Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok I was in a hurry when i rote the other post. Me and a freind went to the NC herp show, we got sinolan milks mine ate but his dint.we tryd to get hime to eat for days in a row. Mine is a littel older than his,his is only 1-2 weeks old. Sould we panic yet? I mean how long sould he go before he eats. any tips would be nice.

How long have you had this snake? It is normal for a new snake to be stressed and not eat. Baby snakes typically will not eat unless they are secure. Make sure that you are providing an ideal environment, with good hiding spots and proper temps, and leave your snake alone for a while. Try offering your snake a mouse after 4 days or so. If it still doesn't take it, wait a couple days and try something different. Some tips for getting small snakes to eat are:

- Minimize stress by not handling or bugging the snake.
- Feeding at different times of day (evening and night usually work best)
- Placing the snake and pinky in a small deli cup with air holes overnight. Put the deli cup in the cage and check on it in the morning.
- Putting the food item in the snake's hide.
- Poking a hole in the dead pinky's head to expose a little brain and blood (this worked best for me, they can't resist the smell!).
- Trying live pinkies if feeding dead, or vice versa.
- Combination of the above

If all of the above don't work after a few weeks, try scenting a pinky with a lizard, or offering a lizard tail. Many baby snakes are programmed to eat lizards and they don't recognize pinkies as food until you switch them over.

Sometimes it takes baby snakes a while before they get secure enough in their new homes to eat. The key is patience! He'll eat eventually.

Hope this helps,

Andy