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This is what happens when you don't eat your pinkies. These are from the same clutch that hatched 2 months ago.

The little one has only eaten one pinky, and been force fed a few mouse tails. I have been unsuccessful at force feeding pinkies, probably because I am afraid I will hurt her. The mouse tails are easy: once I them them started, she goes ahead and swallows. But if I poke a pinky in as she is swallowing the mouse tail, she quits.

I have tried all of the suggested methods for feeding stubborn hatchlings (I think), but she just isn't interested.

She is still very active, but of course is very thin, and has not grown. She has only shed once, while the others have all shed 3 times.

I hate to give up now, but I don't know how much longer she will last.
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Kent

0.1 Hypomelanistic striped cornsnake
1.1 Hypo (het lavender, striped) cornsnake hatchlings
2.2 Normal (het hypo, lavender, striped) cornsnake hatchlings
1.2 Gray-banded kingsnakes, blairs phase
1.1 Oregon rubber boas

Have you tried tease feeding? I have a bunch of babies this year that I have to tease feed! I have about 10 that refuse even tease feeding, so it's not a guaranteed method. It takes patience too. If the snake doesn't eat by tease feeding the first time it might on the second or third time. Also some you may have to hold the snake untill they swallow completely others only swallow if you let go. It's like finding the right combination that works sometimes. Here is a video I did on the technique. Even though that snake didn't finnish eating you'll get the idea, lol. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHg7sMG4CtA
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King Snakes! Who can make a better mouse trap?
J Sierra

Jorge, I have tried tease feeding. It hasn't worked.
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Kent

0.1 Hypomelanistic striped cornsnake
1.1 Hypo (het lavender, striped) cornsnake hatchlings
2.2 Normal (het hypo, lavender, striped) cornsnake hatchlings
1.2 Gray-banded kingsnakes, blairs phase
1.1 Oregon rubber boas

Have you tried leaving it overnight with a lizard scented pinkie. It doesn't have be an anole. It can be a leopard gecko scent or any other type of lizard. Or even a non poisonous frog. If you can't get a hold of a natural prey item try to substitute a close match. If you can scent it good, maybe all over then put it in a small brown paper bag and twist the top closed ( be careful that the snakes head isn't in the top when you twist it closed). and then I would put that in another container just in case it gets out. When i was really big into breeding colubrids, I always had a colony of leopard geckos. Dual purpose sell the babies and lizard scenting. Even though I live in south Florida some times it was easier to lizard scent the geckos instead of going and catching anoles and freezing them for 48 hrs. and the thawing them out again. I hope this helps, as long he is not to far gone.

Ed

I have a baby just like yours. None of the methods have worked on her, and I'm pretty certain she's going to end up in snake heaven in another couple weeks.

>>I have a baby just like yours. None of the methods have worked on her, and I'm pretty certain she's going to end up in snake heaven in another couple weeks.

Look I got a TON of flack for saying this in the Kingsnake forum but if it helps keep your snake alive it's worth it! Buy yourselves a Pinky Pump! Yes there are horror stories of people exploding their snakes and whatever, but if you just use some good sense it is very safe and will keep your snakes alive long enough for it's eating response to kick in. They used to be expensive but I saw them advertised somewhere recently for 29 bucks and they last for ever! You may have to replace the "O" ring after several years, but they sell them separately. I will probably buy one soon for those absolute difficult feeders! I recently lost a super nice F-1 from WC parents that looked like a bloodred motley. If I had used a pinky Pump, it might still be alive. You want to use the adjustable stop ring so as not to push in too much. The idea is to give them some nutrition to sustain them, untill they begin to feed. You don't want to stuff them like a sausage.
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King Snakes! Who can make a better mouse trap?
J Sierra

I do not really see the purpose of force feeding a snake that absolutely refuses to eat despite the 'tricks of the trade' unless it was one of a kind. That's not a trait I want to perpetuate in my line and if the anorexia is because of some gastrointestinal issue, it won't help. One of my first non-feeders, a little SQ ghost I bought at a show, apparently had a stricture of the stomach, as when I syringe fed him 1 ml of food, his stomach ruptured. That was not a pleasant experience.

Yeah, but if it is only one, or a couple, it is easy enough to force a small anole or even a tiny "tic-tac" pinky down it to keep it alive until it trigger's a good feeding response on it's own. It could very well go onto be a ravenous feeder later on if given the chance. It wouldn't necessarily mean it would have finicky problem-feeder offspring at all.

