Excellent topic Joe. Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks!

For hatchlings, I don’t have much else to suggest other than trying different combinations of what has already been suggested. For kings & milks I sometimes dip pinks in empty egg shells from non Lampropeltis species, usually rat snakes. I then freeze the eggs for reuse. I also freeze deformed snakes so I can use them for scenting, or to feed finicky kings in the future.

For most, it goes without saying that the food should be placed in the snake’s hiding box & left overnight. Also the cage should not be too big – you want the snake to be able to find the food.

For non-feeding adults, i.e. eastern milks, I find that small live prey items work best - try fuzzy/pinky rats or mice. Never leave anything big enough to bite the snake in the cage. Once you get a meal into them you can move on to FT. Non-feeding adults also show a preference for brained pinks or fuzzies. I have an rubber boa, a sub adult pyro & a sub adult syspila that will not accept anything else at certain times during the year (late summer through fall). Also sometimes varying the food item works. I’ve had pits (FL & black pines) that would only accept (FT) chicks. Lastly, if they stop feeding in the fall, brumate them before they lose weight, then try again in the spring when feeding responses are almost always better.

P

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