Experienced snake oweners read this !

According to the records we got from PetSmart shes about 4 months old they said she was eating normally at the store but i'm pretty sure that's a lie because she is tiny and was very extremely puny when i got her. Ive had her for about a month and have seringe fed her once a smushed up mouse and force fed her twice the first time just a head and the second time a head and part of the body but it was cut up. she has gotten a bit bigger since i got her but im really worried about her because shes so tiny. She doesnt act drowsy or anything whenever i handle her she is active and slithering around. Ive tried all the trick deli cups placing the mouce in her habitat, braning, diping the pink in tuna juice, offering only the head and only the body. wiggling it around in her cage but shes just not interested at all she just looks away. I really need help because im afriad she will die if she doesnt eat because of her size as you can see in my profile pic shes tiny, about the width of a pencil and maybe 12 inches long. I just need some advice should i continue to force feed her how should i go about doing so will she gain any weight? any questions you have about her that i can tell you that will help you to help me im willing i just really dont want her to die thank you so much

Did you try pouring boiling water over the pink then offering it to her? It's a trick I learned from these good people here and it worked for me.

I WORK at petsmart and I STILL do not recommend buying a corn snake from MOST if not ANY of the associates there.

When is the last time she ate? Has she ever eaten on her own?

This is one reason I fed my little guy the day I got him, to be sure he was eating as we'd just got him in. The only thing I've ever needed to do was poke a hole in the head, thankfully all our snakes have always eaten well. Good luck with her.

I've had 100% success with boiled pinks, find the smallest one you can, boil water, drop pink in it for 30-45 seconds, pull it out and put it in the deli with the baby. I prefer to do this at night and leave them overnight as night is a more natural time for them to feed and you won't be tempted to be looking and annoying your baby as you will be sleeping, check in the morning. Good luck!

Get a small disposable container that your baby will just fit in, similar to this, all scrunched and coiled up is good. Poke a couple holes in the side and top for air. Thaw the pinky on a dish in the fridge for a few hours or in a baggie in water. After the pinkie is thawed, put a cup of water in the microwave for a couple of mins to get it boiling hot. Put your snake in the little container and loosely put the top on, hold it so your baby doesn't slither off, swish the pinky in the hot water for 30-45 seconds, it should get all pale looking. Then plunk the hot pinky into the little container and put the top all the way on, cover with a dish towel or if your house is noisy a pillow, then walk away for an hour or so.

Also since corns are crepuscular it may be helpful to try feeding later at night, around 9-10pm or super early in the morning.

It is easier to put the pink in the deli first then put the snake in.

I have had great success with boiled pinks.

Also, I was reading in the other thread, How often are you trying to feed? Usually for little ones, I will feed them every 5 days. If they refuse a feeding I will try again the next 5 days.

I try feeding her every seven days she didn't eat last week and I didn't try to force feed ah hasn't eat since Tuesday so I guess I'll try to feed her today with the boiling trick , figures crossed that she will take the pink, do you think I should cut the pinky in half since she is so small or will she take the whole thing ?

Usefull information you have received here and you should listen to it.
but lets break down your first post

hannahr225 said:

.....Ive had her for about a month

and have seringe fed her once a smushed up mouse

and force fed her twice ...... ..................

Ive tried all the trick
deli cups placing the mouce in her habitat,
braning,
diping the pink in tuna juice,
offering only the head and only the body.
wiggling it around in her cage .....

Click to expand...

Normally you let a snake settle in for say..a week. No handle nor attempts

So..since you had the snake it's been stressed.
I would let the snake chill out for a while. Let it get hungry.

Don't fret if it dosen't eat for you right away.

I'd let her chill for a week, as suggested. A snake that's going to eat will eat, once its hungry and not stressed. When you go to feed it try the boiled pink routine as has been described. You can "finger roll" the pinkie prior to dousing it with the boiling water. This will kind of "stretch it out" and make it easier to swallow. Just don't do it too hard

If I let her go another week without food it will be three weeks without eating, and that worries me because of her size she extremely small, is there any way anyone could post a picture of a healthy four month old corn so I can know what she is supposed to look like by now

If you answered the following questions I'm sorry:
What are the temps in the viv?
How do you measure the temps?
Do you only have one snake in the viv?
What is the general layout of viv, how many hides, what type of bedding?

The temperature is like 80 on the hot side and 75 cool
I use a temp and humidity gauge from petsmart
I only have her in the Viv
I only have one hide and a water bowl the hide doubles as a basking area and I use aspen bedding

To start with you need to know the temps on the Aspen or under it where the snake hangs out. If you are using UTH you need to know the temp right over the glass where the UTH is. An unregulated UTH can easily get up to over 100*. Depending on size of viv you might put in more hides toilet paper tubes are good for little snakes. The snake needs to feel secure, correct amount of heat to eat. Even then the snake might have to be started. I would be nice if you could get a weight on the little one. Do you have a kitchen scale?

I don't have a kitchen scale but I no she doesn't weight anywhere near a pound she probably only a few ounces she super tiny I'm so worried about her I would just like a picture to relate to what she should look like vs what she looks like now

I'm not sure what you mean by a picture, that isn't going to solve your problem. What is your heat source UTH or light? The temps or really important 70-75 cool side, 80-85 warm side, hides on both sides, water cool side or middle. Being able to get the correct temps important for digestion, some reptiles won't eat if the temps are off.
If you feel you need pics go to any of the breeder web sites, the bigger ones will have pics and birth date.
A 300 gram corn snake is usually considered a breed able size snake. So a pound would be a very good sized (453 grams = one pound) snake. A few ounces would not be that far off for a 4 month old snake.
All the suggestions you've been given are good for jump starting a poor eater. I'm not sure why you force fed or syringe fed to begin with, this is usually done as a last resort. If you had the snake for a month did it not eat from the beginning?

No she wouldn't eat I hear with a lamp a bright one during the day and a purple one at night

If you post a picture of her, we might be able to get a better idea of the condition she's in. Three weeks without food isn't going to kill her. Here's a picture of one of my snakes when she was 4 months old.



If yours has a really prominent spine or loose looking skin, she might be in trouble.

Ok the light not totally bad, but why change it day and night. I would be concerned with temperatures in your house and the viv may be too warm and dry. Again the temp where the snake is, is what you want, not the side of the viv. Stress, too much heat not enough heat, are very important in keeping your snake alive and eating. Sadly it may be so stressed from force feeding it will never start eating on its own. Again I'm sorry if I missed it but you got the snake at four months old and how old is it now?
I would urge you to get good temps, more hides, fresh water and then leave it alone for a week with purple light don't keep changing lights (or once you have good temps if it is ambient 80*), just leave it alone. Then take the snake out put it in small feeding bin with the mouse (above boiled directions). Feed around dark or cover bin so it is dark. Check after a half an hour. If it doesn't eat leave it with pinky another half hour. Then take it out put it in viv leave it alone, until next feeding say five days.
I feel strongly at this point with force feeding and all feeding attempts the snake is very stressed. I'm sorry there is only so much one can do, some snakes just never get over stress enough to eat.

You've had her for a month, she hasn't eaten in three weeks, but you have force fed her... does that mean you force fed her within a week of having her?