Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,

I (or my son rather) bought a pair of hatchling Motley Corns at a snake expo in Orlando on May 31st. The male has ate 1 pinky every 4 to 5 days so far, no problems there. But the female has not ate at all... She is now noticably thinner than her sibling, though she is not looking emaciated yet and still seems active and alert. I have tried (or attempted to) use all the "tricks" I know of. I have:

1. brained the pinky
2. just gave a head so the size wouldn't "intimidate" the snake
3. Just gave a hindquarter for the same reason
4. Used "Lizard Maker" on the pinky
5. Used "Lizard Maker" on a brained pinky
6. Tried to "tease feed" the snake, holding it gently while bumping the pinky against the side of the snake, this actually got a couple quick bites... But she never held on.
7. Got a head (or really just a piece of the head) and gently opened the snakes mouth and put it in there. She acted like she was gonna hold on but soon let go.

I ought to also say that I have been trying to feed this snake mainly in a little empty deli cup... I cover the deli cup with substrate so the snake has privacy, I tried feeding morning, afternoon, but mostly at night. I have also tried placing the pinky just inside the entrance to her hide without putting her in a deli cup to see if that was more comfortable.

I have a pinky pump, I half heartedly tried it a few minutes ago but I felt like the nozzle end was too big and didn't try to force it down her throat. I suppose my next step is to get some smaller size plastic tubing to put on the nozzle and see if I can get that to work. I really feel like that is a lst ditch effort to try anyway.

How long can this hatchling last without eating??? It has been 19 days since I got her, and I am not sure if the snake has ever eaten at all in her life yet. (son bought it and I didn't have a chance to talk with the vendor myself, I was buying other snakes and he was with my wife) BTW, the snake is maybe 10-11 inches long at best.

I am sorry for the long post, but I felt like I needed to give some history.

Any advice would certainly be appreciated....

Scott W. Goodwin

P.S> at what point would any of you recommend that I just put the snake out of its misery by freezing? I mean, if it is this bad now, will it ever get better? And will I be doing the gene pool a favor by eliminating this problem eater>? I would hate to do that, but I don't want to see this little girl starve herself to death either.

Don't feel squeemish out the pinkie pump. It is not to big, I have used it for years. Just easlie open the mouth with a smaller item (might sound bad but I use a pen) then slowly put the pump down the next, the snake should take it past the head into the throat. Push slow but with some force. You should only have to do this a couple of week and the baby should come around. If not my email is boscoman76@yahoo.com let me know and we will try other options.

Oh no! Don't kill it! I know it's stressful but she will eventually eat. They can go a couple of months before it's truly a serious problem and larger snakes can go without food for a lot longer!

this may sound crazy but try it ,it worked for me . when my babies stoped eating i lost 2 of them then a firend told to soak them in pedalite (the stuff for human babies) for like a day ,them let the snake rest a day and try to feed her , my 2 babies r pounding food down now .good luck

>>Hi,
>>
>>I (or my son rather) bought a pair of hatchling Motley Corns at a snake expo in Orlando on May 31st. The male has ate 1 pinky every 4 to 5 days so far, no problems there. But the female has not ate at all... She is now noticably thinner than her sibling, though she is not looking emaciated yet and still seems active and alert. I have tried (or attempted to) use all the "tricks" I know of. I have:
>>
>>1. brained the pinky
>>2. just gave a head so the size wouldn't "intimidate" the snake
>>3. Just gave a hindquarter for the same reason
>>4. Used "Lizard Maker" on the pinky
>>5. Used "Lizard Maker" on a brained pinky
>>6. Tried to "tease feed" the snake, holding it gently while bumping the pinky against the side of the snake, this actually got a couple quick bites... But she never held on.
>>7. Got a head (or really just a piece of the head) and gently opened the snakes mouth and put it in there. She acted like she was gonna hold on but soon let go.
>>
>>I ought to also say that I have been trying to feed this snake mainly in a little empty deli cup... I cover the deli cup with substrate so the snake has privacy, I tried feeding morning, afternoon, but mostly at night. I have also tried placing the pinky just inside the entrance to her hide without putting her in a deli cup to see if that was more comfortable.
>>
>>I have a pinky pump, I half heartedly tried it a few minutes ago but I felt like the nozzle end was too big and didn't try to force it down her throat. I suppose my next step is to get some smaller size plastic tubing to put on the nozzle and see if I can get that to work. I really feel like that is a lst ditch effort to try anyway.
>>
>>How long can this hatchling last without eating??? It has been 19 days since I got her, and I am not sure if the snake has ever eaten at all in her life yet. (son bought it and I didn't have a chance to talk with the vendor myself, I was buying other snakes and he was with my wife) BTW, the snake is maybe 10-11 inches long at best.
>>
>>I am sorry for the long post, but I felt like I needed to give some history.
>>
>>Any advice would certainly be appreciated....
>>
>>Scott W. Goodwin
>>
>>P.S> at what point would any of you recommend that I just put the snake out of its misery by freezing? I mean, if it is this bad now, will it ever get better? And will I be doing the gene pool a favor by eliminating this problem eater>? I would hate to do that, but I don't want to see this little girl starve herself to death either.
-----
~Sasheena

