think positively! She'll eat! Maybe it's just the freaking time of year! My perfect feeder, Choco, missed twice for the first time ever, then shed, and fed twice, and now has refused twice. Oh well- guess he wants to wait a week. Again. Daylight will soon be lengthening- everyone will be going back to normal.

Do not give up on her!!

Nanci
 
You need to make sure your doing everything exactly the same way as when you got her to feed and stick to this feeding routine for her for ages. I found mine were fussy at first if I changed things even a little from how they were used to feeding. I also found that if I wanted to change their feeding routine at all I needed to do it slowly and in small steps, to stop them getting thrown off of feeding. If after you go back to exactly how it was when you got her feeding before and she still wont feed and is not in blue then you will need to try all the feeding tricks again to get her feeding, try the ones that worked with her before first and if those ont work then try others.
 
Thanks for all the support! I will keep working hard and hopefully she will surive... But if she will only live on force feeding I really don't see a point... Hopefully she will eat soon.. How long can they last without food again? 3 months? I know she still got time.. but they snake is stressing me out... I don't know what to say anymore..

Thanks everyone!
 
HI, I too have a little Ghost corn snake that I thought would never make it becuase it went the first 3 months of its life without eating. I was trying everything and finally gave in to live pinks. He ate one live and has been a good feeder on F/T ever since. I hand feed him every 4-5 days now and have no problems. On the other hand I seem to have always had problems that would reappear with my hypos. It was hard to get them to eat when they where hatchlings and then when they where finally eating they stopped again after a few months and it took weeks to get them to eat again. They are still eating for now so well see. I have one hypo that every once in awhile decides she doesnt want to eat for 1 feeding and then eats again the next time. I do know that your snake should be ok until its skin starts sticking up or out a bit because its so skinny. Look for this around the tail area, that is where I usually notice it the best. I know when they get to this point there isnt much time left at all and will usually act less energetic.
I hope you can get it to eat.. Have you tried live, I usually resort to that when all else fails.

Also does anyone know if theres a link between morphs and feeding issues as hatchlings?
 
Well... Thanks for everyones support! SHE FINALLY ATE LAST NIGHT!!! :cheers: I just hope she continues to eat with out stopping this time... Should I continue to wash pinks and feed her in a paper bag or can I go back to normal and feed her in the open? Either way.. I'm happy shes eatting again... :crazy02:
 
Congratulations! I don't know what the expert answer would be, but if it were me, I'd stick with the successful method and then gradually wean her off it when she's at a safe weight again and she's established at feeding herself again.

Nanci
 
Nanci said:
Congratulations! I don't know what the expert answer would be, but if it were me, I'd stick with the successful method and then gradually wean her off it when she's at a safe weight again and she's established at feeding herself again.

Nanci
Click to expand...

RIGHT ON!!! That was what I was excatly thinking of ...
 
yeah I would keep her happy by washing her food and feeding her in the bag and very very slowly weaning her off the need for the bag as well. I will hazard a guess that she might have gone funny on you as you got her feeding out of the bag to soon before, try taking it slower this time and doing half steps towards feeding outside the bag every three of four feeding times. So for the first 3 /4 feed purely in the bag as she likes then try to get her feeding half in half out of the bag for 3 / 4 feedings etc. If at any time she seems hesitant to feed in the new way then stay on the old way for a bit longer. It might also help if you try to use the same bag or tub for her as she will learn to recognise the smell of that as meaning food.
 
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