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some concern for tiny snake

Thank you both, my wife teases me because i will sit in eyesite of the viv well up to an hour or more, especially when im attempting to feed. I've dangled a pink to the point that it was literaly falling apart.

When we found it i was enthralled that this thing had these colors and it sparked a forseeable passion because im seeing us owning some corns as well n the future.
Growing up i only ever saw pythons or dark garter snakes. The colors of milk, corns and kings put me in a awe....also a plus that they are gentle for my minions (kids)
 
There's never been a better time to be a corn snake buyer! So many beautiful mutations can be had for less than the cost of shipping.
 
Thanks for the post chip, sorry to hear that you had to go through that.

How does a diffrent scent/technique every 3 or 4 days sound?
Is that too close together or should i try 1 or 2 days?
 
I'd say every 3 is about right. Keep us posted, and best of luck!
 
How long have you had it? If it's ben a while and you have tried feeding several times you may want to go ahead and assist feed a mouse tail. Sometimes it can help to stimulate an appetite and feeding response. Here in KY and the surrounding states ground skinks are on top of the menu. Fence lizards work sometimes too. I'm not sure about your area. Do you see lizards in the area where the snake was found? The truck is to try and figure out what the natural prey is and mimic that with your food item. With the weather taking a turn it looks like he's probably gonna have to stay in captivity to have a chance of survival. Don't let him get too weak before trying to feed a mouse tail and remember there are devices like pinkie pumps as a last resort. It's wont be pleasant for you or him but it will keep him alive and until he starts feeding voluntarily. If you have a local pet store you may purchase an anole to use for scenting, but I highly recommend freezing it your a few days first to get rid of parasites. If he seems interested in the smell them get creative. Grind the lizard into paste or wrap pieces of skin around the pinkie. Try not to get discouraged, he'll make an awesome captive once you get him figured out.
 
we have 4 types of lizard here but they aren't near me at all.
Lots of frogs, toads, newts, salamanders and turtles though.

I had it for about 25 days to a month now.

Can i use shed skin from the lizard or am i going to pull a Predator skinning on these guys?

Mouse tail
Should it be scented and heated or room temp?
should i cut it in half or just use full length?
Snake is longer than mouse tail but I'm just wondering if i could be more helpful.

Now about cutting a pinkie in half.
Does this mean i cut below ribcage or am i just taking his head off?
If i cut a pinkie in half below/around ribcage I'm gonna have guts slide out, am i cleaning those things out like fish or sorta keeping them contained for it to eat?

I've seen a lot of info that the warm side should be about 85 degrees but the snake doesn't really like it past 80-82ish.
I've come home from work in the morn and the temp gauge in his cool side hide reads 68-69deg and he's hanging out in there. Should I maintain the standard corn/milk/king temp setting or should i adjust it to what floats his boat?

I have searched the heck out of many of these questions but im getting back dumb results and the stuff i do find many of it is old info and i don't like old information. like training a dog with a rolled up newspaper, outdated and doesn't work.

Thanks again for the help everyone
 
As for the lizards: I think you'll see a response fairly quickly if lizard scent intrigues him. You'll see lots of tongue flicking and maybe some different body postures. Try anything you are comfortable with. Some people grind up the whole lizard using an old food processor. Add a little water to make a slurry then portion it out and freeze small amounts of it th be thawed for scenting, out even freeze pinkies right in the mixture. This is for snakes who want STRONG lizard scent. The next step down would be using a piece of skin, then shed, then finally just rubbing the pink on the lizard.
For mouse tails: It's probably best to use tails from younger mice. If you are concerned that they are too long then cut them in half and feed more often. Milks eat snakes a part of their natural diet and can handle meals that seem long. Speaking of snakes...maybe someone in your area has hatchlings that were culled or did not survive. That can be an option for scenting or feeding.
A for the temps: Maintain the warm side. Even though he isn't using it now he will need it for proper digestion. Also consider that being a wild snake he may be shutting down for winter and refuse feeding no matter what. If this is the case I recommend you try to feed a few tails, give him a few at weeks to digest then brumate for a short time. Sometimes this can trigger feeding.
Josh
PS If some words don't make sense it's because autocorrect got em.
 
Good deal man, great info. I can understand it all.
I checked up on the pet stores and found a little python that didn't make it in shipping but he was a tad big for me to want to try it....and the wife was home so her nice blender would have been lodged in my face if she witnessed that......BUT!

He can eat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I found him wrestling with a pinks head in his mouth but the legs gave him a problem so when he dropped it i cut the head off and put it back in.
I'm at work now but I'll find out if he ate it later.
It was like holding a Superbowl party in a library....the whole family excited but quiet.

I stopped the small paper bag thing, tiny snake makes small paper bag look like 4 room house with den.
I used a 'side dish' bowl that you get at KFC.
They are plastic, washable and microwavable...very low profile and small.
I did the steamy water thing on the stove then mixed chicken broth.

I'm disappointed for being distracted with new feeding dish and defrosting/scenting method but I know I just need a smaller pink and maybe trim him up a bit and we shall be golden.

Until my order of ultra small pinks come in, how many pinkie heads per a feeding do you guy's think would be good enough to be called a feeding?

Thanks a thousand again
 
Since he hasn't eaten much, I'd just feed a head every 5 days for now. Maybe later cut the pinkie, while frozen, in half length wise. Right now you don't want to overwhelm him with more food than he can handle. Been there, done that, not fun, but with an older underfed snake.

I hope Nanci speaks up. She seems to have the best insights on this.
 
Just got home from work and my little dude has a party in his tummy!!!

He ate the head and the tail

I opened his mini food prison and left him to do what he needs.

Just to make sure...
.I can get handling time in 36 hours? Then leave alone till next feeding?
Im making a schedule and what to ensure to get handle time to get used to me and kids but i dont wanna risk getting him sick
 
Congratulations on him feeding! Have you gotten a weight on him yet?

I wouldn't handle him at all until he feeds a couple more times for you. I'd feed a HOT pinky, cut in half, both halves. Every 4-5 days. Depending on his size.
 
No weight on him yet, job takes half of my week. I will definatly follow strict plan, thank you vey much.

Also, im staying on these forums, i don't like how kingsnake forums is set up.
But there will be a corn in my family wihin a year...tell my wife "Well we gotta get a bigger tank for Punk but now we have this empty ten gallon and all these supplies.......hint hint";)
 
Oh and look at how many views this topic has got. Thats why i love these forums. You people are the best
 
Stoked you got him feeding!!! That's great news. To be honest, I had my doubts about an eastern milk... wild caught... pretty much in November! That's a HUGE hurdle to have out of the way.
 
I know what you mean about KS.com. Just too awkward. That's okay, plenty of non-corn or corn-plus people here!!
 
He just had his second feeding.

I split the pink down the middle while frozen, still just as friggin gross.
He ate one half so im stoked but hate that i have a half body laying around.
He still could care less about dangling or teasing him with it though.
 
Well he/she i still don't know what sex it is. Is doing fine on split in half pinkies thawed in steamy hot almost boiled water with chicken broth.
Every feeding has been positive and a dude who has zero clue on snakes and now i want to hobby this facination has took in a scared little guy from his cold yard and kept him alive so far. I can't thank you guys enough for your helpful information.
Thank you
 
Yup, that has to be a shock to your system- going from knowing nothing about snakes at all to routinely splitting infant mice in half and boiling them in chicken broth! Excellent work! Won't it be fun to see what you could do with a domestic snake some day??
 
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