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com

I have no access to anoles. I tried to shove a day-old pink down the snake's gullet and could not do so as the snake turned into a thrashing flailing tornado that was horrified by having something in its mouth. It wouldn't even swallow a mouse tail on its own... even after I had the entire thing halfway to its stomach. No attempt to pass the food item down at all. That lack of typical response to presence of something in the esophagus does not bode well.

Yeah, I definitely understand what you're saying. When I "force-feed" something, I gently push the meal just about all the way down with a sexing probe, and it doesn't matter if they like it or not, ....it is going DOWN no matter what!..LOL!

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com

I know what you mean Doug! I might give it a chance to take it in after it's halfway but if I see any attempt to push it back out, it goes all the way in. I use a sexing probe too, cause they are made with blunt round ends that won't hurt the snake.
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King Snakes! Who can make a better mouse trap?
J Sierra

Ah! That is what I'm lacking! When all you have is your fingers to try and get that food down, it doesn't work so well.

Exactly Jorge!,.....

It's as easy as loading an old muzzle-loading musket rifle, only the "rifle" is much smaller and alive!..LMAO!!

~Doug

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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com

>>I do not really see the purpose of force feeding a snake that absolutely refuses to eat despite the 'tricks of the trade' unless it was one of a kind. That's not a trait I want to perpetuate in my line and if the anorexia is because of some gastrointestinal issue, it won't help. One of my first non-feeders, a little SQ ghost I bought at a show, apparently had a stricture of the stomach, as when I syringe fed him 1 ml of food, his stomach ruptured. That was not a pleasant experience.

Nature has a plan...we disrupt that plan...some snakes just aren't meant to survive..they are meant to feed other animals or even become fertilizer...we as breeders change the laws of nature and have numbers beyond nature's plan survive every day. Sometimes it just takes more work to reverse nature's plan...lol
anyway..sometimes you just don't want certain snakes to die. maybe it's your first hatchling of a certain morph or simply one of you favorite morphs or first hatchling from a certain pairing or your first hatchling ever or whatever. If anyone decides that any snake they hatch is worth saving then it doesn't matter what it is...to them it's worth it, period. No one else's opinion of that particular snake is important. They have their own reasons to save it and that's the bottom line.
I still have several snakes that I force fed to get started. They have all turned into just as good or better feeders as any of my other snakes. A few of these have been bred and there has been absolutely no trend for these snakes to produce non-feeders. I have snakes that have never been problem feeders that will produce a couple of non feeders each season and I have snakes that started out as non-feeders that haver never produced a non-feeder. My first hatchling ever was a non-feeder anery...I still have him and he produces some damn nice ghosts, snows and anerys. Not super morphs but he was definitely worth saving and his babies are always great eaters and help pay the costs of keeping my snakes.
I'll hp down off the soap box now....started getting dizzy up there...lol
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Corn snakes and rat snakes...No one can have just one.
"Resistance is futile"
Jimmy Johnson
(Draybar)
Draybars Snakes

_____

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King Snakes! Who can make a better mouse trap?
J Sierra

This is the first hatchling I produced when I started back into snake keeping. He started out as a non feeder. It didn't take long to get him eating and he will be here until he dies. He is named Pistol Pete...he came out of the egg striking...my wife said he's mean as a pistol so Pistol Pete he is. Just an anery but MY first and I'm glad I took the time to get him eating.
He is het hypo het amel. In this shot he is with a female anery that is also het hypo het amel

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Corn snakes and rat snakes...No one can have just one.
"Resistance is futile"
Jimmy Johnson
(Draybar)
Draybars Snakes

_____

I understand to each their own, and that everyone will have differing opinions. I simply stated mine and *why*. I never said it wasn't worth it to other people. I said "I" don't really see it. Meaning just me. Only my opinion. Because I've had nothing but crappy luck with non-feeders, it makes me hesitant to put in the emotional effort, only to watch the thing keel over. My current non-feeder hatchling is a week shy of three months old and has shown no interest in the tricks of the trade. I'm cringing at the idea of force feeding anything big enough to actually let her grow because of the baby with the stomach rupture. That little one must have been in considerable pain before I realised that no, it wasn't taking forever to digest that meal, it had an *abscess* where the stomach had once been. Closer looks even revealed the red lines of blood poisoning.
The other non-feeders I lost I would force feed mouse drumsticks and they rarely kept them down. Once near the stomach, right back up and out.
So. Non-feeders all hate me.

