Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am new to corns but not to snakes so I have a good understanding of general care. I have kept snakes ( mostly ball pythons, currently I have 3, western hogs, and house snakes ) but recently I have developed an interest in the corns that surpases any other snake I have kept in the past. I have a normal colored juvenile ( 5 months old ) that cant seem to get enough to eat and grows faster than a wild onion. My other corn is the exact opposite. It is a three month old snow and absolutly refuses to feed on her own. Funny thing is is that when I first got her she shed the first night I got her home so I offered her a f/t pinky and she ate it but has totally refused anything else since. I have since tried fence lizards, rubbing fence lizards on the f/t pinky, live pinky, cutting head off pinky and squeezing brain fluid on body, and teeze method all to no avail. She started getting sluggish and was losing body weight so I force feed her for her last 4 feedings and her weight is back up, she is now active and has grown a little but still refuses to eat on her own. The only thing I have not tried is giving her a green anole because I cant find one small enough in the pet stores ( they do not occur naturally where I live ). I am hoping that as she gets older her instincts will kick in and she will start feeding on her own. The temp gradient in her cage ranges from mid 70's to upper 80's on opposite ends of enclosure. I just thought this was kind of strange since she did initially eat on her own. I don't mind force feeding her but it has to cause a good deal of stress for her and can't be helping matters any except for keeping her alive.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I hope that you have two small hide boxes in there for her, so she can feel secure. How is the humidity in her cage? Is she being kept alone in a cage? Are there any kingsnakes in the room, that could threaten her sense of well-being (that is a long shot, but you never know).

Have you tried putting her and the pinky in a small lunch sized brown paper bag and taping the top shut and putting the whole thing in her tank overnight? Have you tried "Lizard Maker" drops for scenting the pinkies? Have you tried putting the pinkies in tuna fish water? That would be the water that you drain out of the can of tuna fish in water (not oil).

You also might want to get a fecal sample to check for internal parasites, as they can affect appetite.
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phflame
kingsnake.com host

she actually has three hide boxes. One over the under tank heat pad 90 degrees inside the box. One next 2 it but not over the pad and 1 on the othre end of the cage 75 degrees. I keep part of a small water bowl over the pad for humidity. She is kept alone in a 20 gallon cage and she is only 12-13 inches long with most growth occuring since I started force feeding her. Other wise she is not a shy reclusive animal. She is frequently seen wandering about and climbing on branches in the tank. I tried tuna water once after reading about it on this site-no luck ( didn't mention it in my post )didnt know about Lizard Drops, who sells it. Never noticed anything like it in pet shops around where I live. I have placed her in a small round plastic food container with air holes that she came in when I bought her but it didnt work. She will crawl around and over the pinky as if she doesn't even recognize it as food, but yet she ate one the first night I had her. I guess I may have to keep force feeding her until she gets older and hopefuly instincts will take over later.

I have no king snakes. If I can fins a green anole in a pet store small enough maybe I can keep them in the same cage to see if she takes it eventually but I have a concern about this because a lot of anole do carry parasites.

is made by T-Rex. I think that Big Apple sells it, as do some other online stores.
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phflame
kingsnake.com host