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Feeding Help

I'm certainly no expert and I've never had to deal with a non-feeding snake or force feed but I have one idea that may be worth a try.

I'm feeding my little corn small frozen pinkies from gourmet mice. I get them at petco. I notice that if I cut the pinky in half when it's frozen and thaw it out when I feed her that bloody half pinky she is a very aggressive feeder. It's like she's a little shark when she smells that blood.

The reason I started this is because she had a regurge and I wanted to give her smaller meals to get her past that.

Maybe try leaving your trouble one alone with no stress and good temps for a few days before trying to feed him a bloody chunk of pinky.

I'm not sure how that might differ from giving him a brained one except maybe a smaller portion and bloodier.

May be woth a try if nothing else does it.
 
Thanks Jack, I'll definitely add that to my list of things to try when I get the snake back up to health, and ready to incorporate regular feeding attempts. I just feel like if I don't get the snake back up to health asap, it probably wont make it. Comparing it to my other corn that is healthy and the same age, the problem feeder is only half its size. Another thing I have already tried though is cutting a pinkie in half lengthwise (very gruesome) and offering it then, but it didn't spark any interest.
Thanks
 
Nanci is right. A mouse's body temps are in that range, so having the mouse that hot may entice a reluctant feeder to strike, especially if the mouse is wiggling. I use a blowdryer to heat mine up until they feel warm. I don't have any reluctant feeders, , but all mine seem to strike harder when the mouse is warm.
 
Thanks, I found the thread with the study, and it's really interesting. It really makes sense though, as the stomach acid would sorta digest the snakes insides without having to break through the skin first. I'll definitely be using it on my snakes, the only thing I'm worried about is it might make the pinkie too mushy to force feed. Since the pinkies I just bought are really fresh though, they will probably hold up long enough, so it's worth a try.

Last night I wrote down my plan to get the snake healthy again, and I'm confident it will work. I think that once the snake is healthy, if it doesn't start eating on its own, I'll probably hibernate it for a couple weeks, and then try again. Thanks to the people on this forum, I now have a whole list of new things to try with feeding attempts. I'll post an update sometime in the future to let people know how the snake is doing, but I'm definitely still open to suggestions.

Thanks
 
Today I tried force feeding the snake again, and I managed to get a whole pinkie down first try! I had cut the front legs off the f/t pinkie, warm it up and then make 4 slices on its back, and it all went down no problem. I plan on force feeding again in 5 days, hopefully it will only take 3 or 4 force feedings to get him back up to health. I took some pictures of the snake last night for reference so I thought I would post them on here so people can see what the snake looks like, and compare it to future pictures. Here they are:
corn1wy8.jpg

corn2ez6.jpg

The second picture is of the healthy and non feeder corn of the same age, theres definitely quite a big difference. I also noticed the bottom one's colors are way darker, probably because the pattern is developing and the snake is staying the same size.
Thanks
 
Just thought I would post a little update. I've now force fed him 6 times, and he now weighs 12 grams, 2 grams more than before. I'm not sure if this is really good news though, because he still looks really thin and doesn't really seem any healthier, and meanwhile my other corn gained 4 grams and is on the same feeding schedule. I'm wondering if I should be force feeding him every 3 or 4 days instead, because the pinkies I'm feeding him don't really make a bulge, and he really needs to gain some body mass.
 
How many days apart are you feeding him now?

My girl that I force feed is on a five day schedule, and the last two feedings have been double pinks. She was 29 grams!!! at her last weigh in. She definitely takes longer to digest now- on one pink, she'd be out roaming the next day- two pinks takes her two if not three days before she is out and about. Other than that, though, she seems healty and normal. It's a way to keep them going and build up their strength till you can get the feeding issues sorted out.

I think it's a hopeful sign that he's gaining at least a little weight for you. Addy did that, one gram at a time, for a long time.

Nanci
 
Thanks Nanci. I'm currently feeding him small pinks every 5 days. I think I'll try what you're doing and do 2 small pinks, or maybe feed him every 3 days. He also gained another 1.5" since I started force feeding, so instead of the weight going to the body girth, it's going to his length.

Good job with your girl! I was just reading through this thread again, and you wrote she was around 22 grams on Dec. 18, that seems like really good progress.
 
I don't think three days gives him enough time to digest. Inez, my baby milk, weighs 15 grams, and she is growing slowly but steadily. She weiged 11 grams when I got her in November. So that's two grams per month. She's shedding every four weeks- so I think that's a good rate of growth. She eats one small pink every five days. _Maybe_ you could do two of the tiniest pinks- but then for sure I'd be feeding at five days, not less.

Nanci
 
I agree, I'll keep him on the same 5 day schedule, but I'll feed either 2 really small pinkies, or 1 med sized one. I guess 2 grams isn't bad for 1 month, but the fact that he still looks really thin and unhealthy makes me think he could use some more food.
Thanks
 
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