Feeding Stubborn Snakes

Sometimes for no visible reason a newly aquired snake or hatchling refuses to eat here are some tips to help you to feed these difficult creatures.

Photo By Chmee 2

Know your snakes habits in the wild.

If your snake eats lizards in the wild it will probably not want to eat a rat in captivity unless it is trained to do so. If your snake would naturally hunt at night, you would probably be more successful feeding it at night.

2. Reduce Stress in your snake

Stressed Snakes will not want to eat. Stress can be caused by various factors like improper housing (the snake feels unsafe) Excessive handling (especially in new snakes) and temperature and humidity. Give the snake ample hides, keep handling to a minimum and consult the proper care sheets for ideal temperature and humidity levels.

Once you have determined that your snake is not stressed the following tips can be applied to try and make your snake eat:

1. Change the Colour of the prey.

Some snakes prefer brown mice and rats to white ones, probably because that is what they are programmed to look for in the wild. Sometimes just switching the colour of the prey is enough to get your stubborn snake to feed.

2. Focus

Putting snakes into small containers (hatchlings) with a pinky mouse is an effective way to make sure nothing else takes the snakes attention. Adult can be put in larger feeding containers with a prey item to make sure they meet up with their prey.

3.Tease Feeding

By holding a prekilled prey item in a pair of forceps and gently tapping your snake on the side of the mouth, you can sometimes irritate the snake enough to strike at the prey item and hopefully hold on and swallow it.

4.Braining

Take a pre-killed pinky and make an incision deep into the brain matter (It is cleaner if you do it while the pinky is still frozen). Take the prey item and place it in a dark secure container with the snake and leave it for an hour. There is something about the brain that makes it nearly irresistable to snakes, this is extremely effective on hatchlings.

5.Scenting

If your snake usually feeds on something other than a rodent you can scent your prey item with the odour of lizards, frogs or birds. You can use either the actual animal or you can use the prey items droppings or bedding. It is preferable not to use faeces because parasites and harmful bacteria can be transmitted to the snake. Start by washing the rodent with warm water to remove the smell. You can then rub the rodent and the animal together and then place the prey item in a dark secure container with the snake and leave for an hour.

6.Change It Around

Some snakes will eat rat pups instead of mice, some will eat brown mice instead of white, some will only eat the prey they eat in the wild, so keep trying out different prey items to see which your snake prefers and then from there you can move it onto rodents.

Getting Your Snake to Eat Rodents

Sometimes snakes will only feed on their natural food source like lizards and scenting does not work. If this is the case you can take a prekilled rodent and sew it to the tail of a lizard by making a small stitch with cotton. When the snake ingests the lizard it will carry on swallowing until the rodent has gone too. Repeat this for a couple of feedings until the snake has got used to the smell and taste of the rodent and then try to feed it only the rodent. This will usually turn your snake into a rodent feeder.