>>I understand to each their own, and that everyone will have differing opinions. I simply stated mine and *why*. I never said it wasn't worth it to other people. I said "I" don't really see it. Meaning just me. Only my opinion. Because I've had nothing but crappy luck with non-feeders, it makes me hesitant to put in the emotional effort, only to watch the thing keel over. My current non-feeder hatchling is a week shy of three months old and has shown no interest in the tricks of the trade. I'm cringing at the idea of force feeding anything big enough to actually let her grow because of the baby with the stomach rupture. That little one must have been in considerable pain before I realised that no, it wasn't taking forever to digest that meal, it had an *abscess* where the stomach had once been. Closer looks even revealed the red lines of blood poisoning.
>>The other non-feeders I lost I would force feed mouse drumsticks and they rarely kept them down. Once near the stomach, right back up and out.
>>So. Non-feeders all hate me.

for the one you really want that won't eat, give it a try, I know it can be nerve racking at first but they can handle a lot more then you think.. while still frozen cut the head off a pinky thaw it and the body. the body for a good feeder. place the hatchling and the head in a deli for a little while and if it won't eat give "assist" feeding a try. I like to dip the pinky nose in water and actually use it to work the hatchling's mouth open. work it in there and use something to help force it down far enough to close the hatchling's mouth and work the head down its body.there are a lot of things you can use to help force the head down, I've even used the little pocket clip on a Bic ink pen cap. just something small and blunt will work. It does work and once you get the hang of it, it really is worth the effort.
Just be patient and trust yourself. You care about your snakes and from the pictures you've shown, obviously take good care of them, I think you can do it and will be glad you did.
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Corn snakes and rat snakes...No one can have just one.
"Resistance is futile"
Jimmy Johnson
(Draybar)
Draybars Snakes

_____

>>This is what happens when you don't eat your pinkies. These are from the same clutch that hatched 2 months ago.
>>
>>
>>
>>The little one has only eaten one pinky, and been force fed a few mouse tails. I have been unsuccessful at force feeding pinkies, probably because I am afraid I will hurt her. The mouse tails are easy: once I them them started, she goes ahead and swallows. But if I poke a pinky in as she is swallowing the mouse tail, she quits.
>>
>>I have tried all of the suggested methods for feeding stubborn hatchlings (I think), but she just isn't interested.
>>
>>She is still very active, but of course is very thin, and has not grown. She has only shed once, while the others have all shed 3 times.
>>
>>I hate to give up now, but I don't know how much longer she will last.
>>-----
>>Kent

instead of mouse tails feed it pinky heads. With my non feeders, at feeding time, I will place a pinky head in a deli dish with the hatchling. If it hasn't eaten within a couple of hours I will force feed it the pinky head. I believe the heads have more nutrition then tails. At least the hatchling grow and shed if force fed a head every five to seven days. I usually just keep this up until they eat the head on their own. I've had it take a couple of feedings and I've had it take up to three months. I've had them grow enough to force feed them whole pinkies before starting to eat. It just depends on how long you are willing to work with them. Once they do eat a head on their own I will feed them a head for two or three more feedings and then I will move up to a small whole pinky. If they are up to the size where I am actually forcing a whole pinkie when they start eating then I will use that size pinky and work from there. Once they start eating on their own they don't look back.
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Corn snakes and rat snakes...No one can have just one.
"Resistance is futile"
Jimmy Johnson
(Draybar)
Draybars Snakes

_____

Jimmy, I can't seem to figure out the technique for force feeding. What do you use to push it down. How do you get the mouth open. I feel like I need 3 hands to do it.
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Kent

0.1 Hypomelanistic striped cornsnake
1.1 Hypo (het lavender, striped) cornsnake hatchlings
2.2 Normal (het hypo, lavender, striped) cornsnake hatchlings
1.2 Gray-banded kingsnakes, blairs phase
1.1 Oregon rubber boas

>>Jimmy, I can't seem to figure out the technique for force feeding. What do you use to push it down. How do you get the mouth open. I feel like I need 3 hands to do it.
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>>Kent
>>
sometimes it feels like you need three hands but once you get the hang of it, it goes fairly easy.
I'm right handed so I take the hatchling in my left hand holding the sides of the neck just behind the head. I then take the pinky head in my right hand with the nose facing out. I will either use my index finger or the nose of the pinky to open the hatchling's mouth. Once I have the mouth open I work the head into the mouth. It takes a little force but they can take a lot more then you would think. Once I get it about half way in I hold the moth closed, over the pinky, with my left hand and grab a small wooden dowel to push the header into themouth and deeper into the throat. Once I get the head in deep enough to close the hatchling's mouth I will hold it closed and then work the pinky head down the snake until it's far enough down that the hatchling won't regurge.
It can get a little messy at times so I always have a paper towel close. It sounds worse then it is. Remember they can handle a lot more then you think. Be forcefull but not reckless.
After a few times you will get the hang of it.
The good thing with heads is you actually see growth and sheds. And like I mentioned before, if they refuse to eat on their own long enough, using heads, they will grow large enough to graduate up to whole pinkies.
I like to leave them with the food item for a couple of hours each time before I force feed them.
It's basically the same as forcing a tail in their mouth....or at least it is at first. Open the mouth, insert the food item and assist it down the snake...see simple....lol
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Corn snakes and rat snakes...No one can have just one.
"Resistance is futile"
Jimmy Johnson
(Draybar)
Draybars Snakes

