HELP !!! Hatchling not eating

[Jake_the_Snake]

Hi All

I need help !!!! Does any one have tips on getting a hatchling eating ? I have not tried force feeding it. ( Will try but has never done it before)
Please one of my albinos is not eating (almost 6 weeks now)
Please help or I'm going to lose it.

Rgs
Jake_the_Snake

[Shad0w]

First off.. what kind of snake?
What have you tried thus far in terms of feeding?
What temps and humidity are you keeping it at?
What are you keeping it in and how is the cage set up?
Has it ever taken a meal?

[marisa]

Answer all Shad0ws questions. Because without that info, we can't help really at all. With that info we can probably help you a great deal though.

Marisa

[Jake_the_Snake]

First off.. what kind of snake? (Corn hatchling albino)
What have you tried thus far in terms of feeding? (pinkies --- brained)
What temps and humidity are you keeping it at? (28 C / 60 % Hum)
What are you keeping it in and how is the cage set up? (Plastic Tub with water and a heating wire)
Has it ever taken a meal? (NO)

Its a snake I got from a friend that goes not wanna try anything to get it to eat. Some of the info may not be 100 % as I only got it today.

[wiseman001]

U may have to get a pinki pumper.... Better still take it to someone WHO is GOOD in this Department...a specialist.. at that..

[Nicky]

Try senting with an anole or frog. In the wild corns usually start off on lizards anyways so that might make a difference.
Hope he starts eating for you:)
Kayla

[thunder]

you may also try feeding it in a smaller enclosure, like a small tupperware, so that the snake cant get away from the food item. ive had some baby corns require tease feeding to start.

[Jake_the_Snake]

Thanks I have tried every thing exept the lizard ... I will try the Lizard

[Jake_the_Snake]

wiseman001 how does a pinkie pumper work ???
I don't know any one that is good with this tipe of stuff .... but I have force fed him so i can do it with no problem.

[Linds]

Sometimes snakes may take a while to get feeding, and a stressed snake will most definitely not be willing to feed in a brand new environment. Unless this snake is on its deathbed - meaning it is emaciated and has gone months and months with no food - I would give it several [undisturbed] days to settle in, then place it in a tiny, dark, opaque container overnight with a *live* day old pinky mouse. Many snakes prefer to be started out on live food, not dead anyways, so that may be the problem right there.

[Lagoon]

have you tried putting live pinkie in the feeding cage and covering the cage so that its really dark. sometimes Shy snakes wont eat when people are looking at them or if its too light.. Atleast my Bp doesnt eat if im looking at it.

[gonesnakee]

Contain overnight in a small delicup with a newborn live pinkie, try the same with it in its enclosure. Try overnight containment with: a dead pinkie, a brained pinkie, a scented pinkie, a washed pinkie (use dishsoap & rinse really well & don't touch it with your hands after as it will then have your scent). Try assist feeding, assist feeding is where you just pop the head of a pinkie into its mouth & hold it for a minute so it doesn't spit it out right away, hopefully it clues in & sucks it back. FF is a last resort & I would never use a pinkie pump ever, never have never will, even though I have one. When I FF (very rare, if they can't eat on their own they are not meant to be IMHO live & let die) I use a live newborn pinkie & pop the head in the snakes mouth. I wait in hopes that it will give up & just eat it as I don't allow it the spit it out. If it doesn't I slowly work it into the snake using my finger while I massage it down its throat & then use say a pen or a chopstick to get the last little bit just past its mouth & continue to slowly massage it down its throat to its belly. This way it is kind of "natural" still. A pinkie pump is not going to "teach it" to eat where I have had lots of snakes "learn how" from the assist/FF method I have just described. Make sure it is all the way down before letting the snake down as they have a habit of spitting them right back up if not all the way down to their bellies. Good Luck & remember if an assist or FF is in order be very very gentle. Its been my experience as well as that of many other breeders I know that the stress of a FF is quite often enough to kill an already weak specimen. Mark

[Jake_the_Snake]

Thanks for the tips gonesnakee. But its to late, it died 2 days ago.

I FF it 3 weeks ago and she kept the pinkie in for a day and then regurgitate. I left it for a week and tried again ( very gentile) same happend. this week it died ;-(

[gonesnakee]

Some things aren't meant to be my friend, natural selection at work, Mark

[askaboutrep]

For future reference, I have tried force feeding an adult mouse tail(big end first), on quite a few babies who wouldnt eat. For one, its easier to force than a pinky, two, its smaller, often they finish eating it on their own. Seems to give them just enough nourishment, and then they start to figure out that it feels good to eat.

[Craggy]

Man tough call, unless it was ill it just wasn't sposed to be :(