How to get to eat frozen/thawed?

I've had my most recent corn snake for about 2 months. After giving him a week to settle in I gave him a frozen/thawed pinkie and he struck right away. Since then he hasn't been interested in frozen/thawed so after a little while I give in and give him a live which he eats no problem. What can I do to encourage him more the direction of the thawed? How often should a young corn eat? I don't want to underfeed him but also don't want to have to feed him live all the time? Also is it ok to leave a pinkie in with the snake? I know you're not supposed to leave your snake alone with prey but is it ok for brief periods with a pinkie since it doesn't seem like it would be able to fight back against my snake? I know that was alot of questions but thanks for responses to any or all of it.

Why do you want to convert him to f/t?

I feed both of my corns...well...all of my snakes live.

I feed my corns every 7-10 days.

I don't feed f/t so I really don't have any advice for you.

You can leave a pinkie in al leave them alone for a while.

Pinkies are prett harmless.

What size is your corn and how long have you had him?

you are fine leaving prey with a snake overnight until they open their eyes.

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Originally Posted by badgerboy8608

I've had my most recent corn snake for about 2 months. After giving him a week to settle in I gave him a frozen/thawed pinkie and he struck right away. Since then he hasn't been interested in frozen/thawed so after a little while I give in and give him a live which he eats no problem. What can I do to encourage him more the direction of the thawed? How often should a young corn eat? I don't want to underfeed him but also don't want to have to feed him live all the time? Also is it ok to leave a pinkie in with the snake? I know you're not supposed to leave your snake alone with prey but is it ok for brief periods with a pinkie since it doesn't seem like it would be able to fight back against my snake? I know that was alot of questions but thanks for responses to any or all of it.

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To be honest you should have kept him on eating the frozen thaweds since he allready ate one.I know you said he showed no interest at all the second time.In my experiance with corn snakes they normaly will eat ANYTHING you give them lol.What are your temps? What is his enclosure? Does he have any hides? The reasons i am asking these questions is because maybe he is stressed(maybe temps not correct or feels unsecure),they are not as bad as a ball python is in these areas(being stressed and such easily).It is ok to leave the pinky alone with him as it can not hurt him.What was the person you bought it from feeding him? Keep us posted

Yeah for sure check the temps.

When I thaw my rats I put them in pretty warm water. Takes about 2 hours to thaw and if he doesnt take it the first try, I go back the bathroom get the hairdryer out and heat it up a bit.
Usually that should help make it seem more alive or real.
My BP always wants them warmed up for some reason.

I dont think switching with Corn snakes is that bad.
Maybe more so for a BP (imprint feeders) but I have changed from Live to Thawed a few times with not only my Corn but my BP a few times.

Just don't stick with live too long or they will have a hard time going back.

Mice and smaller rats have done a number on my corn snake so he is now a little afraid of them I think. and his striking speed is much slower and not acurate at all... a lot of times he will miss the one in the tweezers.

anyway, good luck to ya

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Originally Posted by Jonny2184

Yeah for sure check the temps.

When I thaw my rats I put them in pretty warm water. Takes about 2 hours to thaw and if he doesnt take it the first try, I go back the bathroom get the hairdryer out and heat it up a bit.
Usually that should help make it seem more alive or real.
My BP always wants them warmed up for some reason.

I dont think switching with Corn snakes is that bad.
Maybe more so for a BP (imprint feeders) but I have changed from Live to Thawed a few times with not only my Corn but my BP a few times.

Just don't stick with live too long or they will have a hard time going back.

Mice and smaller rats have done a number on my corn snake so he is now a little afraid of them I think. and his striking speed is much slower and not acurate at all... a lot of times he will miss the one in the tweezers.

anyway, good luck to ya

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I would not use a hair dryer to warm up a pinky as that could be a little messy and smelly :eyepoppin :puke2:.If a corn snake is kept in the proper heat ranges they normaly will eat live or frozen thawed.I had a couple that would eat it frozen if i would have let them lol.Now as far as your snake(jonny2184) you might want to try fresk killed on your snake since he has a striking problem.

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Originally Posted by joepythons

I would not use a hair dryer to warm up a pinky as that could be a little messy and smelly :eyepoppin :puke2:.If a corn snake is kept in the proper heat ranges they normaly will eat live or frozen thawed.I had a couple that would eat it frozen if i would have let them lol.Now as far as your snake(jonny2184) you might want to try fresk killed on your snake since he has a striking problem.

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I wasn't thinking about a pinky (i was thinking bigger) but I could see you doing it to a pinky too but not that long. just to make it warmer... not roast the bloody thing... and thats after u thaw it slowly. But your point is well taken! (it was just my :2cent: )

I don't think fresh killed would fix the striking thing either.
I've done it all... live/fresh killed/frozen thaw/ It's all been done.
I used to have them fresh killed but I ran outta room to keep them all alive at once.
And I find it hard to keep them the correct sizes if I want to do fresh/kill. Usually I kill them when they are at the proper size. They could grow too big eh!
but again your point is well taken. I think he just sucks at striking.

