I have a 1 year old corn that was eating just fine until about a month ago when i tried to get her to take a fuzzy. She acted like it scared her and ran from it. Then she went into shed so didn’t eat that week either. Since then she is running from pinkies too. She has refused food for 5 weeks now. Not sure what to do with her or how long it’s ok for her to go without eating. I’m afraid if i try to force her it will just make things worse. I have even tried just laying a pinky in front of her and leaving it but she just goes to the other side of her tank.
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I did change my source for my food that week, but the rest of my snakes have been eating just fine.
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Are you using F/T or Live?, Did you just swicth to fuzzy or was she on fuzzys already?
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How were you trying to feed it? What time, where were you holding it with the tongs, did you approach the snake with the mouse or go by it, etc?
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She has always been on frozen. She has been on large pinkies but i decided to try to move her up to fuzzies. I use tongs and feed in the early evening when she is out prowling her habitat. She was always a good eater until i tried the fuzzy. Now she acts like she’s scared of it when i hold it in front of her. I have tried both small pinkies and her normal large but ger the same reaction every time i try.
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Make sure your temps are on point. As well as humidity. If none of this works I would say maybe try a live fuzzy.
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The temp holds steady at 83*, and i have and under tank pad in one corner, but i’m having a hard time keeping the humidity up. It stays right around 60%. I mist the mulch twice daily but 60% is the most i can get out of it. I have 5 other snakes kept at the same temps and humidity and all of them are eating fine. 2 of them are even on a double diet getting ready for brumation at the end of the month.
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A yearling snake technically should have been on something larger before their first year… That being said try this.
Take food item (making sure it’s good and hot) and the snake and put them both in a small closed container just big enough that snake will run into food. Leave snake in container with food for at least 30 min in a quiet room covered up. Sometimes it might take longer.
If this doesn’t work then you need to give the snake a two week break from feeding, handling, all contact (make sure water can be left alone to for this time). If they are in a tank, cover the tank. In a tub, make sure the tub is mostly dark. After two weeks try the above method again.
I’ve had some adults go through phases like this. A female snapped out of it after a couple of feedings like this. But my male to this day, after almost 4 years, still needs a tiny space that’s covered up to eat. Then I’ve got a snake I’m temporarily holding on to for a friend who’s been with me for quite a few months and only gotten to eat once so far.
As long as Temps are right, stress is low (some snakes tolerate it better than others), and body condition isn’t bad then even a yearling can go a while without eating.
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As far as being a year old, icm really skeptical about that myself. I purchased her from a breeder on here a few months back that listed her birthdate as 7/20. I have 2 others that i know were born 6/21, that are larger than she is. She was sold to me as a holdback from last year, but i was surprised how small she was when she arrived.
She was eating really well and even ate within a few hours of arriving from an overnight shipment. I guess i will try secluding her for a few weeks before placing her in a small container for her first feeding and see how it goes.
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She looks plenty old enough to handle a fuzzy mouse. At that lebgth/width I am feeding large pinky rats. Can you get a pic of her in your hands before secluding. Am interested in seeing body condition and size. Need something for comparison.
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Yeah so at that size they should be able to handle a fuzzy… BUT you can also feed a couple of large pinkies using the same technique as I mentioned above. And in fact if baby is intimidated by larger prey I’d suggest it.
Intimidation seems like the issue to me. When i tried the fuzzy she was literally running from it and burying her head in the mulch. She is all over her enclosure whit her tounge going 90 mph like she is searching for food, but she was doing that last friday before i tried and she refused. I’m going with 2 weeks to get her hungry and i might try for a second to feed normal, but if she doesn’t go for it like she’s starving i’ll put her in a small container with a warm pinky and cover it up and leave her for 30 minutes to an hour. If that doesn’t work i might try going to where i was getting her food and buy one pinky and see if maybe it’s a different smell issue. All of my other snakes are pigs and would probably strike at a rock if you held it in front of them with tongs lol. She has always needed a little coaxing.
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Strike a rock if you held it in tongs… Yeah that sounds about right for most of mine to.
Some babies just take longer to come around to not be true babies anymore and upgrade. No reason to push it though. Feeding multiple pinks won’t hurt. And look for something called a “Peach fuzzy”. They are just slightly bigger than a large pink. Might be a good alternative and give better nutrition.
Keep me updated! Would like to hear how stubborn is eventually doing.
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Well putting her in a container and covering it up for 30 minutes did the trick. Not sure how long it took her, but she ate a very large pinky. I guess i will continue this for a few months before trying to go back to normal. Just glad she finally ate. Thanks for the suggestion.
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No problem! I have a male that’s almost 4 years old and well over 3 feet long. I have to wrangle him into a smallish Tupperware with a lid to get him to eat. So it might just be what you have to do. It’s sometimes just a thing. Best, in my opinion, to work with what will get your animal to eat.
But I suspect a gradual uptick in food size will also help. It can be an intimidating world being a baby snake. It takes time for them to build confidence.
Update: she is making up for lost time. Just ate her third meal using the small covered container method. I don’t plan to keep feeding at this rate, but both times she has laid around for a day and then back to going all over her tank like she’s searching for food the next day again so i have offered food and she eats within 10 minutes or less. Tonight was the third large pinky fir her.
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