Snake Feeding Problem

[GoGo]

We have 4 cornsnakes, 2 of them are big boys(not really, bug theyre the biggest ones we have) and they get a fuzzie a week, and 2 of them are little things who get a pinkie a week. Weve had a problem with the little ones. Ever since we got them from petco(we got the others from a local store) and we were told they were eating all ready, they refuse to week.

We try it weekly, we try it on random days, we try heating them with hot water, heating them by spraying with hot water out a faucet, and heating them then nukeing them for extra heat and smell. Weve given them food in the cage(on paper towel cause theyre on aspen), food in a small container, food in a large container and food in an even larger container.

They will NOT eat no matter what we do, our other snakes eat like crazy pigs, these refuse to even touch the pinkies. And dont mention braining, we always manage to squish the stomach of 1 pinkie so theres guts everywhere, and they still ignore it.

What can we do?

 

[Sunrise Reptile]

...we try heating them with hot water...

This is the method i use. I put the rodent in a zip-lock sandwich bag and leave it in a water bath until it's completely thawed. Remember to change out the water a couple times, as it will cool off after a while.

...heating them by spraying with hot water out a faucet...

I'm not really sure what you meant here, but as I stated, the above method is the one I use.

...and heating them then nukeing them for extra heat and smell...

You really SHOULDN'T EVER heat a rodent in a microwave oven. First of all, leave it in too long, and you'll have a nice mess to clean up. Second, and more important, you can NEVER guess the internal temp of the rodent and you risk SERIOUSLY injuring the corn snake!

Weve given them food in the cage(on paper towel cause theyre on aspen), food in a small container, food in a large container and food in an even larger container.

As a suggestion, take the aspen bedding out of their cage until they're older and better established. I would suggest using plain white paper towel until they're eating regularly. You can then feed them directly in the cage, an environment that they should feel very comfortable in. Also, make sure they're in a relatively quiet area of the house without a lot of disturbances. And lastly, you could try live pinkies until they're eating better. There isn't any risk feeding a live pinkie, and you can have it in there with them unsupervised for a while. Every hatchling is a little different, but I think this gives you some things to think about. Good Luck!

 

[The Sunset Gang]

I had this problem when I first brought my snake home. I let the pinkie sit in the cage, after it was done thawing, for about 30 minutes. It wasn't even touched. So I put the pinkie almost on the snakes head and after a few times of trying this it finally ate. I hope everything works out with your snakes.

 

[GoGo]

Were going to try the live thing, maybe the snakes will get pissed off and eat this thing intruding on their space.

 

[CSgecko]

try leaving the live or thawed pinkie in with the snake in a small container and stick it somewhere reely dark for a while. I never had problems with mine nut thats what my teacher at school did and it worked.

 

[ReptileMan27]

They could be shy eaters, try putting them in a seperate feeding container and put a towel or something similar over it and leave them in their for awhile.

 

[KiKi]

well we got one of the two snakes to eat a live pinkie ,the other one is in a deli cup in a dark place with the pinkie hasnt eaten yet

 

[The Sunset Gang]

I am so happy for you and your snake! One down, one to go. Hopefully the other one will eat for you real soon.