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Originally Posted by joepythons

I would not use a hair dryer to warm up a pinky as that could be a little messy and smelly :eyepoppin :puke2:

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I have used a hair dryer on f/t.

If you don't lay it directly on the pinkie and don't turn it on full blast you should be ok.

I only used f/t on Ayla who was a rescue and that is what they had her on. She ate them 2 times and I changed her to live.

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Originally Posted by Jonny2184

I wasn't thinking about a pinky (i was thinking bigger) but I could see you doing it to a pinky too but not that long. just to make it warmer... not roast the bloody thing... and thats after u thaw it slowly. But your point is well taken!

I don't think fresh killed would fix the striking thing either.
I've done it all... live/fresh killed/frozen thaw/ It's all been done.
I used to have them fresh killed but I ran outta room to keep them all alive at once.
And I find it hard to keep them the correct sizes if I want to do fresh/kill. Usually I kill them when they are at the proper size. They could grow too big eh!
but again your point is well taken. I think he just sucks at striking.

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No problem :) .I just thought about something,is it possible he has an eye cap retained over his eye/eyes? If so then thats why his aim is off,if not then his striking aim just sucks :P

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Originally Posted by jeffnme

I have used a hair dryer on f/t.

If you don't lay it directly on the pinkie and don't turn it on full blast you should be ok.

I only used f/t on Ayla who was a rescue and that is what they had her on. She ate them 2 times and I changed her to live.

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Thats true.I would just set out the FT and let them thaw at room temp.I guess each snake has thier likes and dislikes lol.

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Originally Posted by joepythons

Thats true.I would just set out the FT and let them thaw at room temp.I guess each snake has thier likes and dislikes lol.

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right right...

I actually tried f/t on 2 of my small bp's and they wanted nothing....to do with them.

lol

they like em live and kickin!

Well all of my corns are on f/t. They've been that way since they were just hatched. What you can try to do is use a pair of tongs (they make them for reptiles too hemostats or something like that) and take a pinky by the leg and wiggle it in front of your snakelet. If your looking for a striking effect that might do it. Make sure it's fully defrosted and warm to the touch. After that wash your hands and then try feeding him so he doesn't tag you instead of the food. (not like it'll hurt or anything if your feeding pinkies)

My new corn is an okeetee and is 20" and i've had him about 6 1/2 weeks now. I gave him a week to settle then he ate a f/t right away. After that i tried once a week and he wouldn't eat so I fed him a live pinkie after about 2 1/2 weeks. I tried a couple more times f/t and am going to give him a live today since its been about another 2 1/2 weeks. He's in a 20L aquarium with a basking side of upper 80s and cool side of mid/upper 70s. He has an old hot pocket box as a warm hide and the underside of a waterdish he likes to hide in on the cool side as well as a branch throughout the cage to climb on if he feels. I run a regular desk lamp on top on a 12 on/12 off cycle not for heat but just for light. If anyone has any other advice i'm open. Otherwise i'll just keep trying and keep you guys posted.

So at 20 inches long your snake is around considered a "hatchling" to a "juvie".
Earlier it was suggested that you could feed every 7-10 days.
A corn that small is not an adult, nor is it even a baby ball bython. They need the food more often at this smaller age to grow at a good rate. At that size every 4-5 days you should be considering feeding your snake.

My snake was born in september 06, I fed her first 5/10 a frozen fuzzy, she had only ever been eatting live.
I waited a few extra days, so I knew she was hungry. The way I warm them up is the way I thaw them. I put them in a plastic baggy and put them in a cup of water that is hot as my tap will go. Leave them for 20-30 minutes and then return to feed. Food is thawed by then but water is still hot, ergo animal is hot. If it's still warm the snake will be more likely to go for it if it can sense it's heat.

If you've already been feeding live though what's the problem? Moral? Inconvience? Just wondering.

I was origionally planning on f/t since it was more convenient and cheaper. I've been feeding live only because I realized that when it isn't taking food as often as it should and I want it to be healthy. I live on campus and usually have 2 borrow a car or take a bus to get to a pet store with feeders so f/t in the freezer would be much preferred. And yeah I realize its just between a hatchling and a juvie. I got him as an '06 leftover this spring.

Some corns eat better if feed in a small dark container. Get your pinky thawed and warm, put a small slit in the skin on its nose and back, put snake and pinky in a small container like a deli cup or small kritter keeper.
Cover the container with a dark towel and leave alone in a quite area for a hour or so, you can even leave them over night, usually the close proximity to food will get the corn to eat.

I also agree that he needs to eat more often, 5 days in good but 7 will be ok too.

Whenever I've had problems getting snakes to eat F/T (especially WC) I just brain the mice. I've never had a problem with them eating it then.

Hey guys, thanks for all the help. Turns out he was getting ready to shed. His eyes went milky right after my last post and he shed today. After he shed I put him in the little container he came home in from the breeder inside a shoebox to keep it dark and he ate the f/t pinkie within a few hours. Thanks for all the help with this one though. Final question, is it normal to go off of feed for so long before a shed? He went about 3 weeks without food.

Well I suppose it could be considered "normal" by your own snakes' standards.
It all comes down to the individual snake, mine is in blue right now and ate glady, go figure.