My snake wont eat HELP!?

Question

i got a baby corn snake saturday afternoon and the girl at pets mart told me to feed her a pinky 3 days later (monday) but i tried and she wouldnt eat so then today (wednesday) i tried again and she still wont eat. this porbably wouldnt be a big deal if she was older but she is pretty young.. suggestions pleaseeee

when i feed her i put her in a small container (a little smaller than her length) and then dangle a frozen (and thawed in warm water) pinky a little over her nose. She doesnt show any interest in it so i drop it on the bottem and leave her for a few hours but she still wont eat.

Also her normal cage is pretty warm on one side (80-85 degrees F) with a place to hide and the other side is like 70 degrees F and has a water dish

Answer 1

Snakes can go a really long time without eating-- months, I believe.

Snakes like to think their prey is alive, so they won't eat the pinky unless it's warm (put it in warm water until it thaws) and moving. So just putting the pinky in the cage won't help, you kind of have to dangle it.

If this doesn't work, I'd go back to the pet store and ask for advice. You might need to force feed the snake (sometimes they refuse to eat after a transition like this), but that probably won't be necessary for a while.

Answer 2

Ball Pythons can be difficult to get started feeding, but usually babies are the easiest. You may want to check your snake thoroughly to make sure there's nothing going on that is causing him to not eat or not be hungry. But there really doesn't necessarily have to be anything wrong. That's just how these guys are sometimes! There are a few things you can try. If you are trying to get your snake to eat pre-killed rodents, Try dipping the rodent in chicken broth and towel it off with paper towels. Another thing you can do is make a shelter out of a clay flower pot or something similar with a hole in the top that the snake can easily crawl in and out of. In the evening, after you have turned the lights off, introduce a live pinky or fuzzy mouse to the cage. Leave the snake in there overnight and try not to disturb him too much. The reason for the shelter with the hole in the top is because it will be closer to the type of shelter they would have in the wild, and it allows them to be isolated in a safe place from the prey where they can observe the prey. Never leave an live adult rodent in an unattended tank with your snake. Still another method you can try is to put your snake in a paper grocery bag (with several holes punched in it for air) along with a prekilled rodent, staple the top of the bag shut, and leave it in the tank overnight. One Last method to try is "reflex feeding". You do this by holding a prekilled rodent in a pair of tongs or something similar and lightly tapping the snake toward the middle of their body or on the tail. It is supposed to cause a reflex strike in the direction of the tapping, so I guess if you were lucky you could get your snake to grab the rodent!

Answer 3

With the baby corns I have had it became apparent to me the easiest way to feed them is to place them in a relatively small container, 3/4 the length of the baby, with holes in the lid for air. Place the pinky, a live one first, in the container than place the baby in the container and close the container. Leave the container perfectly still or set it down. Those babys that would not eat immediately I would leave in the container for a few hours, even overnight. Your baby will get hungry eventually and eat.

Answer 4

You need to leave the pinkie and the snake in a deli cup with a little piece of paper towel with the top locked on OVERNIGHT. Don't bother the snake. Many baby snakes will not eat while you are watching. After he grows larger, that probably will no longer be a problem.

Answer 5

It sometimes takes a little while for them to get used to their new home...make sure it is not disturbed all day long and that the cage is warm enough and that the snakes has a place to hide....after 2-3 days of this without disturbing it....try again and it should be hungry and comfortable and ready to eat.....corns are usually very good eaters.

Answer 6

Don't stess out to much about it. I had my baby corn for almost a month before he ate. IT is recomended to try to wait and feed them until three days later. Ok nice for general statments. Callt eh store and see when the last tiem they fed their snakes, make sure your corn is not getting ready to shed. Wait a while, if you are trying to feed you snake live try feeding it frozen and vice versa. Snakes may eat what ever but my corn perfers frozen so I feed him only frozen. Just make sure that if he doesn't eat in a moth that you call a repitle speacilist and don't just rely on a web site like this.

Answer 7

To encourage it to eat the habitat should be 75 to 85 degrees or warmer. That always helped me. If it is to cold there bodies slows down and they eat less. You can get a heat lamp for Pets mart or Pet co for about $30.00 or heat pad.

Answer 8

Snakes from PetSmart are often diseased. Not to scare you or anything but I work for a vet and we often see sick snakes from PetSmart. Some of their stores have been known to not take care of the animals in their care.
You should locate a vet in your area that treats exotic pets. Better to be safe than sorry.

Answer 9

well snakes are very picky eaters and they do go through a period with out eating. ? r u feeding live or frozen what u can do is check the temp. in the tank if eats to cold they won't eat.

Answer 10

first it is ok make his cage warmer are you feeding him live or frozen pinky`s if your feeding him frozen you may need to get them warmer if its not warm to tuch it is to cold if your are feeding live it could be that pet smart fed him frozen after you warm the cage try feeding him agine if you need any thing just im me