Baby Corn won't eat...advice?

[Kyle@theHeathertoft]

I'm posting this on behalf of my roommate who has a pair of Corns. The Corn in question is an extremely tiny little Butter, maybe 3 to 4 weeks old, purchased at a local reptile expo.

The little thing won't eat...and she's so very teeny. Someone attempted (with no success) to force or "tease-feed" her not long ago and I think that may have really freaked her out, BAD.

How long can a baby of her age/size go without food before we need to really worry about her? Any advice to jump-start her desire to eat? We've only offered her f/t...I suggested that if she doesn't eat by the middle of next week I'll get a live pinkie for her, but my roommate doesn't like the idea of feeding live.

I tried to take pictures to show her size but none actually came out. My awesome camera decided to suck at the worst possible moment.

Any thoughts? I'm more of a constrictor fellow, Corns are not my area of expertise. My roommate and I would greatly appreciate any advice anyone has to share.

[RichsBallPythons]

Baby corns i waited max 30 days before i jumped in to help the feeding.

Take a live pinky mouse and leave the snake in a 8oz deli cup over night with small cap of water.


Most babies when i did corns were kept it 6qt tubs or 8-12oz deli cups at 80-83F room temp. Try this with the live pinky and see how it goes.

[Kyle@theHeathertoft]

Hmm, she has the baby Butter in a tank. Should I have her switch to a tub? (I personally love, LOVE LOVE tubs and hate tanks, so I'd even be willing to pay for the tub for her if it means her snake would be better off.)

I'll see if our feeder supplier has any live pinks I can buy this Thursday (I'll be driving out to 'em anyways, turns out my new little Super Dwarf Retic is smaller than I expected and I need fuzzie mice for her. What a world, where all my big snakes are Balls and my tiniest snake is a Retic!). Should I get one or more than one?

Thanks for the advice, btw.

[RichsBallPythons]

Hmm, she has the baby Butter in a tank. Should I have her switch to a tub? (I personally love, LOVE LOVE tubs and hate tanks, so I'd even be willing to pay for the tub for her if it means her snake would be better off.)

I'll see if our feeder supplier has any live pinks I can buy this Thursday (I'll be driving out to 'em anyways, turns out my new little Super Dwarf Retic is smaller than I expected and I need fuzzie mice for her. What a world, where all my big snakes are Balls and my tiniest snake is a Retic!). Should I get one or more than one?

Thanks for the advice, btw.

With her being very small i would depending on the room temp their in is get a 12oz Glad Tupperware container if no deli cup is available. Punch some holes in it small. Toss in shredded aspen with a gatorade cap for water. If the room their in is low 80s you wont need to provide heat or cool.

start off feeding one small pinky every 3-4 days. Colubrids metabolism is higher than that of pythons and boas.

[Kyle@theHeathertoft]

Thanks, I'll try that. Hopefully her Corn decides to eat soon.

[HERETiC]

The deli-cup trick has always worked wonders for me. My first baby corn refused 3 meals, even when I left the pinky in his cage overnight. Then when I tried the deli-cup trick, the first time, he took it within an hour. Now he eats like a champ.

[wendhend]

I breed corns and have found lots of tricks for getting them to eat. The small container is definitely a "must." I go as small as the 2 ounce round lidded containers that Tupperware makes for the really stubborn ones, but usually anything from 4-8 ounce size is okay. If your corn is very tiny I would also suggest just giving her a frozen / thawed pinky head if she is refusing the whole pinky. Newborn corns need pinky mice that are one day old or less. If you do have that size, you might also want to try "braining" a frozen / thawed pinky by poking a little hold in its head and letting some of the juice ooze out. Serving their food hot and in a dark place also helps. If none of that works, trying heating up a tiny frozen / thawed pinky or a pinky head in tuna juice for her. If none of that works, I would try a live day-old pinky left in a tiny container with her overnight if necessary. I have occasionally had hatchling corns that only take live in the beginning, but by four months they have always converted to F/T without any problem. Good luck!

[sweety314]

Ditto to the deli cup or gladware tub. (Or a tiny critter keeper would work, as long as the holes in the lid are covered to prevent escape). Our latest little guy is in the gladware with a small lid for water. Putting a baby corn in a tank is too much room.

The first baby corn we had wouldn't eat, until we left him in a little cup with the pinky overnite.