• Hello!

    Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.

    Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....

    Please be certain that the location field is correctly filled out when you register. All registrations that appear to be bogus will be rejected. Which means that if your location field does NOT match the actual location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected.

    Sorry about the strictness of this requirement, but it is necessary to block spammers and scammers at the door as much as possible.

store tells me to bring it in for force feeding

O

onlyjustbegun

New member
my snake hasnt eatin in 2 weeks so i called the store and asthem if they had any live pinkies in since thats what hes been eating. i was going to wait till tomarrow to try and feed him again.... he hasnt been messed with in about 4 days
the store told me if he doesnt eat tomarrow when i try and feed him to bring him in and he'll have to be force fed.... thats redicoulous... "not a good speller"... they told me he only hs a 2 week window of being healthy... the place i got him from deals with snakes and reptiles only... ive been reading threads but i just wanted some more advice before i took him in to let them force feed my snake.... help!
 
How many meals has he refused?

When was the last time he ate?

How long have you had him?

How big/old is he?

If he is a non-feeder, will they exchange him for one that does eat?
 
I agree we need answers to all of Serps questions before we can give you a good answer. However, a snake has to be in VERY dire shape for me to consider force feeding. Is the store suggesting to take him back all together and force feed, or are they planning to do it for you and then send him back home? If it is the later, the people at the store really don't know what they are doing. Being force fed is very traumatic and even the ride home could make them regurgitate. The pretty much need to be put in a small secure enclosure with correct temps immediately and not disturbed at all for days after. More than likely the situation is not at the point where forcing is necessary, but we do need answers to those questions to know.
 
This is the link to the first post about this problem.

http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24372

If it's only been two weeks, and they were telling you the truth about its eating, then you still have a few weeks to try and work with this baby before it becomes necessary to force feed it. That's the last resort. I have one baby that refuses every so often and will go two weeks.

Is there another pet store near you where you can get live pinks? It sounds like this store is rather extreme in their approach to animal welfare.

I think it might be best to leave the snake completely alone until its been eating consistently for two or three feeds. Apart from changing water, let it rest and work up an appetite. With my difficult feeders, I kept them on the same weekly routine as everyone else. Eventually, luckily, they did begin eating after a few weeks when they got hungry enough. Some started with live and a few went right into f/t. Its better to stick to a routine.

I hope this helps. I don't want to sound like I'm nagging. :cool:
 
Didn't the pet store have some kind of feeding guarantee? If so, you've got a leg up on them, but if not, you still have options.

Assuming it still doesn't eat by next week, I'd take it back like they're suggesting, but don't let them force feed it and send you two home. You don't really have the experience (as far as I know) to deal with something as delicate as force feeding a snake. I'm not saying I do either, by the way, I'm just letting you know that my thoughts come from an "I could easily be in his shoes, what would I do?" position.

If they give you an ultimatum about force feeding it (i.e. They won't refund your money), tell them you want a different snake. All things considered, if it gets to that point, I'd try to get my money back, and then go get a corn from a reputable breeder instead of another one from that store (hey, if nothing else, you'll save money by not buying there again).

While you're at it, what did you decide to do with all that extra crap they made you buy?
 
I hope your pet store is willing to work with you on this, e.g. replacing the snake or refunding your money if it comes to that. I know you're attached and hopefully it will all be ok, but its good to keep your options open.

It may be different with a store that specializes in reptiles, but
unfortunately, I've never had a pet store give more than a 7 day guarantee on any animal. And with snakes, it may be weeks before feeding problems take effect.

My fingers are crossed. I think time and patience will win out.
 
ive had him for almost a week... ive put to live pinkies in at differant times and both have been refused.. hes about a month and a half old, and hes about 13-15 inches long....
 
When I got my butter hatchling I didn't try to feed it until about the seventh day. I gave it 4-5 day to settle in then handle it for about 5 mins for a couple of days then I fed it a pinky in the deli cup it came in. I feed it in the evening in a dim,quite room. I'll do this for a couple months. Just sounds like your guy is a little stress. I would do what these guys here say.

Good Luck to you and let us know how it turns out.
 
Like the others have said if you have only had your snake for a week I wouldn't stress too much. They definately need time to settle in. My first corn ate the first time I offered and refused there after. Unfortunatly it died after I had it for only about 3 weeks. Although it was past the 14 day warranty I took it back to the store just to see if they knew what went wrong, I was told it was probably some kind of digestion problem and it was not due to anything I had done and they replaced my snake past warranty. The snow they replaced it with is doing great,( think at least partially due to following all the recommendations given on this site about letting them acclimate before feeding). Yesterday (Monday) I went back to the same petstore just to look at boas and brought another hatchling corn(I think its a creamsicle!) home. I put it in its viv (separate) and don't intend on bothering to feed it until atleast friday even though it has been on a Thursday feeding at the store. Good luck and If you didn't know always pay close attention to what advise Carol has to offer.
Angela
 
He did it!!!!... He fina ate.... i put him in a deli cup with just the mouse overnight... shut the door and left him completely alone... this morning that lil pink sucker was gone!!!!!!
thanks everyone so much for your help.... i went out and bought the bill and kathy love and book.... ive been reading it strait non stop.... thank eagain everyone!!!!
 
congrats on getting it to eat... i guess im lucky. I brought my snake home and we handled him every day from the beginning, we fed him 1 pinky 3 days after we got him and he gobbled it up. and we've been feeding every 5 days since then.. well once was after 4 days but anyway he's eaten 4 times now without a problem. I switched to F/T the third time and he's eating 2 pinkies the last 2 times. I still handle him every day, and i only let him sit for 48 hours after he eats before holding him again. I feel lucky that my first corn hasn't had any problems thus far even though i may not have done everything like i should've.. like i didn't know i should've let him settle in a week before handling him.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top