Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i was hoping someone could help me. i just traded a baby Corn snake i had for my first Gray-Band. it's a baby and it won't eat. i have a book on Kingsnakes by Markel and was reading where the babies have a high mortality rate. this is not good news. i've already tried several different methods, including scenting pinkies with Five-Lined Skink and Lizard Maker, leaving the pinky and the snake alone together overnight, and lastly, force-feeding which i really didn't want to do. what are my other options, if any? i really don't want this little guy(or girl) to die. thanks for any help/advice!

greg

First off, how long has it gone without a eating?

Please don't try to force feed again. That is the bare bones LAST resort on feeding a baby (or any) animal. It puts a tremendous amount of stress on the animal and in some cases will damage it's chances for eating ever again.

Here is another trick you can try. Get a small brown paper "lunch sack". Take the snake and a small pinkie and put them in the sack. Roll down the top and staple or tape it shut leaving about 4" of space. Leave them this way overnight. Check in the morning.

If that doesn't work try "braining" the pinkie. Kind of gross but it works on occasion. Do the same thing as above (lunch sack) but this time kill the mouse and use a small pin (or something sharp) to puncture a hole in the top of it's head. Gently squeeze out some fluid/blood etc and leave them in the sack overnight.

If either of these tricks do not work you need to go back to a lizard scented animal. I have a few tricks for that as well, but I would try the two I suggested first.

Let us know!!!