| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| gazzamartin |
Posted - 09/08/2013 : 21:48:33
Hello all, iv posted about this problem before but recieved limited advice, partly because iv yet to hear of any other snake behaving in the same way.
So, Pedro is about a year old now, when he was very young he was a nightmare when it came to feeding, it took months of experimenting to get him on a regular diet.
Following the munsen plan, pedro should have been onto fuzzies ages ago, he is now well over two ft in length, and about 50g in weight. Iv tried a few times to get him onto fuzzies but he always refuses. His last ten feeds have been triple pinkies to get him used to a slightly bigger meal, which he has been fine with (although he will only take pinkies from one shop of the three nearby, weird!).
Last night i tried again with a small fuzzie, only to find it untouched this morning.
He is now looking like his diet is taking its toll on him. For a two foot snake his head and neck are tiny, and i mean hatchling tiny, i think his growth maybe stunted to some extent.
Please please please can anyone help, The little lad has never eaten anything with a decent amount of calcium in it. I know you can get calcium powder but pedro is way to fussy to go near anything like that.
Temps 23 cold, 29 hot, faunarium in quiet part of house with loads of hides, like i said, he is eating but he needs to get onto bigger meals. The only question is - how?
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| 20 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| scottishbluebird |
Posted - 11/08/2013 : 16:02:18
quote:
Originally posted by Coal
Hope everything works out okay at the reptile shop. If not, I had a bit of a random idea: I remember reading in the Kathy Love corn snake book that feeding double meals can be done by gently holding the second food item against the first as it goes down, as the snake will just keep chomping. Probably a bit of a long-shot but I figure this could work with your little guy if you hold the fuzzie against a normal pinkie once he's committed to eating it. Just a thought
Although i think this is a good idea, it MIGHT cause a regurge, which would be bad especially for your snake, When you get back from the shop and IF you give this idea a go, make sure it is as very small fuzzy |
| Coal |
Posted - 11/08/2013 : 14:18:12
Hope everything works out okay at the reptile shop. If not, I had a bit of a random idea: I remember reading in the Kathy Love corn snake book that feeding double meals can be done by gently holding the second food item against the first as it goes down, as the snake will just keep chomping. Probably a bit of a long-shot but I figure this could work with your little guy if you hold the fuzzie against a normal pinkie once he's committed to eating it. Just a thought |
| scottishbluebird |
Posted - 10/08/2013 : 20:12:08
That is a really great reptile shop! just hope everything goes ok, and he eats better |
| ArronB |
Posted - 10/08/2013 : 19:53:44
Good luck. Hopefully he can help |
| gazzamartin |
Posted - 10/08/2013 : 16:48:47
Update: So this morning i buzzed the owner of the reptile centre where i bought pedro to ask for some advice. This guy has been breeding since the dawn of time so he knows what he's talking about. After explaining the situation he told me to take Pedro into the shop and leave him there for a couple of weeks.
He actually put my mind at rest quite a bit by agreeing that the little lad does indeed look very healthy, just very small for his age.
I'll admit that I have no idea about the methods he's gonna use to try and get Pedro sized up, but he certainly seemed confident that he could help solve the problem.
So as of earlier today Pedro went on a little holiday to his birthplace. There was even a couple of his clutchmates still instore, although his brothers and sisters are much bigger.
Hopefully when i next get a call from the reptile centre it will be good news. Fingers crossed. Thanks again for the advice everybody. |
| lupi lou |
Posted - 10/08/2013 : 13:01:18
not the same species but one of our royals are work is the typical fussy so and so and the method which has seemed to work with him was to brain the food then heat it with the hair dryer but it in the viv near the hide he is in the switch off all lights and put a towel in front of the viv then leave the room.
Hope you manage to convince the little guy that he should move up a size. |
| smart bunny |
Posted - 10/08/2013 : 08:44:44
Have you tried super heating the head? When you are ready to feed, dip just the head of the fuzzy into very hot - not boiling but close - water for 10 seconds then straight in with snakey. Also have you tried tubbing him? Pop snakey and fuzzy into as small a tub or box he will fit into, eg a butter tub then leave overnight. Obviously this may be stuff you have already tried. |
| gazzamartin |
Posted - 10/08/2013 : 01:20:38
Thanks!! Thats a great tutorial and another way i can get pedro chomping on some calcium. Ace. |
| scottishbluebird |
Posted - 10/08/2013 : 01:06:59
quote:
Originally posted by gazzamartin
i don't think there's much point in trying chick thigh. He wolfs down pinkies, its more the lack of calcium that's the problem.
Or can you offer "bone in" chick tigh?
I had a look at a thread posted before, you can see how to prepare it,and bone is left in
http://www.thecornsnake.co.uk/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=21691&SearchTerms=preparing,chick,thigh |
| gazzamartin |
Posted - 10/08/2013 : 00:41:27
i don't think there's much point in trying chick thigh. He wolfs down pinkies, its more the lack of calcium that's the problem.
Or can you offer "bone in" chick tigh? |
| scottishbluebird |
Posted - 10/08/2013 : 00:31:52
If the vet says everything is ok, have you thought about chick thighs? some that are hard to feed like them
and the water drops are an excellent idea |
| ArronB |
Posted - 09/08/2013 : 23:18:10
Fingers crossed for ya buddy. |
| Welshlamb |
Posted - 09/08/2013 : 23:17:52
quote:
Originally posted by gazzamartin
Thanks everyone, i appreciate the help, hopefully a month or two down the line i'll be posting a happy first fuzzy post.
Fingers Crossed for you both. I hope he does take a fuzzy. |
| gazzamartin |
Posted - 09/08/2013 : 23:15:41
Thanks everyone, i appreciate the help, hopefully a month or two down the line i'll be posting a happy first fuzzy post. |
| ArronB |
Posted - 09/08/2013 : 23:13:04
I definately agree mate. Just give it a try and try not to stress too much. Keep us updated. |
| Welshlamb |
Posted - 09/08/2013 : 23:12:23
I think your doing the best you can. I can not offer any more suggestions. I would consider having a faecal sample, tested. Even take the little fella to a vet, they may have more idea's to the cause.
It's hard to know, what's going on. All I know is that my 1 year old corn is eating mediums and has been for a while. So its very concerning to me, to imagine him having 3 pinks.
Get him to the vet, as it seems you have attempted all other avenues. |
| SilverWings |
Posted - 09/08/2013 : 23:10:47
I've personally never had much luck braining anything, however I did have some success with a mouse that I split down the belly, then super-heated on my radiator. It's the only time Luna has ever struck and coiled. It made a terrible mess, so best put on a cloth or in a box. |
| gazzamartin |
Posted - 09/08/2013 : 23:09:25
Nothing is too vulgar at this stage mate, i just want to make sure he doesn't end up on pinks for the rest of his life. I'll add it to the list of things to try, obviously it takes a while to try all these methods because of the five day wait between feeds. |
| ArronB |
Posted - 09/08/2013 : 23:05:41
So sorry to hear it. You both must be suffering. Maybe as a last resort, grossas iit sounds, you could brain the pinky onto the fuzzy? Sorry if that's too vulgar. |
| gazzamartin |
Posted - 09/08/2013 : 23:03:02
i keep the fuzzies in the bag with the pinkies in the freezer so they should be scented to some extent anyway. iv offered him a pink and a fuzz at the same time to try and entice him but he just ignored both. |
