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Cornsnakes that will only eat chicken?

reptilebaby

reptilebaby

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I have several corn snakes-a couple will not eat mice no matter what I do to the mice. The only thing they will eat is chicken or chicken liver with vitamins added-will that hurt them, or will it be ok? I would prefer it if they would eat the mice like the others, but I don't want them to get unhealthy because they won't eat. I have been trying every week for about 6 weeks to get them to eat the mice. They won't even eat live mice!

So I guess what I am wondering is it ok, if that is the only thing they will eat or will it cause major problems? I am putting a calcium supplement and a vitamin supplement in the chicken pieces and chicken liver when I feed it to them....
 
Not corn snakes, but I have 5 year old Fiji boas who have been raised entirely on geckos (when I can get them) and chicken.

Whole day to week old chicks when I can get them, chicken hearts and wing portions occasionally supplemented with powered reptile vitamins when I couldn't get whole chicks. And they are fine. (Just the droppings are smellier then I enjoy...)

So I'd think no problem if you can get the chicks, let them eat what they prefer. If getting chicks is a problem, try storing your frozen mice in a bag of chopped chicken liver for a while, then offer again.
 
The way I got them to eat chicken hearts was to feed them a gecko, and then hold the heart just under the gecko tail once they were eating, so they just motored on over the heart without stopping eating.

After a few of these, they started taking hearts voluntarily - they kind of got the taste for them - they still prefer geckos but they will take hearts if they're hungry now.

You could try this technique with your mice - feed them a chick and then hold the mouse under the end of the chicken just as they finish it and they'll probably just carry on and eat the mouse too.
 
Ok, I'll try that. :)
The 2 of mine doing this are NOT big enough to eat whole chicks. They are eating pieces of chicken that are about fuzzy/hopper mouse size.
So there's not really a problem with feeding the chicken then? that's what I was most worried about, I don't want to make them sick!
 
But maybe when they're bigger I'll order frozen chicks. I don't like feeding anything live
 
Have you tried other prey items?
It isn't all that uncommon for babies to want something other than what we choose to give them. In many cases, getting them feeding is as simple as changing the menu until we figure out what they want. Give rat pinks a try, if the snakes are big enough....otherwise, there are a number of scenting options if you have to stick with mice.
 
I agree with Harald, try rat pinks or fuzzy mice if you were trying pinky mice. Also you said you are trying every week, are you offering a mouse and if they don't take it immediately giving them chicken? have you tried waiting them out a few weeks (2-3 weeks) with only offering mice?

I don't know if there would be anything wrong with just chicken, but it sounds like you would prefer if they take mice which is why I made the suggestion.
good luck!
 
You should definitely try April and Harald's suggestions, they are very experienced, and most people manage to get cornsnakes onto mice or rat pinkies, which are inargueably the best way to ensure a balanced diet.

However, just to continue to share my chicken experiences.... my snakes prefer geckos, but I couldn't always get them, or, as they grew, get them large enough, but for 2 years they were still too small to take whole chicks. So, for that time, I was feeding them small geckos whenever I could get them, supplemented by chicken hearts and portions of frozen chicken wings (with skin and bone on and in). I still do it every now and again as small chickens don't have much muscle or bone in them.

They seemed fine, but I was, as I think you are, always worried that they were not getting whole prey and so may become vitamin deficient, so about once a month I supplemented with powdered reptile vitamins stuffed inside a chicken heart.

So, I don't think you are making your snakes sick by feeding them chicken pieces but there are a couple of downsides;

I wouldn't feed them too much chicken liver as it may contain too high levels of certain vitamins

For the same reason be careful with the vitamin supplements - there is such a thing as vitamin poisoning. Maybe only do it once every few feeds

Snakes need all the parts of a live animal, so if feeding chicken pieces, try and include skin and bone, not just meat

So, I think it's doable, but obviously your life would be easier if you can get them on to mice or rat pinkies as the others have pointed out. Try scenting, and also try sneaking the mouse or rat in just they they are swallowing the last of the chicken piece, as I described in my earlier post.

Good luck!

How did this start? Did you get them from someone who had been feeding the chicken since birth?
 
I appreciate all the advice. These 2 aren't really babies. I think you would call them sub adults? couple years old. I tried mice and chicken only-I don't think they could eat rats yet. I know they were eating mice at their old home from what I was told, but they sure aren't now. :(

I really don't want them missing any meals. I think I might cut a tiny piece of chicken and put it with a little mouse. That sounds like it might work to me. Most of my corns I have no problem with at all! my tiny hatchlings I have not had long eat like pigs.
 
I wonder if it's not just stress maybe, that's making those 2 not eat, or what it could be because as soon as I put a piece of chicken in each cage they both swallowed it. And now they just are not wanting to eat mice.
 
Yeah, thought it would be easier if everybody ate the same thing. I only let them miss one week's feeding when they didn't eat.
 
if they are already yearlngs or older a few weeks of no food isn't gonna hurt them. They may just be spoiled on the chicken right now
;)
 
Happy to help. Have you tried baby rats? (What we call pinkies) these are smaller than mice but smell different and sometimes snakes that don't want mice will take pinkie rats, or baby rats the same size as the mice they were taking.
 
I don't have any rat pinks but I'm planning on ordering some soon, to try and get my other snakes (balls) on them, so I'll get a couple sizes and maybe they'll eat them.
It was my fault those 2 even got the taste for chicken. :)
My son's rats are pregnant right now-I hate to use live though. :(
 
reptilebaby said:
My son's rats are pregnant right now-I hate to use live though. :(
Click to expand...

Well, you know, there is always a huge debate about how to most humanely kill prey animals, and actually having the snake do it is probably one of the best ways - it's certain, fast and I think relatively painless.

I mean, who knows how baby rats and mice are killed for the packs of frozen ones you buy? :shrug01:
 
I rubbed a pice of fried chicken skin on 2 f/t mice and then fed them, and they ate! :)
I tried it with a ball to eat a f/t mouse and worked so I tried it with the corns. :)
 
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