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Not taking his mouse!

Argentra

Argentra

New member
Ok, I took out Aries (his new name) at around 5 this evening and put him in his feeding tank. I then dangled the PK hopper and he struck fairly quick twice, rattling his tail, but missed each time. Finally, I lay the mouse down in front of his box hide and covered the tank. He still hasn't taken that mouse and it's now nearly 8.

Some factors:
Might he 'know' the mouse is too big for him? The breeder told me he was on FT hoppers/smalls. (I can't use FT cause my partner refuses to have them in the freezer).

Is it too soon to try feeding him? I just got him Saturday, but the breeder told me he hadn't fed him prior to the show so he would be hungry for a new owner. He seemed hungry at first, but now is just avoiding the mouse.

Did I try feeding him too early in the day? It's only now starting to get dark here and I just set his feeding tank inside his home tank (mostly, they're about the same size) to give him some more warmth and darkness.

I'll go ahead and leave the mouse in with him overnight, but I'd like your input on this.
 
I don't think that snakes know whether or not their prey is of an appropriate size (kinda like when -- at least for me! -- when sizing up that amazing piece of tiramisu*, my eyes are too big for my stomach...;) ) because I've seen some incredible photos of snakes having ingested caimans & adult ewes. My snakes only eat appropriate sized feeders because that's what *I've* deemed appropriate for them...:) Anyway, a rule o'thumb that I go by when determining the right size of feeder is making sure that it's 1-1.5x the size of the snake's midsection. If so, it's good to go without stretching the snake's midsection too much & allowing for timely digestion.

(*By the way, I've never met a piece of tiramisu that's been too big for me, especially when served with a fabulous pot of delish black coffee...:) )

I also think that you waited long enough to feed him...Aries could just be picky. Some of my snakes are fabulously ravenous when I want them to be at all hours of the day, and I have two who are a bit picky. Both like to have their feeding containers covered with a cloth to darken it & allow for the snake to feel more secure when feeding (my guess). One -- my teensy 12 g lav, ShugaBoog -- also *adores* to have his pinkies washed prior to feeding. You might want to try washing the mice, or slitting it's belly/back...or, check the Health Issues/Feeding Problems FAQs and you may find another method that your snake prefers. Fortunately, the furthest I've had to go is slitting the belly (which also aid is easier/faster digestion by allowing the digestive juices to get in there to do their work) & washing the mice & covering the container. I also once left Shuga with a mouse overnight in his feeding container, mostly because I was getting frustrated with his petulance about eating. Shortly after that I tried washing his mice & wow, what a difference! I feel very fortunate that my feeding "problems" have resolved themselves easily enough.

From what I've read, some people have a set schedule for feeding, some feed when they wish, any time of the day. I'm one that feeds when I'm able -- my snakes have been dolls in working with me on this. :) Even my fussy eaters will eat when I want them to (except when in blue/anticipating a shed).

I hope that that helps! :)
 
a couple of suggestions ...

usually from my experience it is best to just put the mouse in the feeding container with the snake and then let the snake do its thing instead of dangling it.

a snake that is used to f/t may not accept pk because its not what its used too ... i know that some snakes are picky

also it is relatively normal for snakes to miss meals every once and a while so I wouldn't be too worried about it. Wait 2-3 days and then offer your snake another mouse.

hope this helps!
 
Cool. Thanks for the info/suggestions.

He didn't take it at all, so I took him out and put him back in his home. (Some grass snake or crow is having a very nice meal about now) Since he came out to look around not long ago, I figure he's ok, just didn't like something about how I fed him. Now that I think back, he might have been angry at the dangling bit since he struck rather fiercely but apparently not to catch it. Well, I'll just give him a few days and try it again. Next time, I'll just drop the mouse in with him and leave him be.

BTW, can corn snakes be fed live alright? I know they hardly constrict their prey, so I was thinking it would be a bad idea to try him on live hoppers, which is why I pre-killed it.
 
I know they hardly constrict their prey
Click to expand...

I’m not sure where you heard this but that is not the case. Think about it this way for a moment. Since they lack any sort of venom to immobilize their prey...how else are they going to make sure their food is dead before they eat it? It’s not as if they are going clamp down on their prey, hold on for dear life and ride out the storm. :grin01: They constrict their prey to death. 2 out of the last 3 feedings Roxanne nearly ripped the tweezers out of my hand she struck and constricted so hard and this was with a F/T that she has always eaten. Does this mean they do it every time when feeding on F/T...of course not. But in the wild, when obtaining live prey items, they do indeed constrict their prey.

The reason it’s a “bad idea” to offer live prey is when the snake is not interested in feeding at the moment and the prey item is left in with the snake unsupervised, the prey item can attack and harm the snake. Just search this forum for opinions on feeding live versus P/K of F/T.

Regards,
Steve
 
Ahh, I see and I stand (or rather sit) corrected. Even the most researched and educated people can be gullible from time to time :D

Alright, that makes me feel a bit better. I feed my BP live by holding it in the tongs and letting it hang in the box where she can 'see' it. Since it's already moving, I don't have to wiggle it around. Would that work for my corn as well? I don't want to stress or scare him out of eating. Any suggestions you guys could give will be much appreciated, as I am a novice when it comes to corns and just want to do things right for my fella.

Thanks
 
No worries. :)

Is it an option to your offer your corn pre-killed mice? It really is in the best interest of your snake to offer it food that doesn’t have an option of biting and/or scratching back.

Regards,
Steve
 
Any of mine have always _loved_ pk as opposed to FT. But you _could_ just buy one frozen mouse and then thaw it when you got home...

Also, I wouldn't go through the whole dangling the prey around thing unless you had to. I just put the mouse in the container, put the snake in, cover or not depending on the snake's preference, and then just leave it alone.

Now that your guy has refused, I wouldn't offer food again for five days. I would never feed live unless it was an absolute last resort. It only takes a split second for a mouse to bit the snake in the eye and blind it.

If you feed FT, make sure the mouse is _hot_ and it doesn't hurt to slit the back. Just do two to four little slits with a small scissors.

Nanci
 
Great, thanks for the advice. I'll probably try again next time, in a few days, with PK and just put it in and leave it. I do think I might have upset him with the dangling. If that doesn't work, I'll try a FT, but where can you get just one??? Most dealers sell them by the hundred pack.

At any rate, thanks for all the great responses, and we'll see what happens with him next time...he should be pretty hungry. :)
 
Well I get my mice from petco.
We have 3pks and 1pks avaliable. Unfortunatly with the mice only in pinkies fuzzies and adults.
So I have to feed multiples :rolleyes:
 
Hmm, good point. I had forgotten about the small packs sold there and at Petsmart...and after all the times I had to stock them too. Thanks for the reminder. :)

Well, I'll try the PK at least once more, then if he still refuses I'll try a FT. I don't think Ari will be too upset at just a few of them.
 
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