Now She's not eating....

[Snake Queen]

Hi, its me again. I tried to feed Xena after I took out the aspen shavings. She wouldn't eat. In her whole life she has never been a problem feeder. EVER!! Now she won't accept her food. I left it in there overnight, cut open the skull, and neither worked. It's only been a day since I tried, but I havent fed her in two weeks (I just moved her up to adult size mice and they are a big meal for one a week). Could it bee that the temperature suddenly dropped to around 40 degrees? (she should be used to it... I never used a heat pad with her) If there is anyone that thinks there is a problem (not eating and flaky nose), please tell me!!! I don't really need advice on getting her to eat (not yet), just comments on if her condition is serious.

PS: I know i sound frantic.... I've never had a problem with my corns before. I just dont have experience with this sort of thing. Thank you to anyone that can help me in any way.

[Iris]

40º??? Fahrenheit??? wow. How are YOU holding up in that temperature range?
What do you mean you've never used a heat pad with her? No heat source?
I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be mean or anything but I was just confused by your post. I must have misunderstood........

[Jr Nimeskern]

Same Im confused about your post also... A corn should stay in the 70-85 deg range at all times... the lower end for night and the higher end at day... this could be a problem and I mean a big problem if its that cold in there for her... but Im hoping that Im misunderstanding your post...

[Missymonkey]

if it really is 40 farenheit she may be in hibernation/brumation mode too.

[Alicia]

I'm guessing that you mean your outside temps dropped into the 40 degree range? Your inside temp surely wouldn't be that cold. If you just changed to the aspen then decided to take it out your snake will need time to adjust to all the recent changes. If she has been a good feeder then after things settle down I'm sure she will get her apetite back.

:) Alicia

[jim]

if anyone else has experience with this let me know...
i think the outside weather affects my corns feeding habits quite a bit. when cold weather is coming they eat less. my belief is that its the pressure changes that cause this not the outside temperature. (as they have no way of knowing the weather unless they are peeking out the window when my backs turned) most animals sense changing weather much more quickly than we do mainly based on humidity and barometric pressure. since snakes rely on external heat for digestion an increase in pressure normally followed by a drop in temperature probably decreases their appetite and puts them in slowdown mode. want to test this? : 1) drop the temperature of your rack by 5-6 degrees a few days before feeding and see who doesn't eat. or.... 2) watch your weather and try feeding the day a cold front is expected to move in.
let me know what you all think.... :) ---jim

[Snake Queen]

Sorry that i didn't make it more clear... the OUTSIDE temps went down to 40oF. They were around 80o for a while, and then dropped. Thank you for helping me and telling me that her feeding is relatively normal. Thanks again!