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Popcorn is too stubborn to eat

P

popcornsmama

New member
Help, please. I have done a search for feeding problems and still can't figure out how to get my little guy to eat. A little history. I bought Popcorn at 1 1/2 weeks old from a breeder at a show on September 17th. He had never been fed. I got him situated in his 10 gallon tank, with a heating pad and lamp on one side, a hide on each side, newspaper for substrate, and a water dish that is changed daily. He ate a f/t pinky on the 21st, on the second try giving it to him. I gave him a week, and then tried again. The store had no pinkies, so I was forced to give him a small fuzzy. He showed no interest in it. He refused it twice. I wait 3-4 days between tries, every time. I then tried a live pinky (since he wouldn't eat the fuzzy (at the advice of my reptile store), which he was interested in, but never ate. He constantly sniffed it, stayed close to it, but never ate it. I have also tried a f/t pinky, to no avail. He is going on 4 weeks today with no food, and i'm getting very concerned. I have seen him drinking a few times, and am going to the reptile store again today. I have read a few places to try an anole. I'm getting desperate and want to get him to eat before he starves to death. The question is this---1. What else, if anything, can I do? And 2, where would I go about getting one of those lizards, and what's the approx price? Thanks so much for any help or advice. I've looked everywhere for advice about my little guy. I'm just completely at a loss. :cry:
 
When you offered him the live pinky did you leave him with it all night?

You might want to try a brained pinky. Put him in a deli cup with the pinky overnight, and put the deli cup in the viv just he case he gets out. You could cover the deli cup with a paper towel too so he feels like he has a little more privacy.
 
Well, I did brain the first one, but not the second one. I had put it under the heat lamp, so that it could releae the scent, as I read someone suggested that. I tried the deli cup, but not with the paper towel. I will try that. Also, where in the tank should I have it? As far as temp goes, there won't be as much area for him to regulate his temp in the deli cup, so should I put it in the middle, closer to the hot, or cold side. It is quite chilly around here, and so I've been making sure his tank is warm enough, but I don't want him too cold to eat in the deli cup.
 
If the cool side isn't to cold I'd put him there so he doesn't bake. If it is to cold on that side, putting him in the middle would probably be ok. Whatever you do, don't put him under the lamp!
Good luck. :)
 
How much are you handling him? I would stop handling him all together until he has eaten at least 3 good meals. Let us know how the deli cup works, and make sure the pinks are not too big. It's a very good thing he didn't eat the small fuzzy, that is way too big for a month old hatchling with only one meal under his belt.
 
Well, i normally hold him almost every day, except right after he eats. I went about 10 days without holding him, as that seemed to make a difference. He doesn't seem very active, even at night. I mean, basically he goes from hide to hide, and a lot of the time, he's at the top of the tank between lid and tank. So, here's my plan. I'm going to go and get a f/t pinky. Tonight, around dusk, I will put the pinky (warmed up, with a few slits down his back) in the deli cup with him, cover it with a paper towel, place it between the hot and cold side, and then leave him be until tomorrow. I normally sleep in the same room he is in, but tonight, I'm going to even sleep somewhere else. I'm just so worried about him. How long can they go with only one meal under their belt. And, should I try to maybe slice the pinky down the middle, so it's less intimidating? He's pretty tiny. He's 12 inches, and smaller width than a pencil. I'll try to attach the pic i have from a few weeks ago, and he obviously hasn't grown since then, with not eating.
 

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Sorry about the comparison with pen and him. I didn't have anything else on hand at the time to show width. As you can see, he's very skinny still. I will look for the smallest pinky they have available. Thanks so much for all your help and advice.
 
Try a VERY small tupperware bowl...

I was having some troubles with a few of my hatchlings when it came to eating. I tried everything. Then I went to walmart and bought TINY tupperware containers, so small that the snakes actually have to lay on top of the mouse, they have no choice... It's a little difficult getting them into the cup, but it works. All 5 of my non eaters ate in the 15 minutes. Just put your little guy in the container, and put him in the bathroom where it's dark, and leave him there. It should work, I hope this helps you!
 
