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Adult Not Eating

Dr. Zed
03-17-2016, 06:34 PM
Well my 4 year old male stopped eating about 18 days ago. After about 10 days I noticed his eyes cloud over and attributed his refusals to shed. All and fine.

Last night he shed - perfect, 1 piece. Tonight he ignored his meal again, I was disappointed as most info says he would be ready to eat again.

I have had him about 6 weeks or so and he was eating fine.

Right now I have put him in a separate cage with a hide and a mouse (he eats dead defrosted ones) and left him in the dark. Up till now I have fed him in a separate cage by hand (forceps) with no issues.

I have read posts of owners cutting the mouse to increase scent.

What else can I do?

Thanks
Graham

Zimmer
03-17-2016, 06:50 PM
Very common for boys to be distracted from food during breeding season, he can go quite awhile without eating before it's time to worry.... just keep offering every week or 2!

Karl_Mcknight
03-17-2016, 07:13 PM
A snake can live many months without food. 18 days is nothing.

My snake went almost 5 weeks without eating one time. He's fine.

Give your snake a few days, and try to feed again.

blacktip
03-18-2016, 06:23 PM
My male went on a 3 month hunger strike last year at this time and stopped eating again 3 weeks ago. I think this will be an annual thing from here on out

Nanci
03-19-2016, 10:29 AM
Also, sometimes they just aren't ready to eat the day of or the day after shedding. I wouldn't worry about it at all. Instead of going crazy with feeding tricks, just wait a week and offer a piping hot mouse. You can slit it a couple times if you want, but I wouldn't do that routinely with an adult. Well- it won't hurt anything if you do.

I didn't used to slit my mice. Then I read the study and decided to start. My snakes went CRAZY. Now I start hatchlings on slit mice, for digestive/growth purposes, but their third meal is always unslit, just to make sure they'll eat that, in case their future owner doesn't want to slit.

Zimmer
03-19-2016, 03:20 PM
Also, sometimes they just aren't ready to eat the day of or the day after shedding. I wouldn't worry about it at all. Instead of going crazy with feeding tricks, just wait a week and offer a piping hot mouse. You can slit it a couple times if you want, but I wouldn't do that routinely with an adult. Well- it won't hurt anything if you do.

I didn't used to slit my mice. Then I read the study and decided to start. My snakes went CRAZY. Now I start hatchlings on slit mice, for digestive/growth purposes, but their third meal is always unslit, just to make sure they'll eat that, in case their future owner doesn't want to slit.

Any chance you could link that study? Would be very interested in reading.it... thanks :)

Dr. Zed
03-22-2016, 09:15 PM
Thank-you all for the helpful advice.

i tried again on the regular feeding cycle to no avail but I am no longer as concerned. I just make sure to offer it to him first so my female (Ruby) can have it otherwise.

On a different note (pun intended) I discovered they respond to music! Bear with me as I have owned corn snakes (Two 4-year adults) for only about 2 months. You will all probably be well aware that certain music disturbs them. Ruby was out of her hide with her head held up by the front of the cage while the male (in the cage below) had his head out of his hide and opened his mouth like a wide yawn. I quickly realized this is not a good response and turned it off. Ruby soon returned to a hide. Anyone have comments or experiences similar to this?

Nanci
03-23-2016, 06:19 AM
Any chance you could link that study? Would be very interested in reading.it... thanks :)

I think it's gone forever. There used to be another cornsnake forum, that split off from here in disagreement. The data used to be here, and then moved to that other site, but we could still track it down. Then, a couple years ago, I guess, that site went off line.

The study was conducted by a vet, Connie Hurley, wife of Chuck Pritzel. They were also the authors of The Cornsnake Morph Guide, and Genetics for Herpers.