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Help! My snake isn't eating!

Dolemite
06-20-2008, 10:51 PM
Hi there, guys. I have a little problem with my corn snake, Scooter.

Scooter is a little over a year old and is about (maybe) 2 1/2 feet long. He's always eaten like clockwork with no problems. lately I've been feeding him one adult mouse a week and he's been eating them fine. However, recently, there's been a slight problem- it's getting close to three weeks, and he hasn't eaten! I've always fed him frozen mice with no problem, but suddnely one day he went up the mouse, then turned and slithered off as if he wasn't hungry. This has happened several times in a row over the past three weeks.

I'll try to offer as much info as possible. I keep him in a 20 gallon long tank with Aspen as bedding. I change his water ever day. The loss of appitite came about the same time as the weather started getting warmer. I reduced the wattaqge of the light bulb I use for heating the one end of his tank down to 40 watts (keeping the warm end between 80-85 and the cool end around 70-75). I had recently increased the amount of bedding I was putting in the tank so he'd have more to burrow in.

Anyway, about the same time his appitite went away, his behavior changed slightly. Previously, he never moved much in his tank. He's usually go under his log or into his paper towel roll and just hang out. But recently he's far more active, burrowing a lot and moving around the tank often. He's also climbing his little tree a lot and getting up near the mesh top of his tank, as if he was looking for a way out. he's never done that before either. He still hangs out in his log sometimes, but like I said, he's way more active.

He still seems healthy- he moves around plenty when I take him out, and he flicks his tounge all the time (I think I read that's a sign of good health). However, he's lost a little weight (nothing drastic). I've read that corns can go a long time without eating, but I'm still getting worried. A friend gave me the phone number of a good reptile-specific vet. I was wondering if this behavior is normal (he was given to me in September of last year, so this is my first summer owning him), or should I gvie the vet a call on Monday and take him in to be looked at?

Any help would be appreciated. Scotter is a awesome little guy and I love him a lot. I can see now why you guys love your corns so much.

Thanks.

krtemt
06-20-2008, 11:09 PM
have you tried piercing the prey's head with a clean needle? I heard that works. or you could try warming it up alittle bit more. or as my friend suggested you can get a pair of feeding forceps and try and entice the snake.

alan
06-20-2008, 11:31 PM
If he's that big he can go for a bit without eating. I think it may be a seasonal/breeding/other interests hunger strike. Just watch his weight, offer food each week. My female went for 2 months once, others longer.
(I don't think you need exclamation points for at least another couple weeks, but if you're worried, ask.)

Mysfitz
06-20-2008, 11:34 PM
3 weeks isn't that long to a snake, if he seems healthy active etc just keep offering every 7-10 days, he may be on a hunger strike due to breeding season.
a bit late in the year but...

you can get him checked if it makes you feel better but as long as he appears healthy, is active and is not loosing a fair amount of weight, i'd just give him a couple of more weeks.

are you weighting him or going by look/feel as to him loosing weight?

Dolemite
06-22-2008, 12:48 PM
If he's that big he can go for a bit without eating. I think it may be a seasonal/breeding/other interests hunger strike. Just watch his weight, offer food each week. My female went for 2 months once, others longer.
(I don't think you need exclamation points for at least another couple weeks, but if you're worried, ask.)Whew. This post makes me feel A LOT better. I've been stressing like mad the past few days. Thanks.

you can get him checked if it makes you feel better but as long as he appears healthy, is active and is not loosing a fair amount of weight, i'd just give him a couple of more weeks.

are you weighting him or going by look/feel as to him loosing weight?Just going by look/feel. He doesn't look much thinner than usual but I do notice a little difference when I pick him up. Still, like I said above, he's active, constantly slithering around, burrowing up and down, etc. I guess if he was sick he'd probably just lay around doing nothing, right?

I guess I'll hold off on the vet for now, keep offering him mice, and just keep an eye on him.

Thanks for the responses, guys, I really appreciate it. I'll try to post some pics of Scooter later, he's really cute. Is there a specific thread for that?

snakewispera snr
06-22-2008, 01:02 PM
If he's a corn put it in the gallery.......The advice you have been given is sound...Don't worry.

patm1313
06-22-2008, 02:03 PM
Have you recently switched mouse suppliers?

tradernick
06-22-2008, 06:01 PM
Don't sweat it if he sometimes goes on hunger strikes. I've got an adult male that hasn't eaten for 3 months. They often go "off schdedule" for different reasons...sheds and love-seeking are two of the main ones that I've experienced.