Wow..while I still can't believe a breeder would sell a hatchling that hasn't fed, he'll get his bad karma back at him when I get done with my naughty thoughts. Especially if they weren't labeled "problem feeder".

I've had a complete non-feeder to go nearly 8 weeks before expiring, but then again they never took a meal. So I would think you'd have a little time left. Although I think perhaps every 3-4 days is excessive, I would say every 5 days to offer something. As dumb as they can be, they associate food with bad experiences.

You've tried various stages of f/t from what I read; brained, slit, whole...correct? You've also tried a live, which he was more interested in, but still never ate. And even after that still wasn't interested in f/t.

If it were me I would think the next course of action would be an extemely small container, a yogurt cup works great, the ones with the lid (Dannon brand around here).

Leave it with a fresh-killed pink, just a quick flick to the head and its over. Some hatchlings like the fresh smell, but are leary of the movement. Leave them overnight in a dark area, closets work wonderfully.

Or obtain some smelly mouse litter in a bag from the petstore of various rodents, and label them on the bag, and then just 'shake and bake' a f/t pink to see which scent he prefers.

And I know this sounds gruesome, but a live brained pink has sometimes worked. Or the easier way is to brain a f/t and put it on the head of the live.

Heck sometimes even pinkie heads work where nothing else will, its nutrition at the very least.

Anoles tend to be rather expensive, around here they're $7 each. But if you want another pet that you can use for scenting, go ahead. Anole saliva works better than rubbing it on the body of the anole. So try to get it to bite a pink. I wouldn't feed the anole to the snake, as most anoles are wild-caught and can transmit parasites to an already weakened snake, and they're not nearly as nutritious. And its also not unknown for corns to develop a taste for them which can be hard to wean them off of. I keep a tub in the freezer full of anoles I have used for scenting in the past. You're more than welcome to a few, but I don't know where you live.

Force-feeding I would eliminate completely as a choice. If you have to force a snake to eat to keep it alive, that's no quality of life for the snake nor the owner. And one less problematic snake to make it to the genepool later on. Any snake that has refused all of the above attempts ends up as kingsnake food around here.

And I know everyone says this, but its true, not all hatchlings are meant to make it. Thats why cornsnakes lay so many eggs, its a numbers game. And by the breeder not being responsible enough to verify that it's eating before cashing in, that's a gamble as well. Hopefully Popcorn starts eating again soon now that you're armed with the knowledge.
 
Wow, what a response. Thank you so much for your quick responses to my concern. This is an awesome group, and I am so happy that I found you. :) I honestly did not think about putting him in a bathroom or closet for the night. DUH me :dunce: I got another frozen pinky today. I was thinking of cutting it in half, but maybe I'll just try the slits on the back. In answer to one of the questions, I haven't done that, but did the braining, and also scented a live one with chicken stock (I dont' remember where I read that). As far as the breeder selling him without feeding, I wondering about that myself when I bought him. He did tell me that he could not guarantee they would eat. I was really stupid and simply bought him from that guy because he was the cheapest. I have more than learned my lesson on that one. Next time, I will go to a more reputable breeder. As far as force feeding goes, I thought that they normally were allright with eating after you forced them once or twice. It's certainly nothing I would continue doing. I will put him in the smallest container I can find, with a nice warmly thawed slit pinky, in the darkest room of my house, and will update you guys tomorrow. Thanks again so much for all your help. I hope to have great news tomorrow.
 
Well, yes and no. I opened his mouth and put the a bit of the pinky in it. He swallowed that, and then went after the rest of the pinky laying there. So, he's got a full pinky in him. I'm so incredibly relieved. I am worried about him losing a month's worth of feeding. I was wondering if I should try power feeding him, if i can get him into a normal routine again. I'm not going to even show him food for a week, and hopefully he'll be hungry then. We'll see though. Thanks again to everyone for all your help.
 
popcornsmama said:
I was wondering if I should try power feeding him, if i can get him into a normal routine again.
Click to expand...

I definaltey would NOT try power feeding this one. Just be happy if he starts eating once a week and he will fair just fine. The last thing you want to do is be pushy with a fussy feeder. He'll be OK. I have hatchlings that came out of thier egg in July and are just starting to take meals. Good Luck!
 
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