Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey I've got a newly wc blind-in-one-eye eastern milksnake. I felt sorry for him because his eye is missing and he is SO TAME and sweet for an eastern so I kept him. I know they eat wc mice, but does anyone have an easier method for feeding a wc milk? he already rejected a brained captive nude mouse.

You must have caught a twin of the one I got this last weekend. I live in Delaware and was out catching black rats, when I came across a milk. Blind in one eye and looking like is had be run over at one point, it wasn't doing so good. I took it home and have tried to feed it a mouse, but nothing.

Any ideas? I miss the kingsnake/gopher snake days in AZ who would eat whatever you threw at them. Is there a food source these guys can't pass up?

Thanks,
Ax

Until a few days ago I had three of them. I've already told about how I got my yearling started. It only ate red-bellied snakes until brumation, then after brumation it started taking scented pinks. The two I had recently were subadults and they wouldn't eat a thing until both had shed, then they started on brained, thawed pinks. A friend of mine also has a w/c subadult that ate a fuzzy the night he took it home. Some you have to be real patient with.

Easterns in Michigan eat small snakes and lizards and small rodents. They probably eat other items occasionally. I even found one deep in a forest by a small stream that would only eat minnows. I've seen adults that were still feeding on snakes, especially smooth green snakes, that were difficult to switch over to mice.

Good luck with them. Easterns aren't always easy.

TC

I believe they love skinks if you can find some.

i agree! specifically 5 lined skinks, if they're in your area. i caught my Eastern the first week of May and unsuccessfully tried pinkies and fuzzies for about a month. then, i got a skink and boy!! what a difference! i froze the skink and scented fuzzies for a couple weeks. now, my snake is eating unscented just fine. try this and see if it works. hope all goes well!

Just thought I mention this for the heck of it... I have had 4 eastern milks all wc in New Jersey and all of them devoured pet shop mice. So my point is that locality could be a consideration when trying to establish these snakes in the hobby to the degree they deserve ...I'm not too biased, really ;O)

Good luck feeding yours!