Tips on getting corn hatchlings to eat?

i had 4 amel hatchlings go almost 3 months without a single meal. tried everything. what ended up working?

switching their shelf on the rack....yep, weird i know. but i moved them from the top of the rack to the bottom, and they all began eating as if nothing ever happened.

and Rich is right, wait about 5-6 days between feeding attempts, otherwise they will start to deduce that pinks = stress.

Thanks to you both. Rich you were right I think I was trying to feed them to often I am going to put them back into the regular tub and try again next week. I was getting worried that they would die if they didnt eat within a few weeks. Now that I know they can go longer I will be a lot more at ease about the feedings. THANKS AGAIN!!!!

Well after many atempts they still haven't eaten. I will give it a few more tried before i give up on them.

Well 3 of them decided that they would finally eat lastnight. 2 others look like they will eat today, even only if it is the head of the mice. The last one I am not sure about. I hope is pulls through.

Another trick I forgot to mention is "tease feeding" them.

Not sure if you're familiar with this, but here's how I do it. I hold the hatchling about 1" back from its head so that just the first inch of its body can move. Then I hold the pinky right in front of its mouth and will gently tap the pinky on the snakes nose. This will usually get them riled up and they will start to strike the pinky and most will latch on.

Once they've latched on, most of the time they realize its food and will start to eat it. The entire time I keep them in my hand and just let them eat it while I'm holding them. I don't want to move them or disturb them such that they freak out and don't eat.

This doesn't always work, but is worth a shot.

glad to hear that some have come around! sometimes it just takes them awhile :)

and yes, tease feeding has worked for me as well in the past, but i suggest it as a last resort. if they don't take to it, it's stressful for them to be restrained like that and sometimes they can associate food with being restrained.

sounds like they're going to be okay, though!

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Originally Posted by Blue Apple Herps

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.

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Hey watch it bud I'm 12 and I breed balls, leos and beardies. Lol :)

Last year I bred my anery and snow corns and had two babys hatch. they didn't eat for 1 and a half months after hatching. What I did to get them to eat was I put them each in a brown paper lunch bag with a mouse and left them over night in their cage. They haven't missed a meal since then.:)