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Shedding and eating

Yvonne112

Yvonne112

Mom of HEI\IDRIX
:shrugs: :eek1: I've got a corn who's just about 2 1/2 months old. He didn't want to eat the last pinky that was offered to him, but then he shed the next day. I waited a few more days and offered him another one, but he still doesn't want it. Is this common behavior when they shed or should I worry?
 
This isn't common behavior, but you shouldn't worry. I'd say if you feed f/t you should cut the feet or cut it in half. I know this sounds wrong but the scent of the pinky would spread easily. This is also easyer to digest, wait till the next feeding and do this.

Hoped this helps
 
According to the search function, this isn't unusual. I'd suggest searching "shedding refuse" to see what has worked for others. I got a lot of threads to look at that way.
 
thanks I'll give both things a try. I was wondering if maybe the metal tongs we use to feed him are scaring him. We didn't have any problem using them the first few feeds, but maybe for some reason they scare him now?
 
Well I did open up the pinky and my corn seemed interested, yet wouldn't really take it either, I just dropped it and left it, and she ended up eating it. I've just been using tongs to feed her, do you think she could be afraid of the tongs?
 
Yvonne112 said:
:shrugs: :eek1: I've got a corn who's just about 2 1/2 months old. He didn't want to eat the last pinky that was offered to him, but then he shed the next day. I waited a few more days and offered him another one, but he still doesn't want it. Is this common behavior when they shed or should I worry?
Click to expand...

It's common. But remember, corns have different "traits/personality". So you will have to learn what your snake traits are.
Slicing the backs of an f/t mouse is the preferred way to help digestion and entice your snake to eat.
Tongs are used with corns to help "tease" it. Giving it the feeling of live feeding. So if your snake can eat without them .... Great. One less step in the feeding process.
Good Luck :cheers:
 
My corn just eats the f/t pinky right off the bottom of the feeding bin. I put my snake in the bin a couple of minutes before the pinky, while it is thawing in the warm water. Then, when the pinky is thawed, I cut 4 slits in the back, and set it in the feeding tub near my snakes head using hemostats (gripping the base of the tail or a foot). Usually within a couple of seconds, she is actively swallowing. Occasionally she will try to grab it right from the hemostats before I can even set the food down.
 
I'm learning new things everyday! Thanks guys! I'll just do the same again next time, and hopefully my corn (Hendrix) will be happy with that! :)
 
Chop Sticks

We use wooden chopsticks....smooth at the end so no splinters and more "natural" if you will than tongs and smaller....our three seem to like the chop stick thing it works for us. Might want to consider it. Just a thought! And it doesn't take up so much of the tiny pink when you are shaking it. It leaves a bigger area for the snake to grab. :)
 
Yvonne112 said:
He didn't want to eat the last pinky that was offered to him, but then he shed the next day. I waited a few more days and offered him another one, but he still doesn't want it.
Click to expand...

thats not normal... its normal for them to not eat while in shed, but if they still dont eat after that! thats not normal at all.

I guess he just wasnt interested. my friends emroyi ratsnake is similar to yours. he wont eat unless you leave him alone for 20 minutes with the mouse.
 
I'll try the chopsticks, that sounds like a great idea! The long tongs are shiny and I can only imagine what the poor guy thinks is in his Viv !!
If he still doesn't like it, then I guess he's just one of those that likes to be left alone while he eats! :crazy02:
 
Thanks for being kind

My husband is Chinese......we don't have chopsticks sitting all around just a pair I kept from some takeout we had a long time ago and now they are my mousie chopsticks. just make sure there are no splinters because sometimes the snake quite robustly grabs the mouse and I wouldn't want your guy to have a splinter issue on my account!! lol.

I hope it works for you. I thought about using tongs too but like you said, they are so big and my snakes are so little. They had enough to adjust to moving to my house without a big metal thing swinging dinner in their face. lol

Good luck. I hope it works.

Lori :)
 
yea, I wouldn't be to crazy about a metal thing swinging dinner in my face either ! LOL!
I'll definetly make sure the tongs are smooth, thanks for the heads up! :eek:
 
Have you ever tried just putting the pink in a small feeding container, then putting the snake in with it? I really don't understand why you need to feed with tongs, anyway. My four snakes all feed in that manner.

Nanci
 
I'm definetly going to go that route, I've just been reading alot about that, when I got my corn, I was told to use tongs to make him believe it was live prey, but so many people seem to use feeding containers for their snakes. What kind of container do you find to be best? Something small and plastic with a lid? Put some holes in the lid, that sort of thing?
 
This is Inez. She is 13 grams, about 12 inches. She is in a deli cup, which is about the size of a big margerine cup. There are air holes along the edge. It is what she was shipped in. But you can tell the relative size by the size of the pink. As they get bigger, those Glad storage containers make good feeding containers- I punch holes in them with a hole punch- then with a bigger snake, you can start using the plastic shoe box containers. Since I have more than one snake, I write the names of the ones who are using the same size container on the lid- so they each go into their own- it retains their smell and is like a territory.

My guys all eat FT, and could care less if it gets wiggled around.

Nanci
 

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Thanks for the info Nanci !
looks like you don't put the lid on either, I guess when there's food in there, they don't really try to get away. I'm going to try a feeding container for his next feed. Thanks again, the picture is great by the way!
 
No, I just had it off for pictures. I put the lid on, put her in her viv, and put the cover on her viv. (No escapes for me! My only escape so far has been from a feeding container. Which I didn't put the lid on right because I was angry/frustrated by Maizey not eating a live rat pup and now what was I going to do with it...)

I thought it would be ok to put Inez in the viv, in the container, and she could eat and then crawl out when she was ready, but two times ago, the second time she'd been given a slit pink, she went berzerk and grabbed the pink and coiled it up and bounced out of the deli cup and went rolling around the viv constricting, and the wet pink had aspen sticking all over it, so I got out the whole Inez-pink ball, and washed them under the faucet, and picked out a few stray shards of aspen, and put her back in the cup and put the lid on, all while she was still madly constricting...So since she's going to get so excited about cut pinks, I just put the lid on her to keep her in place.

Nanci
 
I've also had my oddest escape from a feeding tub when I didn't do the lid up properly, I found my christmas hypo in a handbag the next day!
 
Nanci...your story made me laugh out loud here at work! Everyone just gave me strange looks. LOL...I could just picture this snake constricting it's prey and wondering what the heck you were doing sticking it under running water!
He probably thought you'd lost it !
:roflmao:
 
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