Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have a young okeetee corn (like a few months old) and she doesn't constrict her food. Still on pinkies. all the fuzzies here i feel are to big, so i'm gonna wait on them. I give her live and f/t pinkies, and she just eats 'em. Even the live, starts swallowing even though the mice is still able to breath (and squeking).

question is, is this something she's gonna grow out of? Will she actually learn to constrict food, or is she pretty much "doomed" to a life a f/t?

reason i say doomed is becasue i can't gut load a dead frozen rodent. and if so, how?
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1.0.0 Bearded Dragon (Rex- "normal" orange fire)
1.0.0 Bearded Dragon (Glutany- German Giant Mix)
0.1.0 Okeetee Corn
0.2.0 Dwarf Hamsters
0.0.1 Rose Hair Tarantula
1.0.0 Boyfriend

I guarantee you that if she got a hold of something she thought would be a problem, she will constrict it. You dont need to gut load your feeders, they should be fine like they are.

ep
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Occupants not paying rent:
1.1. balls
1.1 corns
1 everglades rat
1 w. hognose
1 bearded dragon
2.1 cats

i agree you don't have to gut load snake food. unless they are sick then i've heard you can sneak in medication inside the meal.
all mine eat f/t from my baby corn on fuzzies to my python on jumbo rats. i have one adult corn the doens't constrict at all and takes jumbo mice then i have a baby corn on fuzzies that will the moment i drop one in. some do and some don't. don't worry.

my other corn on jumbo mice if i set in the f/t mouse will not constrict it but if i wiggle it just a little you can bet she/he goes for it baby! so relax an let them do what they do.

Most hatchlings do not constrict pinkies or even small fuzzies (live or frozen) as they pose no threat to the snake... Once you switch up to hoppers the snake will start to wrap/constrict befoe eating... Don't worry your snake is not broken!!

As far as gut loading your mice, what are planning to gut load them with and where did you hear that you needed to do that??

~ Mike Russo

are poor constrictors by nature. This includes many of my trans-pecos rat snakes and alterna. But I've had numerous other snakes including corns that if fed a smaller size food item than what was needed, didn't constrict. Of course feeding frozen/thawed rodents would suggest many snakes don't feel the need of constricting either. One of our biggest burms fell back on the need to constrict when it was fed pre-killed rabbits.
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I may be old , cantankerous, crabby, and cynical, but......

blizz used to costrict,is about 1.5' and has an amazing feeding response, goes psyco at the smell of a mouse, pink, or rat. its funny she puts so much energy into feeding.
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jake

my addiction:
1.1? normal ball pythons (lazlo and izzy)
0.1? amelenistic corn snake (zyklon)
0.1 blizzard corn (blizz)
hybrid breeders association
hybrid haven

My Corn Snail is about a year and a half old now and I don't thikn I've ever seen him constrict but I fed him f/t so never really questioned it till now ! :S