Nick

patm1313
06-22-2008, 07:44 PM
Don't sweat it if he sometimes goes on hunger strikes. I've got an adult male that hasn't eaten for 3 months. They often go "off schdedule" for different reasons...sheds and love-seeking are two of the main ones that I've experienced.

Nick

I think that three months may be pushing it even for an adult corn... :shrugs:

Roy Munson
06-22-2008, 07:56 PM
I think that three months may be pushing it even for an adult corn... :shrugs:

I have a couple of males that fast for nearly three months every breeding season. They never lose more than 10 or 15g, and they make that up in just a few weeks after they resume eating.

Dolemite
06-22-2008, 08:15 PM
Again, thanks for the help, guys. I really appreciate it. I'll keep everyone posted.

Have you recently switched mouse suppliers?Nope. I've always gotten my mice at PetCo. They sell nice little three-packs.

akai06
06-28-2008, 09:08 AM
Is the hunger strike for love thing a male issue or females as well???

FunkyRes
06-28-2008, 09:47 AM
Is the hunger strike for love thing a male issue or females as well???

Males tend to do it, and I've personally found (small sample size) that they will sometimes get back on feed faster if there are not any females in the same room.

Dolemite
06-28-2008, 02:01 PM
It's been about 3 1/2 weeks now. I calland spoke to a reptile vet. After I relayed Scooter's behavior to him the vet wasn't worried at all. He told me to wait another week or two and if he still hasn't eaten to bring him in.

A good sign, though- Scoot still drinks from his water bowl, so at least he's staying hydrated. :)

luschen
06-29-2008, 10:26 AM
Dolemite, please let me know what happens with your snake / what the vet says, etc. I have almost the exact same situation with my snake. It seems like as soon as it got hotter, she quit eating and lies sprawled out in her cage instead of curled in her hide like she used to. It seems like she might be too hot, but her cage temps are 77 / 87, which seems pretty good to me. Mine is a female though, not a male, but both our snakes seemed to quit eating at the same time.

Weebonilass
06-29-2008, 11:18 AM
I have a couple of males that fast for nearly three months every breeding season. They never lose more than 10 or 15g, and they make that up in just a few weeks after they resume eating.

Yup, Kieran does that also. He just ate last week for the first since I think 3/2. My reptile vet does recommend bringing them in if they go over four for a check-up.

Also, make sure you are only offering him a meal once a week. If he refuses, make him wait another week before offering anything again.

I'd also get a scale that measures grams and weigh him, so you can report any additional weight loss if you end up having to take him in. That's one of the first questions a vet will ask you, or at least in my experience it is. Our senses can be notariously wrong.

Good luck.

Dolemite
07-01-2008, 01:10 AM
Dolemite, please let me know what happens with your snake / what the vet says, etc. I have almost the exact same situation with my snake. It seems like as soon as it got hotter, she quit eating and lies sprawled out in her cage instead of curled in her hide like she used to. It seems like she might be too hot, but her cage temps are 77 / 87, which seems pretty good to me. Mine is a female though, not a male, but both our snakes seemed to quit eating at the same time.You and I seem to be in the same exact situation. Scoot used to hide in his cage, but once it got hotter out, he's doing the same thing your snake is- he's not eating, he lies around out in the open instead of hiding, and when he's not lying around he's far more active than usual, climbing around his tree and plant and burrowing all over the place. He's acting so differently, but he's still gentle and friendly when I take him out to play.

I'll make sure to keep you up on my/his progress. I'm going to try to feed him again tomorrow. If he doesn't eat again, I'll give the vet another call just to be on the safe side.

tradernick
07-01-2008, 07:23 AM
I think Scooter will eat when he's hungry. Keep us posted here. My adule male finally ate this week, after a hunger strike of nearly 4 months.

Dolemite
07-01-2008, 08:23 PM
GOOD NEWS! Scooter finally ate tonight!

He's not 100% back to normal, but it's a start. One of my bosses at work is a snake owner as well and suggested trying to feed Scoot a fuzzy instead of an adumt mouse, just for a switch. I bought a 3 pack of fuzzies last week and offered one to Scooter, but as usual, he sniffed and and slithered away to go exploring under my bedsheets instead. So tonight I figured that I would just thaw out the 2 remaining fuzzies just to get rid of them. I figured it wouldn't be as big a waste when he didn't eat than throwing out yet another adult mouse. Besides, if he actually ate one, I could try feeding him the other one and that might come close enough to a full adult mouse.

