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corn won't eat

LisaWard14

LisaWard14

New member
i got my corn almost 2 months ago now, i've been feeding him a pinky every 6 days. He ate his first 5 meals no problem. The sixth meal, he took a very long time before he even looked at the mouse, but he eventually ate it. It has now been 20 days without eating. i have tried 4 times but he just isnt interested. I feed him f/t. I understand that they can go months without eating, but a pinky every 20 days is not a normal feeding schedule. I have tried the zombie dance, but the long tweezers scare him so he doesn't want anything to do with it. any ideas?
 
First of all, how long do you wait before trying to feed the snake again? If frequently offered food, the snake could stress out and take an even longer time to eat again.
There are also many techniques to try and get your snake to eat. You could leave the snake in a paper bag with the pinkie, overnight (a tub works too). you could slit the pinkie down the stomach or the head to get the sent out. You could dip the pinkie in tunafish juice. And i'm pretty sure there are more tips to try and get your snake to eat.
 
i have been slitting all of his mice. I've been offering them every 5-6 days, trying to resume his normal feeding schedule. He is still at a healthy weight, so I'm not too worried yet. He just shed about 2 weeks ago, his eating habits never changed during the pre-shed, so I'm confused why they have now..
 
One thing that worked for one of my snakes is instead of thawing in hot water I had to keep the pinky under a heat lamp and after about 10 min and the pinky was nice and warm I then used a razor blade to split from the neck at the base of the skull to between the eyes and made sure to get some brain on the tip of the nose of the pinky. I know that all sounds horrifying but it worked.
 
Not really out of the ordinary, hes definitely becoming more calm when hes out of the tank, not as jumpy. I'm not sure if he's being lethargic or just becoming used to being handled.. He moves around quite a bit though
 
Are you feeding him in a deli cup? Have you tried a series of reheats? Put him in the cup, cover and leave for an hour, if he hasn't eaten, reheat and leave him again for an hour, if he hasn't eaten, reheat and put the whole thing, closed, in his viv overnight?

Has anything changed about the pinks? Different source?
 
No, the source has not changed. I only leave him with it for one hour and then give up, I will try the overnight thing tomorrow. He's gotta be pretty hungry by now
 
Sometimes they want to be alone to eat. Put the food with the snake in a small container, put the container in his viv to prevent escapes, cover it up and go away for at least two hours. Don't peek, and try to stay out of the room if you can. The more feeding attempts he refuses the more challenging it can be to get him going again. That said, don't panic. There are many tricks yet to try. If he ate before he should eat again, it's just a matter of finding the right button to push.
 
im having the same problem with my corn, he ate 4 meals with me perfectly and then stopped and has not eaten in 3 weeks, last time i tried was a week ago so i am going to try again tonight. if he doesnt eat im not going to loose sleep over it as i have been told snakes can go months without eating and stay quite healthy, so i guess he will eventually eat when hes hungry.

goodluck with trying to feed your snake and its always good to know im not the only one with a funny eater :p
 
Healthy adult corn snakes can go months without eating and have little or no lasting health problems, but a hatchling or very young snake may not fair as well over that long a period of time.

Apart from the suggestions already made, I would also like to suggest that you refrain from handling/playing with him for a little while, at least until he has had 4 to 6 successful meals again. The most important thing at the moment is to get him feeding reliably again, then you'll have all the time in the world to enjoy his company :)
 
sorry to ask a question on your thread, but i was wondering if the way you thaw out the pinks would affect the snakes appetite? i thaw mine out in warm water because its quick but i was wondering if this would take the scent off and make the snake reluctant to eating the pink

thanks
 
I had a snake that preffered I thaw the pink under a heat lamp; however, I am one of the few that has found that methode to work over hot water thaw so it is not talked about as much.
 
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