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really worried please please respond.

S

shortmander

New member
I'm so frustrated. I've had this corn snake since...february 2004. I've NEVER had a single problem feeding him...he always greedily ate food, never any problems. Now lately, he just refuses to eat. I thought it was because I was starting to give him rat pups instead of mouse hoppers, so I switched back to mice. He's STILL not eating. He's SO skinny that I just don't know what to do. he hasn't eaten in 13 days. before that, he hadn't eaten good sized meals in about a month. I'm really worried.
 
Blaqwraith said:
I'd suggest you take him to the vet.
Click to expand...

I think that's a bit extreme at this point, especially for a snake that is eating hoppers.

How big is the snake (ie weight and length, if you know) and approx. how old is it?

Could be that it's spring time and he's in the mood for love, not eating, or he's just not wanting to eat, or it could be a problem.

I certainly would not be worrying yet, especially if it's only been two weeks. If you can give us some more info we can probably figure this out.
 
Thanks for the replies. It's been 2 weeks..since he last ate, but he hasn't been eating steadily for about a month and a half...he'll eat once every two or three weeks. I don't know his weight, but it's not much. he's about 25-30 inches long. I wouldn't be so worried, if he wasn't losing weight like he is. almost his entire back is sinking in, under neath his belly scales. it looks so bad...you can see most of his spine...i wouldn't be so worried if it wasn't for that.
 
If he is close to 30 inches it COULD be love on his mind, but if he is as thin as you are saying he is and it is not because you are so worried that he appears to be that thin to you, then it may be he has something else wrong with him. IF he is as thin as you say, a trip to the vet may be the best avenue and, even if it is not serious, it will give you peace of mind to know.

Make sure that the temps are proper for his digestion. A lot of times this is the culprit that makes a snake go off feed and lose ground.

Best of luck.
 
Has he regurged? That would be a whole different story if he is doing that too.

If he has been eating occasional meals (every couple of weeks), then he really shouldn't be that thin if there is nothing else going on. If you can't get him to a good herp vet, maybe at least get a FRESH fecal sample to a regular vet to check for any possible problems they can find. A regular vet should be able to do the fecal, just don't let a cat and dog vet prescribe treatment - they can always consult by phone with a herp vet if there isn't one nearby. Fecals are not all that expensive.

Sometimes increasing light intensity and photoperiod, and heat, can stimulate feeding. But of course it depends on what the temps and light cycles are now. You don't want to cook him or blind him!
 
my corn did exactly the same thing. he ate every week on schedule with no problems and always hammered the mouse. then for no reason he stopped eating for 9 weeks.

just as i was ready to give up and take him to a local reptile sanctuary he started hitting them harder than ever.

hes been ok ever sinse even though we moved house and changed his enviroment he still didnt get stressed enough to stop eating.

just have some faith :)
 
Short...

Like others have mentioned..it could be "that time of year".

I have a '02 male Annery Hurricane Motley that has only eaten twice since I brought him out of brumation. He's only interested in the 2 females I've put him with over the last couple weeks. He has been very active tho..moves around his container a lot and has kept a pretty healthy weight.

Others here have noted important things..temps, stress, regurge.

Bottom line......if Kathy Love says get a stool sample to a vet....I'd do it.


Mike
 
My 2004 normal male, Shadow, has been on and off food since the beginning of March (when breeding started). He's not plump for his age by far but I'm not that worried about him. Have you tried all the tricks like braining, prekilled, live or scenting? If not try those, but still get a fecal done (keep in mind Kathy wrote the book on corns and knows what she's talking about - always pays to listen to her). Maybe try moving his cage to a different room or changing up his feeding schedule (leave him overnight or something). Good luck...and it would probably pay off to get that fecal.

~Katie
 
If any of my snakes refuse a meal or 2 I don't get worried. I had a female go off food for 2 months when she was a yearling for no reason I could find and she then resumed without a hitch. Your snake could just be coming up to a shed or something simple as that. One of my males ate only 2 times in the time between post bru warm up and the end of breeding season. If you haven't changed anything in a long time and temps/humidity/etc is all OK, then just let snakie go a few more weeks and don't worry about it. Don't offer food more often than every 5-6 days. If you offer too often he'll learn to be choosey. Make his feeds less frequent and he'll snatch them when they're offered.
 
His not eating isn`t the problem. My male anery ate his 1st meal in 6 months last week, a usual breeding thing.
What is a concern tho, is that if you have had him 15 months, why is he so thin, snakes can go months without seeming to lose weight.
Has he always been thin, or is it something thats happened recently?
What is the snakes history?
 
I bought him when he was about a foot long or so. He was in good shape then, he was very filled out. It's only been recent that he's really started dropping the weight. I think that when i get paid, i'll take him to the vet...it seems best.
 
shortmander said:
I think that when i get paid, i'll take him to the vet...it seems best.
Click to expand...
Better safe then sorry I suppose.:shrugs:

If you can get a picture, you should show us what you mean.
 
Is it possible that he just had a sudden growth spurt and just looks thinner because he is suddenly longer and hasn't filled out yet?
 
pinky power

Try feeding him a pinky, leave it in his cage and see if he will eat it. This sometimes stimulates the feeding habbit after a lay off.
 
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