So, I thaw out the 2 fuzzies and put one on the tray I feed Scoot on. Again, he showed no interest, but I decide not to give up so easily this time. I gently held Scooter by his neck and wiggled his nose right by the fuzzy, and shockingly, he suddenly attacked and ate it! He even coiled around it! It was actually funny, I remember feeding him his first fuzzy months and months ago and all the trouble he had getting it down, but now that he's bigger he had no problem finishing that sucker off in no time. I then offered him the second fuzzy, but try as I might, I couldn't get him to eat it. Still, it was a major relief just to get him to eat anything- it's been just over 4 weeks, now.

So, I changed the water in his bowl and placed him back in his cage to digest. I figure I'll wait until the weekend and try an adult mouse this time. I'll keep you all posted. But I feel a lot less stressed. :)

Thanks again one and all for your concern.

I think Scooter will eat when he's hungry. Keep us posted here. My adule male finally ate this week, after a hunger strike of nearly 4 months.FOUR MONTHS? Holy crap. That's crazy.

Dolemite
07-13-2008, 10:06 PM
Another positive update- tonight, Scooter ate a full adult mouse with no problem and no prompting on my part. I just put the thawed out mouse on his feeding tray and we went right for it. Whew. I'm very happy. :) :)

tricksterpup
07-13-2008, 11:15 PM
Another positive update- tonight, Scooter ate a full adult mouse with no problem and no prompting on my part. I just put the thawed out mouse on his feeding tray and we went right for it. Whew. I'm very happy. :) :)

you got to remember, in the wild, one of these guys would be lucky to eat once every 3 month. In captivity the Snakes do very well on a weekly to bi-weekly feeding. Glad your guy is doing fantastic and eating again. The only time when I worry about one of my snakes not eating is when they are under 6 months of age.
You want non feeders, own a Ball python. Heck, I even had a hognose that went on a hunger strike from November to April, talk about nerve racking. Now he is my biggest pig. lol

FunkyRes
07-14-2008, 01:40 AM
I'm glad to hear he's eating well again - from your original description, I suspect he may have switched into breeding mode and some males just don't eat at all until mating season is over.

Dolemite
07-14-2008, 10:55 AM
you got to remember, in the wild, one of these guys would be lucky to eat once every 3 month. In captivity the Snakes do very well on a weekly to bi-weekly feeding.Thanks for the advice. When he was eating normally I was feeding him an adult mouse once a week. I'm glad that I can be a little looser with that schedule and not cause him any problems. This is my first corn and all this is obviously new to me. Thanks again.

I'm glad to hear he's eating well again - from your original description, I suspect he may have switched into breeding mode and some males just don't eat at all until mating season is over.Scooter's a year and 3 months old. Is that old enough to go into breeding mode?

ghosthousecorns
07-14-2008, 11:08 AM
GOOD NEWS! Scooter finally ate tonight!
... offered one to Scooter, but as usual, he sniffed and and slithered away to go exploring under my bedsheets instead... I gently held Scooter by his neck and wiggled his nose right by the fuzzy, and shockingly, he suddenly attacked and ate it! He even coiled around it! .

Can you describe your feeding technique a bit more? From these two statements it sounds like you are standing over the snake the whole time and don't have him in a container with the mouse. I could be wrong... I'm not awake yet. But if you have him out in the open to feed I think you might have better results by feeding inside a tub and leaving the snake alone while it decides if it wants to eat. They can be shy and get distracted by stuff as well.

diamondlil
07-14-2008, 11:16 AM
I'm with Jen on this, feeding a snake in the open (on your bed?) wouldn't really be the ideal method. Have you tried a ventilated feeding tub that you can leave the snake undisturbed in, with the thawed mouse?

FunkyRes
07-14-2008, 04:45 PM
Scooter's a year and 3 months old. Is that old enough to go into breeding mode?

Yes. It may be a bit on the early side, but certainly possible.

Dolemite
07-14-2008, 05:13 PM
No, I don't feed him on my bed! That'd be gross. :)

I have a HUGE tin serving tray with raised edges that I feed him on. I usually put the mouse on one end, Scooter on the other, and just kinda hang back and make sure that he grabs the mouse and starts eating. Once he starts gobbling, I usually go off and clean his cage or do other things, as I know he's going to be busy for a while and the tray is big enough that us almost never leaves it while eating. I've feeding him this way the entire time I've owned him (since last August) and he's never even hesitated to eat a mouse before this odd little break. He seems very comfortable around me- he's never ever tried to bite me or scurry away when I pick him up to play or anything.

Yes. It may be a bit on the early side, but certainly possible.That's my boy!