Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi there
I'm new to snakes, and bought a corn snake about a month ago. About a week after getting it, I tried to feed it, but it wouldn't take it. So, I waited another week, still nothing. I had asked for adive at the pet store, and they told me to "open its brain", which I did, and still nothing. I've tried this brain thing three more times, and now I'm getting a little worried that it isn't eating, and its so tiny I don't want it getting weak.
What can I do?
I have a 15 gal tank, with hiding spots at both ends, a live plant which it is on all the time, and some rocks at the warm end.

Any and all help would be great!
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Christina

This question begs to be asked:

When the pet shop told you to "open it's brain" you knew that they were talking about the pinkie, not the snake, right?

The answer to this will give the rest of us a starting point as to whether the question still requires a response or not....

The braining thing works for most corns, but you might just have a really troublesome feeder.
One thing that could make a difference is the kind of corn snake you have... some locales are more likely to want lizards (anoles) to eat as babies than they are to want mice, but from my understanding, this is more the exception than the rule. One thing you can try is getting an anole, and rubbing it on the pinkie so that the smell transfers. Along with this (and by itself), you may want to wash the pinkie with a mild, scentless soap so that the food doesn't smell like anything to your snake. Another thing to try is to dip the pinkie in chicken broth after you wash it; yet another scent trick.

Did your corn snake come with any sort of feeding record so that you could know what it had been eating at one point? How often are you trying to feed it? When did you start trying to feed it?
Being offered food too often and too soon can stress your snake out.

I hope that some of this helps... let us know when he starts taking it!

-Jaime
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2.1 Normal Ball Pythons ('04-Captain Jack; '05-BoBo; '06-Queen Latifa)
0.1 Okeetee Corn Snake ('06-Little Prince [named before she was sexed])
0.1 Bearded Dragon (Blondie)
1.0 Hooded Rat (Ho0dz)

I've had success with washing pinkies. I washed the pinky with Ivory soap, the bar kind.

Have you tried putting the pinky and the snake in a small container? The container the snake was in when you got it works great or any other small container, just make sure there are air holes and your good to go. Then place the container in the cage, turn off the lamp to prevent the container from over heating. If that doesn't work try leaving the snake in the container over night.
You can also wash the pinky with Ivory soap and then try the container method.

Sometimes corns like to "hunt" their food. So for that, just replace the bedding with a paper towel, to prevent the snake from accidentally ingesting the substrate. Then place the pinky on one side of the cage. If you place it near the water bowl the snake will be more likely to run into it. Sometimes you need to keep the pinky in the cage overnight.

As far as lizard scenting goes I have had great success with Lizard Maker by T-Rex. For that all you need to do is wash the pinky with Ivory soap, then place one drop of lizard maker on the pinky's head. After that I place the pinky and the snake in the container.

Hope this helps.

Baby snakes do best in small enclosures. You'll probably be better off keeping in in something the size of a shoebox. Those plastic tanks with snap-on lids are good. Snakes crave security and I've seen may cases of baby snakes that won't eat when kept in a 10 gallon (or larger) tank that do just fine when moved into a smaller enclosure.

Tim

Third Eye

I am with Tim, that your enclosure is too big and not secure enough for the baby. I would go for a shoebox with a couple inches of long fiber moss and a water dish.Use a small heat pad under one end. Let it chill a couple days. Then put in a live pinkie and leave it overnight.
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Sonya

I'm not mean. You're just a sissy.
Happy Bunny