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Hasn't eaten since December!

L

lunytnz

New member
Our 8-year-old female corn snake hasn't eaten since early December, so over 5 months now. We gave her a new home last summer and she ate regularly, every week or two, except during a shed.

I've read about hibernation/brumation and so it seems she is likely not eating because of that. She seems normal, healthy and active otherwise, though I haven't seen her out-and-about the past few days (but she might be getting ready for a shed). Not eating during hibernation seems normal, but I have to admit I'm starting to get a bit concerned (especially since it's our first experience going through this phase). Has anyone else had a corn snake not eat for over 5 months during hibernation?

And... for those of you who have been through something like this, at what point do you decide something might be wrong? If we were to take her into the vet, what would they likely do? I suspect they would say something like, "She checks out. She'll eat when she's ready" If I'm right about that, it hardly seems worth the time and money.

Thanks, in advance, for sharing your experience!
 
I don't brumate my corns at all now, and none exhibit a desire to go into hibernation. However, if the daylight hours are short, and the temps in the vivarium are cooler, that could trigger the need to hibernate. If the temps are acceptable, and the snake's vivarium has sufficient daytime light, something else is wrong. Even going off feed for awhile during breeding season wouldn't last 5 months. Veterinarians have simple routines they follow when checking a snake. They usually take the weight, palpate the snake for obvious internal tumors or obstructions, like an impaction, check the scales, check out the nostrils, listen for abnormal breathing, and check out the anal area. Some vets may take swabs to run further tests. Depending upon the vet, and your local area, costs may be reasonable or expensive. The vets in my area charge $95 for a checkup and fecal sample, if I have the feces already.
 
Thanks for the reply and the info about what to expect from a visit to the vet... we had her in the lower level in our house, which is cooler, but brought her upstairs, where it's a bit warmer, in January. Her heater is on all the time, anyway.
 
lunytnz said:
Our 8-year-old female corn snake hasn't eaten since early December, so over 5 months now. We gave her a new home last summer and she ate regularly, every week or two, except during a shed.



I've read about hibernation/brumation and so it seems she is likely not eating because of that. She seems normal, healthy and active otherwise, though I haven't seen her out-and-about the past few days (but she might be getting ready for a shed). Not eating during hibernation seems normal, but I have to admit I'm starting to get a bit concerned (especially since it's our first experience going through this phase). Has anyone else had a corn snake not eat for over 5 months during hibernation?



And... for those of you who have been through something like this, at what point do you decide something might be wrong? If we were to take her into the vet, what would they likely do? I suspect they would say something like, "She checks out. She'll eat when she's ready" If I'm right about that, it hardly seems worth the time and money.



Thanks, in advance, for sharing your experience!
Click to expand...



My adult male Corn also stopped eating around xmas ... he does this every year though .
He suddenly started eating voraciously for the last two weeks :)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
I guess it must have just been 'time'. She did shed a couple of days ago so, after that, we tried feeding her, again, and though it took over half an hour, she finally decided the mouse was tasty enough to chomp!

It sounds like it's a bit unusual for this phase to last this long, but also seems like something we can likely expect next year.

Thank you, all, for the helpful replies!
 
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