2nd successful feeding!

[Elekia]

Idris had his second successful feeding today and he only likes live pinkies. And they have to move. He watched it for about a minute and only got closer to it when it moved. I didn't get to watch the first feeding because he wasn't interested, ran from the pinkie when I dangled it for him. He started to run from this one so I dropped it and then he was interested when it righted itself.

He ate butt first and didn't constrict. Though from what I read, they don't necessarily develop that habit til they get to hoppers and larger prey. I just hope I can get him switched over to f/t by the time he's eating hopper sized.

But snakes just look so happy when they are eating. Its so cute. Though it's a bit morbid to hear the pinkie chirping from inside Idris...

[Bogertophis]

Congratulations! Idris sounds like a very normal young corn snake as far as wanting a live pinkie, but I don't expect you'll have much trouble switching him
to f/t...at least I never have & I've bred a number of them & also bought hatchlings from others. They stay small for quite a while on pinkies, so you do have
plenty of time for him to learn to accept f/t pinkies versus live. You mentioned dangling the pinkie...I hope you are using feeding tongs? If not, get some soon.
That's the best way to make f/t wiggle slightly & "look alive"; also, you can pinch the pinkie's nose (hard, to damage a little & release more scent) right before
offering. You can confuse a snake by leaving your own scent all over pinks when offering them by hand or handling them first...as I said, tongs are essential.

As you guessed it's also normal for snakes to just wolf down small (young) prey that offers no real danger or resistance...snakes themselves are at risk from
predators while they are busy constricting & then eating prey- it's much faster for them to just swallow it live, so many do that. Snakes sure do look happy when
gulping their dinners down...I don't hate rodents & prefer to be as humane as possible (f/t are also much safer for our pets) but I believe that most snakes need
to start off as they would "in real life", dealing with live prey that gets their instincts switched on. Don't over-stress about switching Idris...most corns are easy.

[Elekia]

I have tongs! The silicon tipped ones. And I made sure to be careful with my scent when I tried f/t previously. Even brained it holding the f/t pink with the tongs and a steril scalpel. He refused me.

He seems intimidated by dangling so I wiggled it along the ground, trying to mimic pinkie movements. He was more interested in this method but ultimately refused and hid.

How long do you usually wait before you switch to f/t? Thanks so much for the in depth response!!

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[Bogertophis]

Yes, some snakes don't want flying mice, go figure. Makes them feel bigger when it's on the ground. Glad you have tongs (I try not to assume).
I've never found "braining" to be of help...it's much easier to pinch-damage the nose of f/t pink just a bit to release more scent, & they do respond well to that.

No way to say how long...just have to try offering f/t every now & then...especially when they're really hungry & not quite so shy.

Have you tried just leaving the f/t in or near* his hide at night, then lights out & don't watch him? It's scarier for them to take food directly at first, though they learn to
grab it off tongs really well in time. (*I like to leave prey on a piece of cardboard or a container lid, so it's not lost in the substrate. Be sure to check in the morning to
see if it's gone.)

[Elekia]

Yes, some snakes don't want flying mice, go figure. Makes them feel bigger when it's on the ground. Glad you have tongs (I try not to assume).
I've never found "braining" to be of help...it's much easier to pinch-damage the nose of f/t pink just a bit to release more scent, & they do respond well to that.

No way to say how long...just have to try offering f/t every now & then...especially when they're really hungry & not quite so shy.

Have you tried just leaving the f/t in or near* his hide at night, then lights out & don't watch him? It's scarier for them to take food directly at first, though they learn to
grab it off tongs really well in time. (*I like to leave prey on a piece of cardboard or a container lid, so it's not lost in the substrate. Be sure to check in the morning to
see if it's gone.)

I hadn't heard about pinching the nose before. I'll give that a try next time. I have another pink in the freezer so I'll try that.

I haven't left the f/t pinks in there over night because I read about the bacterial blooms growing and that being bad for the snakes.

Thanks a ton!!

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