# Anybody know anything about snakes? WARNING GRAPHIC



## Ratsanctuary (Mar 24, 2011)

We were given 2 cornsnake hatchlings from somebody whose kids got them but were afraid of them, and we cant get one of them to eat. The female is eating and has shed since we got them but the male isnt eating at all, could this be because hes getting ready to shed?


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## Muppet (Sep 3, 2011)

It could be because hes getting ready to shed, Is he eating live or frozen/thawed? If he's eating frozen then try braining the food (cutting open the brain cavity) or heating it up just before feeding and making it "dance" infront of him, If you're not too scared of being bitten.. I believe snakes see in "heat vision"? so if you held the prey it could use your body heat and think its the preys then lunge for it, Another reason could be that the prey is too large for him? Perhaps make it smaller? Or even larger? We have a snake at college that refuses to eat pinkies (This is a corn snake yearling and requires food about the size of pinkies) but literally steals fuzzies (another snake gets fuzzies) from the dish that they defrost in. Lol. Said snake now gets fed bi-weekly or one every 10 days because the fuzzies are so big compared to him


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## Ratsanctuary (Mar 24, 2011)

He is slightly bigger than the female and she has no trouble eating at all. He might be getting ready to shed, the female shed right after eating her pinkie, but she didnt show any sign of getting ready to shed, no blueish colored eyes no dull skin color. He is the same way too no blu eyes and not dull colored either. We got the frozen/thawed pinkies for them (I wont do live food)


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## Muppet (Sep 3, 2011)

I would try braining or bigger prey then


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## Kinsey (Jun 14, 2009)

You can try splitting the skull. (braining) It's disgusting but the pinky is dead so it causes no pain. I heat my pinkies in hot water to thaw them out. My snake is a tough feeder but if I "dance" the pinky around a lot she will eat it.

Just keep offering food weekly, and eventually it should eat. You can also try putting the warmed food under a hide and then putting the snake there- this can sometimes encourage eating because snakes feel safe in the dark.


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## Ratsanctuary (Mar 24, 2011)

Were going to try that tonight i think


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## Kinsey (Jun 14, 2009)

Good luck. I hope the little one eats- my girl went off her food for 2 weeks and scared the life out of me. It's so stressful.


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## Ratsanctuary (Mar 24, 2011)

We have tried everything to get this little guy to eat. We did the "braining" thing with a pinkie, he looks at it and slithers away. We tried feeding him in a smaller container with just him and the pinkie. We tried placing the pinkie on a paper towel in his aquarium. The snake tanks are in the quiet part of the house. We tried feeding him at different times of the day/night. We tried dancing and wiggling the pinkie if front of him he just slithers away. He was bigger than the female, but he looks much smaller now. She isnt having any feeding issues but he refuses to eat. We even heated the pinkie up in real warm water. Nothing seems to be working with him, and id really hate to lose him. I thought about handling my pet rats right before handling the thawed pinkie to try and get it to smell like a rat, but not sure if it would work or not...


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## Muppet (Sep 3, 2011)

I dont really have anymore insight as to how to feed him, Like i said maybe slightly bigger, Fuzzies? 
But i do know snakes can go a bit over 6mo without eating so i dont think youll lose him


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## Ratsanctuary (Mar 24, 2011)

I will go tomorrow and get more pinkies and a couple of fuzzies, but im not sure he could eat them but anything is worth trying with him. my boyfriend has gotten so attached to him, i think he is down hearted that mine will eat and his refuses food.


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## Kinsey (Jun 14, 2009)

Try anything you can, rub the pinkie on the rats if you must. 

When mine slithers away, I follow her with the pinkie pressed against her little nose.

I'm so sorry you have to deal with this- snakes are such weirdos.

Muppet, if it's a hatchling it doesn't have very long. Some types of snake can live a whole year without food. It's just a bad idea.

I doubt it helps but I'm having snake problems, too. Curses got out and glued herself to some duct tape, ripping out scales and scaring everyone to death. She should be fine now but it was scary.


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## Ratsanctuary (Mar 24, 2011)

We've followed him with it for i dont know how long, hes just completely refusing it. We even went to a different petshop and got pinkies, still a no go. After i get paid, im planning to take him to the vet
Oh my i hope shes okay, id be completely freaked out if that were to happen.


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## Ratsanctuary (Mar 24, 2011)

I figured i would give an update on him....

He still hasnt eaten. We were told to soak him in warm water for about 10-15 mins. We did this and he used the bathroom. It was soo gross. Green balls of slime and what looked like grit. It smell worse than anything ive ever smelled. He is more active now, but still wont eat. The vet told us too kepp doing the soak for a few days 2-3 times a day. Shes thinking he was constipated and couldnt go so he didnt want to eat. She said that after he gets all of his fecal matter out of his system he will eat. I really hope so because his vet visit wasnt cheap at all, it was $36 to even bring him thru the door. and im not sure what she charged for the other stuff she did. His color has brightened up a bit too so he is definately feeling better.


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## Ratsanctuary (Mar 24, 2011)

He finally shed!!!!!and it came off in one solid piece So i think were making progress. Were going to try feeding him now. Hopefully he will eat. Keep your fingers crossed for us...


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## Kinsey (Jun 14, 2009)

Poor thing  Sounds like an infection of some kind, or rotting feces. Hopefully you can get him cleaned out and eating. Antibiotics might not be a bad idea either.


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## MystickWinds (Sep 15, 2011)

Oh, I hope he eats for you! We had a Ball Python that pulled that stunt with us. Absolutely nothing wrong with him...just refused to eat. He actually went 7 months without eating. Now, he was an adult, but that little devil... We tried everything possible and he just wouldn't eat. He finally did and was fine, but talk about a stressful time. *shaking head*


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## Ratsanctuary (Mar 24, 2011)

He still refused food, but it coulda been because he was exhausted, it took him a while to shed. We are going to give him a few days to rest then were gonna try feeding again, and if he still dont, he will go straight to the vet.


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## Kinsey (Jun 14, 2009)

Give him 2 days before offering food, maybe 3 at the longest. You need to do the shortest times possible now, as he is in desperate need of food at this point in time.

Offer food during his active periods, for Curses that is twilight and dark. That will up his chances of eating.

Good luck... he may need to be force fed.


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## alliepenguin (May 6, 2011)

Poor thing, good luck!! Hope he's feeling better soon.


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## leesha (Feb 15, 2010)

Have you tried leaving him in a ventilated container overnight with his food? I have a male who is a bit of a picky eater, so I put him in a deli cup with his food and place it in his cage overnight.


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## Ratsanctuary (Mar 24, 2011)

We have tried the deli cup thing with him. We had him to the vet and she said he didnt have any infections, but she couldnt get him to eat either, so she said to keep trying like we been doing. I also got in contact with snake rescuer and am waiting for him to email me again.


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