She only eats when he's gone??

Hello all, I have enjoyed reading posts made by others but haven't posted in a while, til now. I am having some difficultly feeding October, my son's corn snake and am looking for advice.

We got the snake last October and she wasn't really that great of an eater until we read on the forum that some snakes like the rat really hot. So, after thawing it out, we ran very hot water over it and gave it to her and she would usually eat it. She eats in a cardboard box so she can be private and won't bite our hands in the future. Anyway, my son went to visit his grandparents in January so I was left to feed the snake on my own. I was actually out of rats, so went to petsmart and they too were out, so picked up two cartons of large mice instead. (She previously ate small rats with her original owner and that's what we were feeding her, every two to three weeks).

I went to feed her but she *kind of* creeps me out (sorry! but I just can't get over it!) so I decided to remove her hides and feed her on a paper plate in her cage. She immediately went after the mouse and ate it up. I'd never seen her eat that happily before, so I was very pleased with both of us. I decided to try and feed her in one week because the mice are so much smaller than the rats. Again, she went right for the mouse without hesitation. This went on until she ate them all and I headed to petsmart to get some rats. They were still out, so I just got more mice and October continued to eat really well.

So, my son returned from his trip Feb 25th and to date, the snake will NOT eat. I was very surprised considering how well she had been doing, so we waited a couple days and I watched him try again to see if he was doing something weird or whatever, but it's not like dropping a dead mouse on a plate is rocket science... Anyway, she barely smelled it. We've tried putting her in a box to eat, turning the lights out and leaving the room and feeding her in her cage, cool mice, warm mice, hot mice, finally bought some small rats and tried that. Nothing is working and I don't understand it.

It seems the logical conclusion is that she doesn't like the activity in the room because really that's the only difference. When the boys were gone, she was alone in the room except when I changed her water or fed her. I am pretty positive she isn't about to shed, she just did that a month ago. Her activity level seems to be the same - not that I watched her constantly before but whatever, she moves around.

Sooo, any tricks of the trade you can share with me? I'm worried about her and my poor kid is heartbroken that she won't accept meals from him. I'm not sure what can be done if she just likes her privacy - my son's room is the only place she can be.

I would so appreciate anyone's help! And thank you so much for taking the time to read this novel about our little mouse snob!

I could only say what you've sorta concluded yourself. That she doesn't really like the activity in the room. I don't know what else I could say, she might get used to the activity again.

It could also be the time of year. She may be ovulating or even getting ready to lay a clutch of infertile eggs. Or she could be miss-sexed and is actually a male that is just going through the typical male "spring fever". As long as she acts fine and looks healthy, a few skipped meals won't be an issue. She'll soon eat when she's hungry enough.

Thanks for the replies! I'll just keep an eye on her. My son refuses to believe she might possibly be a male, so hopefully *she* will regain her appetite soon enough.