Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Most of us have seen Ken's pic of his cricket-catching corn. And we have heard from a few folks who have found live crickets as a possible stimulus to turn on the feeding response in a few non eating babies.

I am wondering if anyone has seen any research regarding the frequency of baby corns feeding on insects in the wild. Or if anyone has done any tests of their own. NO, I'm not considering switching any of my snakes over to insects...f/t rodents are working out just fine, thank you very much. I just find the topic interesting and am suspecting that wild baby corns are probably eating more than lizards & tree frogs.

No offense, but I'm not really looking for regurgitation about the basics of corn care here...We all know all that. I'm looking for research and/or stories of baby corns either accepting or rejecting insect prey. I know...not much out there, since it goes against "the rules"...But I want to know what IS out there...other than the very few that we have heard from. Thanks...Duffy

I think that there is no doubt but that corns in the wild will eat all sorts of things. I have posted about this before, but I do know of one instance where a person who had a wc corn was feeding it for more than a year on nothing more than the earthworms he dug out of his garden, because he didn't know that corns wouldn't do that! What's more the snake was thriving!

I have no doubt that corns can and do eat insects from time to time in the wild. I also have no doubt that corns can eat crickets in captivity.

However, I ALSO have no doubt that to offer them crickets (especially as hatchlings) is very dangerous. No, not for the "you can't do that...it's against the rules" mentality. No one likes to go against the grain more than I do ("episkiastism," anyone?). The problem I have with feeding crickets to hatchlings is due to the exoskeleton of crickets.

Corns are hearty little creatures, but they are unbelievably delicate in some ways. For a neonate corn, the lining of the stomach is only a few cells thick at best, and the sharp edges of cricket legs and shells are easily capable of rupturing the digestive tract. I have even seen where a corn was killed because it was fed live prey, and the claws of the food item shreded the esophagus of the young corn, because it was not fully constricted prior to consumption.

So, I think to ask and consider the question of "will they eat insects" is fine...interesting even. But I cannot stress loudly and long enough, especially to newer keepers, that crickets just should not be included in the diets of their corns. Yes, wild corns probably do eat them, but then again, most wild corns probably don't make it through their first year either.
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Darin Chappell
Hillbilly Herps
PO Box 254
Rogersville, MO 65742

Agreed. And by following this line of questioning I would not wish to suggest to anyone (most especially a newcomer), to feed crickets to young corns. Duffy

Darin,
Good post.
I once had bought a baby blonde suboc from a really big reptile store (I won't say which) that we all know.
The animal arrived weasing and crackling as it breathed and it's body looked deflated at times. At first, I thought it was a humidity/ventilation issue, as is often common with subocs. That wasn't the case
Well, Dave Doherty told me that it was fed a food item that tore and ripped through it's insides.
It died as it was too small to operate on (although Dave did offer to do that...he thought it would be folly).
Maybe it was being fed crickets? Maybe not. Who knows?
Moral to the story: I learned a HUGE lesson, and I have never since and will never buy from anyone other than the actual breeder again.
Dusty R.
www.subocs.blogspot.com

Years ago I tried to feed a cricket to a yearling black rat snake. I left it in the cage for a full 24 hours, and then released it outside my apartment because the snake showed no interest.

Also, I read someplace that Miamis eat insects. I didn't have a Miami to test it on, but I did have a pretty young hatchling, so I tested it out. Nothing. It didn't even seem curious.

I'm not saying it doesn't happen, I'm just saying that the two times I tried it, it didn't work.

My first baby corn came from a chain pet shop. They were feeding f/t pinks, but the reptile person there told me that the breeder they get their corns from starts all his hatchlings on crickets only. The pet shop switched them over to pinks.

I thought that was odd, and I'd never do it, but apparently it is done.

Leslie