_____

I was going to suggest this as well. If they are too small to be able to force a whole day old pink into them then pinkie heads are absolutely the way to go. Out of 40 corns I had 4 non feeders. Two of them, a normal and a diffused, I only had to force feed twice then both started eating f/t on their own. The other two, a Blizzard and a Hypo, are being more stubborn. The Hypo I can get whole pinks down, but the Blizzard is tiny and I'm doing the pinkie head thing with her. She was my only female Blizzard of the clutch and is one of my "keepers" so I'll do whatever I can to save her. The hypo will go up for sale once she's eating reliably on her own.
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Slytherin Serpents

Have you been hugged by your snake today?

Ball Pythons
1.1 Normals het Caramel (Edward & Bella)
0.1 Normal 66% ph Caramel (Rosalie)
0.1 Caramel (Bellatrix)
1.0 Honey Bee (Aragog)
0.1 Hypo Pastel (Nagini)
0.1 Spider 66% ph Hypo(Nymphadora)
1.1 Mojaves (Lucius & Renesme)
0.1 Pastel Lesser (Narcissa)
0.1 Pinstripe (Arwen)
1.0 Pewter (Salazar)
0.1 Bumble Bee (Alice)
0.1 Lemonblast (Luna)
1.0 Bell Pastel (Jasper)
0.1 African Dinker (Esme)
0.1 Normal (Madame Olympe Maxime)
0.1 Het Pied
0.3 Normal Babies 66% ph Caramel (Edward x Bella)
1.1 Pastel "Dinker" Babies (Snape & Madame Hooch)

Corns
1.1 Normals het Amel, Anery, Charcoal, Diffused, Hypo (Romeo & Juliet)
0.1 Blizzard het Diffused (Tumnus)
1.1 Blizzards poss het Anery, Hypo, Diffused
0.1 Anery Lavender het Amel (Lucy)
0.1 Plasma poss het Hypo (Victoria)
1.0 Plasma poss het Albino
1.0 Hypo Plasma
0.1 Opal (Jewel)
0.1 Amel Motley
0.1 Diffused poss het Anery
0.1 Diffused poss het Anery, Albino, Charcoal, Hypo
0.1 Lavender Motley poss het diffused
1.0 Charcoal Ghost poss het Anery, Albino, Diffused
0.1 Charcoal poss het Albino, Anery, Diffused, Hypo
0.1 Fire poss het Anery, Charcoal, Hypo (LeeLoo)
0.1 Normal het Albino, Lavender, Anery, Charcoal, poss het Diffused
1.0 Albino het Lavender, Anery, Charcoal, poss het Diffused

Hog
0.1 Tri Color (Molly)

I think I read somewhere to use a syringe and tube, and feed egg yolk. Has anyone tried that and had success?
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Kent

0.1 Hypomelanistic striped cornsnake
1.1 Hypo (het lavender, striped) cornsnake hatchlings
2.2 Normal (het hypo, lavender, striped) cornsnake hatchlings
1.2 Gray-banded kingsnakes, blairs phase
1.1 Oregon rubber boas

I haven't tried it but it's worth a try. Do you have access to small anoles. What Doug says is true. A small anole has a perfect shaped mouth that can be used to pry the snakes mouth open, and with a blunt probe or something similar you can push the lizard down gently. If you dip the lizards snout with olive oil that will help it slide down easier. But it has to be a baby anloe not too much bigger than the snakes head.
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King Snakes! Who can make a better mouse trap?
J Sierra

Yeah Jorge,.......small slightly lubricated anole's are a snap to push down. Their "torpedo-shaped" heads are absolutely perfect for going down!

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com

I too know what you are dealing with, although overall I had a much better experience of baby corns eating this year. I still have 3 stubborn ones. I do have access to baby anoles and swifts which they have accepted readily. It's just a matter of me taking time to catch them. I have been unsuccessful at tease feeding my corns this year w/pinkies too.