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I tried feeding a pinkie to my baby milk snake witch is W/C a couple weeks ago. he was not interested. going to try again. if he is not interested this time I am going to "Brain" it. what is the best way to do this? He seems healthy... moves around at night and drinks water when he wants too. maybe he just is not hungry. but I would feel better if he did feed. thanks for all the info, and help. I enjoy the forum and the pictures that are posted are incredible!

I have him in a 10 gallon glass tank with an U/T heater. has aspen for substrate. should I put a piece of indoor/outdoor carpet over the heater so he does not get burned? or do you think he would just stay to the edges. should have a variance of temps that way? thanks again.

kyle

Kyle,

Braining is accomplished by opening the brain cavity with a sharp object - a knife works well. Also, make sure the pinky is warm, offer it at night, and don't handle the snake before feeding it. Be prepared for your snake not to eat it, though. Many temperate triangulum don't recognize domestic mice as food... especially until they're larger. Here's a quote from one of my earlier replies to you:

Many forms, especially the ones from "North of the Border" are lizard and Peromyscus/Microtus (two types of native rodents) specialists. These native rodents smell quite a bit different than domestic mice and have smaller pinkies. With this in mind, some of the smaller subspecies, at 5-6 inches (or smaller) are too small to take domestic mouse pinkies right out of the egg, even if so inclined.

I suggest you add a moss tub to the tank. Milks prefer a moist microclimate. They also like tight spaces. In a 10-gallon tank, your snake might feel exposed and be reluctant to feed.

The UTH should be fine, but I'd suggest adding a rheostat or thermostat to help control the temperature.

Be aware, too, that many temperate Colubrids naturally "shut down" this time of year and quit feeding. Think of it as a safety mechanism. They've evolved this strategy to prevent getting stuck with a full belly when that freak, early snow storm hits.

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-Cole

Great advise from Cole...just to add one other method for "braining".

Use a needle and go up thru the nose of the pinky into the head. Remove the needle and gently squeeze the brain fluid, thru the hole you just made, thru the nose.

This method works well for me and keeps the pinky intact.

-R

Thanks, I will try the needle first and see what happens. If that does not work I will use a knife. Less mess the better. I did have him in a large "critter" cage but the heater I bought says not to put on plastic. So I ended up getting the glass tank. I will make him a humid container. Do I need to worry about the moss molding? And should it be put closer to the heater to make it more of a sauna? Also how long can you leave the pinkie in there before it "goes bad"? can you refreeze it. Or throw it out and try a new one some other day?

Kyle

Do I need to worry about the moss molding? Yes, but it take a couple of weeks...so don't worry about it initially.

And should it be put closer to the heater to make it more of a sauna? Yes, make two...allow one to be partially near/over the heated zone. Make another for the cooler side.

Also how long can you leave the pinkie in there before it "goes bad"? Usually overnight...just make sure it's not close to the heat source...or you'll have an inflated pinky by morning!

can you refreeze it. Yes, but only if it's been a few hours. Experiment with it..you can get two shots out of most F/T rodents, but after that they turn to mush.

Or throw it out and try a new one some other day? This is always the better method, if you have the means.

Good luck.

-R