Good Topic Joe,
I use pinky heads mostly.I have found the size of a food item matters.Seems like the snake can be scared off from a full pinky but will take just the head.That seems to be true even when tail feeding.Too long and they spit it.
When scenting a full pinky I like to insert a tiny section of FT worm snake or skink into the mouth of the pink.I may or may not scent the entire thing.
In the past I would bring gravid earth or worm snakes home and keep them just for the eggs.This works with ring snakes also.Milks don't care for ringneck snakes but the eggs work well on a picky eater.I have had gentilis jump on eggs when all else failed.The egg juice can also work as scenting material.I have used my cornsnake egg juice to scent and even full eggs on large kingsnakes.
Another good trick is to pass a second or third meal into the snakes mouth after it takes the first one.If done carefully the snake will continue eating a few more meals without stopping from the first one.Its as if the snake is eating one long meal.
This does not always work as the snake can spit the first item and you end up with no meal at all.Timing has to be right but if you have a snake that is calm when picked up you can keep passing fussys in before the last one vanishes into its mouth.This trick is mostly used for WC adults that are not good feeders or you want to fatten it up in hopes of better luck after cooling it.Don't try more then three here.If it regurges then you have bigger issues.
The small housing container trick is a good one.The food item is put in with a hatchling in a deli cup or paper bag untill the snake gets tired of looking at the pink and decides it doesn't want a roommate.
Live food item work better then dead(FT)With milks, baby or adults, live food will work well when FT will not.This is a good trick later in the season when milks get a bit picky.
Cooling your snake for the winter at 55° can also get your snake eating but if its thin looking you may lose it.
Force feeding works using tails but you have to be carefull.I broke the jaw on a scarlet baby doing this.Fussy tails work well.Adult mice have too many sharp bones in the tails.Try breaking the bones with a hammer to soften them. Rat pinkys are the best because they are big and have no bones.
When tube feeding I use a pediatric naso-gastric tube or a IV extenstion set.The feeding tubes have round ends so they can't scrape as they go in and they have less resistense.They don't have a hole at the end but have several near the end on the sides.The IV extenstion sets are shorter but need to be cut.I melt the ends to a ball shape to make it easier to slide into the snake and I burn pin holes in the sides of the tube.Use KY jelly to coat the tube.
Some snakes only eat in the dark or at night so time your feeding untill later in the day and stay out of the room.
Good Luck and if your milk won't eat feed ot to your kingsnake.
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"He's down in the basement staring at his snakes " My Wife


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Doug L

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