Tips on getting corn hatchlings to eat?

I know that assist feeding is a last resort so I am looking for any tips on getting hatchlings to eat. I have tried frozen thawed and live day old mice and I am not having any luck. I am needing some help from you seasoned breeders on getting these babies to eat.
Thanks!

I have never bred corns, but I have had luck with getting some balls to take fuzzy live mice when they wouldn't take pinks. Are baby corns large enough to take fuzzy mice?

Where are you feeding them? Try putting them in a deli cup in the dark overnight with a food item (f/t or live). Put them in a closet and leave them there and don't check on them until the next morning (don't even open the closet to peek!!!). That works a lot of the time for me.

You can try braining a f/t pink (use a razor blade to cut open the pinkies head exposing the insides), try dipping it in chicken broth (make sure broth isn't cold), try dipping f/t pink in "tuna juice" (drain a can of tuna into a small bowl and dip pinky into the bowl of tuna juice".

You can also try scenting with anoles, but I haven't had good success with this method actually. Though others have.

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Originally Posted by Wh00h0069

I have never bred corns, but I have had luck with getting some balls to take fuzzy live mice when they wouldn't take pinks. Are baby corns large enough to take fuzzy mice?

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No way. They're literally the size of pencils.

i had some problem feeders this year and the live pinks worked, but haven't tried them on an f/t after they ate the pink as we were at the BCRC Show.

BlueAppleHerps is right with the deli cup, just isolate them somewhere small with the prey and leave them overnight. if that doesn't work, you can try the braining (which i try to do as a last resort as it's not really pleasant), or you can slit the backs of the pinkies. after they have thawed i just make 3-4 slits on their skin. it helps stimulate their appetite, and makes it easier for their digestive juices to penetrate the prey's skin (or so i've heard). so slitting might be beneficial to do, anyways. i just have so many corn hatchlings that i don't bother with slitting unless we have one that won't eat.

you can also try washing the pink with soap after it's unthawed. rinse REALLY well, and try offering.

Ive noticed with baby corns i hatched were, SMALL frozen pinkies left in over night in the tub. I also used aspen/sani chips for colubrids. They all ate eventually on their own.

I will do the deli cups again and slit the backs open on the pinks. If that doesn't work I will brain them. They just crawl over the live pinks now so I am going to go back to the F/T and see if it works out. I have one that for some odd reason didn't have a good first shed and I am working on helping it get that off. All the others had great first sheds. THANK YOU to everyone for their help. I have a 12 year old son who is freaking out over his snakes not eating and he checks the forum everyday and he reads trhe advice and keeps me up to date on it. Once again THANK YOU!!!!!

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Originally Posted by Clint Bundy

I will do the deli cups again and slit the backs open on the pinks. If that doesn't work I will brain them. They just crawl over the live pinks now so I am going to go back to the F/T and see if it works out. I have one that for some odd reason didn't have a good first shed and I am working on helping it get that off. All the others had great first sheds. THANK YOU to everyone for their help. I have a 12 year old son who is freaking out over his snakes not eating and he checks the forum everyday and he reads trhe advice and keeps me up to date on it. Once again THANK YOU!!!!!

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Just to add, I imagine as a 12 year old he's super excited and checking on the snakes often. If they're problem feeders or being difficult, I will pretty much leave them alone as much as possible. I will only check on them/disturb them every other day just to make sure they have water and it isn't soiled, etc.

So you might just try feeding them (regardless if it works or not) and then just leaving them alone only to make sure they're OK. I wouldn't take them out, handle them, look at them too much, etc. I think sometimes they're just so small they get freaked easily and isolation is best.

Just something else to think about. But out of hundreds of corns I've hatched, there have been maybe 5-6 that never ate and eventually died. With a little patience and tricks, you'll have these guys up and feeding in no time.

Thank You, He is being more patient than I am with them. He knows that we need to leave them alone to get them to eat and I have put them in the top shelf of a closet and left them alone. They didnt eat the F/T pinks with the backs slit so I now have them in with fresh born live pinks and I dont plan on checking on them for 24 hours. I had to check on them with the f/t because I didn't want them to start to smell. They were in for 12+ hours to no avail. We will see what happens and what other tricks I need to try to get them to eat. I hope I will be able to say they did when I check them tomorrow. Once again Thank You to everyone for their input.

Well after 24=hrs none of them ate. I am going to try a few of the other methods to see if they help. I will do the braining last if I have to. It isn't the braining part the bothers me, it is the killing of a pink that if they don't eat I could have raised to adult size and fed to the ball pythons........

Also make sure you wait a few days before trying to feed again - not sure if you are or aren't. Some people can start to get antsy and will try 398746 different things all at once. These guys can go at least a couple of months, even as hatchlings, w/o food.

I'm sure you are waiting, but thought I'd mention it anyways. Good luck!