Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have 5 Brooksi Kingsnake babies that hatched in the middle of June that refuse every attempt to get them to eat on their own. I have, however, been assist-feeding mouse tails for the last few weeks in an attempt to get them growing some to stimulate their appetite. I've tried live, f/t, lizard scent - both T-Rex and frozen anole, brained - thru nostril and head, dipped in tuna water, and dipped in egg yolk. Anyone have any suggestions of additional tips/tricks? Takes forever to see that their is something in their stomach and I'm wondering if this will continue for months and months. Anything you can say for encouragement will be much appreciated. This is definitely the hardest part of breeding.

If they don't want pinky mice try a baby water snake. It works every time!!! Every year I hold on to a few gravid water snakes just for this reason. I also find that if you start them on a big meal like a snake, they start taking pinkies soon after.
Jeff

well its not the hardest just seems that wayhang in there, some advise is enclosure's make sure there are several adequate hides meaning tight snug dark places have at least 3hides throughout warmside,coolside,middle medium can be aspen,carefresh or just newspaper or p.towels as long as adequate snug comfortable hides are provided, second leave them alone as lil contact as possible stress plays a big role, third if possible a newborn live pink mouse left in enclosure overnite once every 3,4 days if not live a f/t, 2half months seems like a long time and no doubt in the wild we can assume would have eaten by now but?who knows?:>? ive had some go w/o eating at all then brumate and wakeup hungry and ready to go, my point is they do have a nutrient suppy in an internal yolk how long can this sustain them?who knows?, i have also had success w/ the assist feeding mousetails until the second shed then they took right to live pinks it can be frustrating but hang in there and good luck w/them, also there is nat. food option ground skinks if avavilible will get them going their movement actually triggers feeding response as well as other baby or small snakes, but that has its downfalls,,switching over,possible parasite trans.,etc, i like to stick w/rodents or parts to begin with,the less stress the better and the more comfortable their enclosure IE hides warmside,etc, the more inclined they will be to eat esp. live newborn pinks it will happen hang in there,,,,,,thomas davis

After six weeks of trying pinkies on my cal king hatchlings, I'd gotten all but one of the kings to eat. He was pretty large still from his yolk, but I was beginning to worry about him. At the same time I had a very bad year with my cornsnakes. Most of the babies were either dead in the egg or required euthanization, and the few that I kept were kinked and/or deformed in one way or another. Of those 8, 4 have fed, 2 of the best looking ones (minor kinks) haven't eaten, and the two worst off ones hadn't eaten also. I still hold hope for three of the non-feeders, but one was obviously failing, couldn't properly slither, couldn't shed his baby skin, and was obviously not long for this world. I put him with my non-feeder cal king, and BAM, instant meal! He was only half the size of the cal king (15 inches at hatching for the cal king) and the king didn't seem to have any problem with the meal. Now I'm just waiting for him to pass it through before trying him again on pinkies.
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~Sasheena

I was in your same boat . My Easterns hatched in mid june and would not eat anything. I utilized all the tricks, scented with everything you can think of etc... Jeff L. who made the Watersnake comment sent me some baby Waters and they worked like a charm! In fact tonight I only scented with water snake and 7 of the 10 babies ate scented pinks (2 are in shed so I didnt bother). Once that happens its pretty easy to get them on straight pinks.

Keith

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That is a cool pic!!! That is why I love King snakes.
Jeff

Take some pinkies and wash them in dish soap(Palmolive, ect)
Rinse them very good and let them dry between some paper towels. Toss the pinks in overnight and they should be gone by morning or even sooner. Some of my Cal Kings ate within seconds to minutes of this. These guys went six weeks between hatching and the time they ate. Now they eat everytime I feed. I have never had any luck in scenting,braining and all those other ideas.
I started to think about it and why it worked. Could the odor of the adult mouse urine be so strong that it frightens the babies? A friend had around 30 Kings and Corns that were being stubborn. He also tried this method and all of them ate within a couple of tries.
R.W.

I was told that Tim Ricks swears by this method of stimulating snakes to eat. I've never personally tried it but it can't hurt.

You might also want to use some baby snakes in small cut pieces. I know it sounds gross and is harsh but it definately works.

Good Luck,
Russ

It depends where you live. Find a WC of whatever snake is common where you live that really produces a good stink. Watersnakes, Ratsnakes, Garter/Ribbonsnakes, Earthsnakes, etc.

Keep the WC snake in a cage/container for a few hours then wash the pinkie really well and rinse and then get your "donor" snake to smear it well with whatever sorts of secretions it exudes (particularly the head of the pinkie). Bag up the WC snakes, put a baby king in its cage and put the little pinkie in there. The smell of the WC snake should stimulate the little kings and when they come across the scented pinks, they will usually take them.

After a feeding or two this way, they will usually just take pinks.
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Chris Harrison

Read in the hognose forum that someone dipped there pinks in tuna water,i cant beleive there not eatting,are your temps right?cal kings are pigs and unusual for all not to be eatting....are you using day old pinks,try smallest you can get,put them in deli cup (with air holes) over night..use fresh pinks,or better yet live pinks...dont use ones that have been refroze over and over...

oops ment brooksi,but there pigs to,try everything