Ground Snakes: Kit, Kaboodle, Tantilla, Tantillas, Lightning, Kinkee, Maple; JCP: Dreamer; Rosy: Castle; Kings: Cali Licorice, Bishop, Queenie, Jester, Tigris, Euphrates; Blotched Pandora, Phantom; AZ Mtn. Lady; Corns: Aphrodite, Athena, Hermes; Tiger Amulet

To a week even. You say you have tried 8 different ways in 19days! That is a lot of stress for her. Relax, try to forget her for several days. Then calmly put her in deli cup with a tiny live pink. Let her be for a few hours at least....no peeking, no moving her around, no NOTHING. Relax. I know it is horrible to have babies not eating. But trying everything so much is just stressing her more. IF the live pink doesn't work than wait another several days and offer a beheaded live (oxymoronic I know but beheaded F/T doesn't seem to work as well) pink and leave her with that in a deli cup for several hours.
-----
Sonya

Here is what works for me with almost all of my problem feeders.
Place her in a shoe box rubbermaid container. Make sure it has all the comforts of home, hides, water bowl, undertank heater. Cover the whole box with a towel and do not disturb her for 3 days, not even to peek. After three days, offer her a fresh anole head. I know it is gross but it works, and you can freeze the rest of the anole for further scenting. Now when you offer the anole, wait until bedtime and place it in a dixie cup and place it in her shoe box as far AWAY from her as possible. Cover her back up and don't peek until morning. If this works (and it always does for me) email me for feeding 2 instructions.
Your corn just sounds very shy and she probably associates the smell of pinkies with big scary monsters (humans)...definately not something you eat. So go to great lenghts to make her feel like she is the only being in her domain and there are no monsters checking on her daily. Also make sure you place that dixie cup with the anole head in the far corner from were ever she is, so she doesn't find it until you are long gone and she is feeling comfortable and safe enough to roam her cage.
Once I can get them to eat anoles, I have always been able to switch them over within 2 months. Good Luck.

Hi Carol,

I will give it a try... I will do as you say and prepare a small secluded shoebox and cover it up and let her just wait for three days in seclusion before putting an anole head in. (I'll need the three days to get my brother in FL to go out in his yard and catch all the anoles he can and fedex them to me!)

I did have one additional question though: How long can a hatchling corn last without food? I have never had a real problem eater like this before, I am used to some of my adult snakes to get picky for a month or so without much worrying, but they are much larger and their metabolism must be a lot slower than a hatchling is.... I guess what I am really asking is at what point would you recommend force feeding??? (BTW I was able to get a lot smaller tube for the pinky pump, and I don't know how everyone else uses their pinky pump But I am gonna pre-liquify the pinkies before putting it in the pump... I dont like the action of the pump with whole pinkies... you have a good chance of too much coming out at once which could of course be deadly to a hatchling)Thanks to all for your help. I will advise as of the progress so keep an eye on this thread.

Scott W. Goodwin

It really depends on how long it had been since she ate at the time you bought her. I would really start to worry after 5 weeks. Aside from pureed pinky, chicken baby food works well too, just by a "natural" brand that doesn't have additives. The ingredients should just say chicken and chicken broth. Try the anole head first and then if she doesn't eat, I'd tube feed, and then try offering food again the following time. If this forum gets busy enough, you may want to start a new thread about your progress. Good Luck!