New baby won't eat.

[NinjaKittyz]

Hey there, I got my hands on another problem child, only this time, it's not a ball python, it's a corn snake. I didn't think to weigh her/him, but s/he appears to be approx 14" long, and about the thickness of your typical chopstick. She was adopted out to me because she wouldn't eat, she's been force/assist fed 3x, the most recent of which was tonight.

A list of the ways she's been offered food:
F/t
Brained F/t
Cut in half F/t
Live
Brained live

I'm not sure there's another way to offer food to her/him. Small pinkies (2-5g) are what have been being offered, and in the assist/force feeding/s, the pinky is placed in the mouth, lightly pushed and once in about half way, the snake'll start working it down. It does show "Some" interest in the live food, but once it goes near it, and the pinky moves, it acts scared of it.

I'm ok with assist/force feeding, but I'd REALLY like to get her/him eating on their own so as to reduce stress and get the weight gain and growth going. It was delivered to the store on 2/22 and has constantly been offered food every 3-4 days, only being forced after 2 refusals. Personally, I don't think the breeder/distributor is feeding them before shipping them to the store, but that's my opinion.

All that said. Given the small size of the corn, I've got it in a large critter keeper on aspen with a x-small wood hide and a water dish, as well as a small amount of moss for a touch of humidity. (It can easily fit in the hide, 4 more could easily fit with the 1 under the hide in all honesty.) Temp in my room is kept at a steady 78-81 for my other reptiles. All have lights, even the keeper, but it is hanging above the keeper so as not to get too hot or melt anything .Stiletto, (It's what I named it) is very active, all over the place, moving around, drinking, and friendly.

I'm not planning on handling it "At All" until it is eating on it's own, aside from when it's time to eat. What I'm loking for is some tips, tricks, ideas on how to get Stiletto to eat. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. I've heard that corns are pretty simple eaters, unlike my BP's, but this one... S/He's proving to be, yet another, problem child.

Thanks in advance!

[NormanSnake]

Do you have a hot spot at all? I'd suggest a hot spot of around 87 under the hide. they sell those tiny zoo med UTHs for hermit crabs at petco and petsmart. Make sure it's regulated of course. That's what I keep my corn at. 80 cool side with an 87 degree hot spot.

[NinjaKittyz]

Given that s/he's in a critter keeper, I don't really have a way of making a "hot" spot. The light is hanging about 6" above the tank, a bit off to one side, and I've got it next to my gecko who has a UTH on the side so that end of the tank does tend to run a couple of degrees warmer.

She doesn't go on that end though. Aside from when she's running around. (I keep saying "She" because I can't seem to get a male no matter what. I was told the gecko and one of my BP's were male.... All females. So I'm assuming my luck will stay the same with the Corn. Lol.)

[NormanSnake]

That's the only thing I can recommend is getting a hot spot. I wouldn't think a UTH would hurt the plastic at 87 degrees, people heat tubs all the time. Maybe someone else will chime in and add some more advice.

[NinjaKittyz]

I'm hoping someone does. Everything that's been suggested to me via my facebook groups has been tried. Really hoping for some fresh ideas. Thanks for the suggestion.

[Andrew21]

I think 87 is little high. 82-85 is good. But as long as stiletto is not regurging then it should be okay.

You can try:
Boiling the pinky then offering it in a small deli cup(when it's cooled off)
Washing the pinky in ivory dish soap, and rinsing it off then offering it. Again in a deli cup.
Everything you try should be in a deli cup or small container. Try braining again but with a deli cup.

I'd try to feed once a week. If she doesn't eat, then wait a week then assist feed, then try something new the next week, ect. Do that as long as she is keeping down the assist-fed mice. If she is really active then it might be too hot or she might not have a good heat gradient. You should add more hides and fake plants. They don't have to be anything special.

I hope she'll eat for you!

[Dracoluna]

With problem babies, I warm the pinkies in water, put the pinky in a deli cup, and put the baby in the deli cup. It forces them to be close to the prey. I then put the deli cup in my cupboard where it's dark and leave them alone for at least an hour, sometimes 2. Don't peek or bother her at all during this time. Closets or other dark places work well also as long as it's dark, quiet, and somewhat warm. I've only had two that I've had to force feed but they were also 3 and 4 grams. Eventually, she will eat but I would offer every 3 to 5 days like this. Braining might help but I don't recommend this on live. Corns, unlike ball pythons tend to be garbage disposals and I have yet to see one that will refuse f/t.

Good luck with your little girl and let us know how she progresses.

[NinjaKittyz]

Stiletto has been eating well. He's a lil fat cow. He's up to 2 pinkies every 5 days. It took an assist feed, then he opened his mouth the next feed and let me set it on his jaw and it's been golden since. I think his problem is that the breeder shipped him out w/o feeding at all. He was "scared" of the pinkies. Live or frozen. (He's still scared of live pinks.) He's the only one I've got who will eat f/t. Now I've got another problem child on my hands. I'll be posting about that one later tonight. It's an older Bp, had never been out of a tub/rack, and I'm almost sure is blind, or going blind in one eye. (I've a thing for problem children. )