Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've got a female corn that is becoming a major headache for me. As a hatchling, she was cautious and slow to eat but not too bad. Basically she just nosed f/t mice for a while until she would eventually start eating them-I've never seen her strike in her life, even at moving prey items. The problem is, she's a yearling now and she just noses mice without eating them lately. She shows plenty of interest and will shove one all over the place but won't grab hold.

I let a friend keep her for the last several weeks and she fed her a few live fuzzies to try and generate a more "excited" response to prey items. She got her to eat her last 2 meals of f/t mice by poking her with them until she would constrict and continually twitching them with tongs until she would start eating. I just got her back and tried that approach, but no luck. She was putting the squeeze on one and nosing it like crazy but never went any farther than that.

It's annoying to thaw out a mouse for her and then have it go to waste for one thing, but I'm also concerned about keeping weight on her once she's carrying eggs. I've had cautious eaters before who weren't inclined to strike or feed aggressively, but they were all still predictably good eaters so this is a new problem for me. I'm open to suggestions if anyone has overcome a similar situation?

Try ripping up the mouses face real well. Sometimes the raw face tissue unleashes a scent that they find very attractive. I have found that quite a few snakes that are very slow or reluctant to go ahead and eat the item, but will still show interest by nosing and pushing the rodent around will find the raw tissue scent enticing enough to go ahead and grab and eat it.

If that doesn't work, try getting just one appropriate-sized rat of similar size from a pet store and kill it, then offer it to her and see if they work better. Sometimes they definitely do. And if so, THEN you could order some frozen from a company for her without it being a waste of time and effort.

Good luck with it!

~Doug

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

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com

It never even occurred to me to try a rat-definitely worth a shot. I haven't messed up a mouse's face yet, but I actually cut some slits in the back of the one I tried today since I'm trying to get some weight on the females. While it was coiled, she poked her nose right into the open skin at one point but it still didn't spark a response. I could smell an odor from the skin being broken, but that particular spot didn't seem to be enticing her any more than the rest of it. Do you think the face slicing would work any better than that?

"Do you think the face slicing would work any better than that?"

Well, it's hard to say really. Some scents turn them on, while others can be quite the opposite. All you can do is give different things a try. Braining could work well too, you just have to try it out on any given individual to see what THEY seem to like.

I still have a 3 year old hypo Hondo that ONLY accepts brained adult mice to this day..LOL!.....weird!

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

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com

Also try defrosting in ambient temps or beneath a light. Sometimes defrosting the mouse without water helps entice the snake to eat. Apparently the mouse looses smell, etc. when defrosted in water.

>>Also try defrosting in ambient temps or beneath a light. Sometimes defrosting the mouse without water helps entice the snake to eat. Apparently the mouse looses smell, etc. when defrosted in water.

Kevin,
It sounds to me that you may be watching while the snake should be eating.
Try putting the mouse and the snake in a small deli dish, place them in the dark and leave them alone for several hours.
I got plenty that will eat out of my hane, or eat my hand, and some that prefer privacy.
-----
Corn snakes and rat snakes...No one can have just one.
"Resistance is futile"
Jimmy Johnson
(Draybar)
Draybars Snakes

_____

>Kevin,
>> It sounds to me that you may be watching while the snake should be eating.
>>Try putting the mouse and the snake in a small deli dish, place them in the dark and leave them alone for several hours.
>>I got plenty that will eat out of my hane, or eat my hand, and some that prefer privacy.

I wish it was that simple, but I've left her in a small tub with them for a long time and left them with her overnight several times without any luck. I've thawed with and without water, scented with lizards, washed with soap, etc. It's especially annoying since she ate so well for that first year without any tricks and she still shows plenty of interest. She'll push her nose into them HARD with no provocation and literally shoves the whole mouse around...it's like she's just too stupid to open her mouth and grab it though.

I should make a video of my next feeding attempt. It'd be very suspenseful and anticlimactic, haha.

I thawed a mouse dry today and left her in a small container with it in a dark closet for a few hours. She wasn't showing any interest (actually acting much less interested in it than usual). I tried moving it, which didn't help and she wouldn't even coil it when I touched her with it. So I took a small pair of scissors and cut several slits around its face-nothing gross like braining it, but it did release a noticeable smell while I was doing it.

I moved it near her again and she continued ignoring it and trying to escape her small feeding container. I positioned it in front of her and left it there. When she reached it, she put her nose to the face and started eating it almost immediately. So the face slicing worked like a charm and I'll be going to straight to that method next week. Cross your fingers for me that she reacts as favorably again.

>>I thawed a mouse dry today and left her in a small container with it in a dark closet for a few hours. She wasn't showing any interest (actually acting much less interested in it than usual). I tried moving it, which didn't help and she wouldn't even coil it when I touched her with it. So I took a small pair of scissors and cut several slits around its face-nothing gross like braining it, but it did release a noticeable smell while I was doing it.
>>
>>I moved it near her again and she continued ignoring it and trying to escape her small feeding container. I positioned it in front of her and left it there. When she reached it, she put her nose to the face and started eating it almost immediately. So the face slicing worked like a charm and I'll be going to straight to that method next week. Cross your fingers for me that she reacts as favorably again.
>>
>>
>>
>>

congrats, Kevin
glad to here it.
-----
Corn snakes and rat snakes...No one can have just one.
"Resistance is futile"
Jimmy Johnson
(Draybar)
Draybars Snakes

_____

Awesome Kevin!

Yep!, very understandably many snakes scent cues get stimulated with the scent of raw face tissue. I notice this time after time. Just yesterday a nice hybino Hondo hatchling I acquired was checking out a F/T peach fuzzie I had directly in front of it. She checked it out very thoroughly, and had interest, but did not show the first sign of going ahead and grabbing it after a good while. So I then pulled it back in the long tongs I was holding it with in front of her, peeled the snout back to expose the wet tissue underneath, then re-introduced it to her, and she grabbed it IMMEDIATELY!!!. I see this happen continuously with countless snakes. It simply works like magic to stimulate them into feed mode!

Glad it worked great for your too Kevin!

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

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com

I've fed mine both mice an rats an they seem to prefer the rats. Also when I started feeding my female rats she gain weight.