Advice on Milksnake Feeding

My daughter's milksnake Emi is giving me a bit of trouble with her feeding. She was feeding fine on f/t pinkie mice at the breeder, ate fine for us the first time we offered, then refused the next week. I did think the pinkie mouse looked very large compared to the previous one...almost perhaps a fuzzy but I'm not used to feeding pinkie mice at all.

This week she tried to eat another of these really large pinkie mice and got it about halfway in then backed it back out and wouldn't try again. I can't call it a regurge...just like she spat it back out???

Her temps seem fine and steady and she's active regularily in the evenings and a bit here and there in the daytime. I am thinking of moving her tank as it's a bit closer to a window than I like and she may be getting a slight draft. Other than that I can't think of any husbandry issues.

Any suggestions folks? She is fed in a seperate feeding tub and as I said, fed fine the first time with no troubles at all.


~~Jo~~

My dads king snake did that, we just moved him back down to smaller prey, and he started eating regular again.

Baby colubrids are real nervous.. I would try smaller prey and try to leave her alone as much as possible around feeding time.

I have a kingsnake who has tried to swallow prey, then found it was too big and spat it back out. The fact that your milksnake tried to eat is good. Next time, just give it a smaller pinkie.

Thanks for the reassurance and replies folks. I'm going to phone our local pet store and see about buying a whole litter of very young pinks for Emi so I have the correct size and good consistency of size. They are great for mice pinks but they do tend to breed some of the biggest mice I've ever seen (you should see the size of some of their retired breeder mice...WOW!).


I'm still getting used to this tiny snake and feeding such tiny prey compared to what the balls and the boa eat.

Thanks again!


~~Jo~~

Just a quick update. We moved Emi down to younger pinkies tonight and she snarfed down 2 of them slick as anything. Popped into the pet store and they had a brand new litter of pinks (their mice are all preggie...must be something in the air I've never seen such hugely pregnant mice in my life!). Grabbed Emi a couple of nice live pinks, but much smaller than the last time and that must have been the trick as she happily ate both of them and is now curled up in her tree quite happy with herself I'm sure!


~~Jo~~

HOORAY!! :clap: :party: :D

Congrats on finally getting a meal into that little girl! How exciting.

She actually ate for us the first time we offered but then I stupidly bought those huge mice pinkies and tried them the next two feedings. Poor thing probably about died eyeballing those things! LOL She was sure a good eater on these smaller pinkie mice! I have to watch that...our local pet store does an outstanding job breeding mice but some of them are the biggest mice I've ever laid eyes on.


~~Jo~~

I'm glad she's back to wolfing things down! My albino nelson is a champion eater.