Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I had 3 Abbott okatee corns hatched this year - my first ever corn snakes. They were healthy, but wouldn't feed, even after a shed. They were kept in an enclosure with a temp gradient from 77F to 88F and plenty of tight cover.

I was worried, watching them get skinnier every day. So I did what some have suggested. I bought some disposable tupperware containers and some live (very small) pinks.

I noticed that right after I put the pinks in with the corns, the snakes grew agitated and started striking at the pinks. But after a dozen strikes, they acted as if they were considering the situation. The strikes became less violent and more like a typical food strike.

After 15 minutes they all settled down and started exploring the pinks. They all soon grabbed the pinks and downed them quickly. I left them in the containers over night and returned them to their joint enclosure the next day.

Tonight I tried frozen thawed again but they showed little interest. I wonder if others have found they need to feed live for a week or two or longer, and if there are any tricks to get them on to frozen / thawed?

Thanks!
Herpers for Obama!

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Herpers 4 OBAMA!

That is very typical of extremely young corns. Many need to develop a feeding response of ANY type first, before you can get them to do something slightly different, including being offered F/T pinks. Also if at least 4 or 5 days have not passed, they will not show much interest either, as they probably aren't real hungry yet.

After 5 days have past since their last meal, I would try a slightly warmed(to rodent temp) pink again AT NIGHT in total darkness, this is when they feel less vulnerable in nature, and often feed as well. If they don't take the dead pink, try "braining" the pinky. This is done by slicing the top of the head of a dead pink, and gently squeezing some brain material out, then rub it all over the head/face of said pinky. This is often found irresistable to baby corns. If that doesn't work, go back to what definitely worked before, live pinks. After several times of doing this, you should try warmed F/T again, and see what happens.

The main thing initially is getting them to want to eat rodents..period,...then you can work on the convenient F/T type soon after if they insist on only live.

A long pair of tweezers work well for erratic wiggling if the corns prefer moving prey,....however, some do not, and prefer to gently grab dead ones. It all depends on getting a "feel" for things.......good luck!

~Doug
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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

Thanks for that good info.

A question about temps. The babies are in a 10 gallon with about 2 inches of very slightly damp vermiculite as substrate. (I always place the pinks on a paper towel so they don't run the risk of ingesting the vermiculite).

There is a heating pad on a dimmer switch under one end of the tank and no overhead light. Temps are 85-90 at warm end, 75-77 at cooler end. The babies seem to spend time at the cooler end.

Question: What temps are best for baby corns?
Herpers for Obama!

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Herpers 4 OBAMA!

Are you using vermiculite as a substrate? Don't.

Further thoughts:

Cage Size
Baby snakes fare best when kept in relatively small enclosures (e.g. a plastic shoebox).

Lighting
A baby corn snake is most likely to come out in the early evening or at night. For this reason, lighting its enclosure is not only unnecessary, but it may cause the animal stress.

Time of Feeding
Baby corns feed most readily in the evening.

Handling and Other Disturbances
While few snakes are as tame as corns, their docile nature does not mean that they should be handled – at least not until they have been consistantly eating.

Temperature
It is important to have a “hot spot” in the enclosure where the temperature reaches the mid-80’s.

Single Lifestyle
Corn snakes do best (and feed best) when housed separately.

Leave your snake in a small container overnight with the food item. DO NOT WATCH YOUR SNAKES EAT - it causes them stress.

Tim

Third Eye

Your temps sound ok but get them off of the vermiculate and onto some paper towels or aspen. Also do not feed the hatchlings together. Two can start on the same pink and then one goes over the top of the other and eats it thinking that its still eating pink. I've had it happen once...but I saw it and got the babies seperated in time.

Oh, I've never heard of braining before! Now there's an idea.

I generally thaw my F/T in a tupperware dish of water. I leave the rat water out next to the cage, and it gets my baby corn moving. I drain the tupperware and put the corn in it with the snake, and he goes right for it and gobbles it down within two minutes.

As a bonus, the eau de rat cologne seems to work up my ball python too (in the same room). And then I can get the ball to eat really readily and quickly. I'm a big fan of pre-scenting during eating days.