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Male on Hunger Strike!

Nanci said:
I've got males here that have been on hunger strike for a month or two, though- it's that time of the year. None of them did it last year, but this year they are crazy!
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This is only my second spring having corn snakes, last year I only had one female (Scarlett) and she was just over a year old and did nothing out of the ordinary.

This spring I had a total of 6 in the house, 2 females and 4 males, all of them went on hunger strikes, odd behavior, and being a newbie I had no idea. The males have all chilled out, but both females laid eggs. I never expected that to happen, and unfortunately I figured it out too late with my older girl, by the time I made the lay box and put her in it, she was already almost emaciated. She laid 12 tiny eggs yesterday, crawled out of the box and died. The eggs were so tiny, I felt for them to see if she was gravid but they were too small for me to detect. The largest one was no more than the size of a marble.

So thank you, Nanci, I am glad it isn't just me, everyone is having odd behavior and it makes me feel better to know that someone with your experience is having the same reactions with their snakes, that it isn't something I did wrong.
 
For what it's worth, Rigby still hasn't eaten for the third week straight. :(
He's lost 8.7% of his weight but luckily he was a little chubby so he doesn't look too bad. Still stressful for his worried owner!
 
smigon said:
This is only my second spring having corn snakes, last year I only had one female (Scarlett) and she was just over a year old and did nothing out of the ordinary.



This spring I had a total of 6 in the house, 2 females and 4 males, all of them went on hunger strikes, odd behavior, and being a newbie I had no idea. The males have all chilled out, but both females laid eggs. I never expected that to happen, and unfortunately I figured it out too late with my older girl, by the time I made the lay box and put her in it, she was already almost emaciated. She laid 12 tiny eggs yesterday, crawled out of the box and died. The eggs were so tiny, I felt for them to see if she was gravid but they were too small for me to detect. The largest one was no more than the size of a marble.



So thank you, Nanci, I am glad it isn't just me, everyone is having odd behavior and it makes me feel better to know that someone with your experience is having the same reactions with their snakes, that it isn't something I did wrong.
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Ah jez sorry about your female :( from what I see on this forum, you take AMAZING care of your snakes, so I'm sure you did everything you could have.


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Rigby & Marcy said:
For what it's worth, Rigby still hasn't eaten for the third week straight. :(
He's lost 8.7% of his weight but luckily he was a little chubby so he doesn't look too bad. Still stressful for his worried owner!
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Yea it's super stressful! I just sit there trying to mentally WILL him to eat the mouse but no go. I'm thinking of maybe temp. Clearing out the aspen, putting in some carpeting and leaving him overnight with the mouse. I'd say I'd try rat babies, but I don't want him perm refusing mice AND I have no idea where to get them not in bulk. GL with Rigby though, hope he eats!


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I remember when my first snake did this. It was super-stressful. Do you feed him in his viv, or in a container? You can just leave him in a container for several hours, if you like. It helps to cover it up so he isn't pacing around. But really- I feed snakes his size every three weeks, and if they are blue, they don't get fed. Three weeks is nothing to worry about.
 
Nanci said:
I remember when my first snake did this. It was super-stressful. Do you feed him in his viv, or in a container? You can just leave him in a container for several hours, if you like. It helps to cover it up so he isn't pacing around. But really- I feed snakes his size every three weeks, and if they are blue, they don't get fed. Three weeks is nothing to worry about.
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I feed him in a separate container, but it's not really secure that I'd trust him in it without supervision. I'm looking to get a separate feeding tank but not sure what size I should get? Would a 10gal be ok?
I'm not really worried that he's hasn't eaten, I'm more worried about when he will start eating lol I just keep thinking that maybe he's decided to never eat again xD Silly, I know, but I treat all my animal companions like this. It's a wonder they all put up with me haha


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RedCloud said:
Ah jez sorry about your female :( from what I see on this forum, you take AMAZING care of your snakes, so I'm sure you did everything you could have.
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Thanks, RedCloud, I do try to take the best care of my snakes, this was a situation I had never thought could or would happen. I am trying not to beat myself up over this, but it is still a bummer.
 
Well as an update, I'm gonna try feed him this week. Today I was changing his water and decided to take him out to check on him, and he felt SQUISHY. Not really his neck area but more his mid body and tail. And when he moves I can kinda see his spine. Not ultra prominent but it's worrying me lol He's been all over his tank and is very active so idk why he would loose muscle tone?! He was very well behaved, no striking or anything. If anything he seemed more chill then usual, but still seemed to want to roam about like normal. Should I be worried about his squishyness?


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I think he is "squishy" from losing muscle mass, he will bulk back up. It was a weird spring, so I have some "squishy" snakes too! Just feed him, take him out often and let him explore to help with exercise. He should be fine!
 
Mine still isn't eating. He's starting to look pretty bad. :( I can say I'm proficient in braining a mouse though! Marcy was very excited about Rigby's brained leftovers. :/
 
RedCloud said:
Well as an update, I'm gonna try feed him this week. Today I was changing his water and decided to take him out to check on him, and he felt SQUISHY. Not really his neck area but more his mid body and tail. And when he moves I can kinda see his spine. Not ultra prominent but it's worrying me lol He's been all over his tank and is very active so idk why he would loose muscle tone?! He was very well behaved, no striking or anything. If anything he seemed more chill then usual, but still seemed to want to roam about like normal. Should I be worried about his squishyness?


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Click to expand...

Hold it! Are you positive he's a male? Because you are describing "jello butt" to a T. The condition a female is in right before laying eggs. I'd throw a lay box in with him ASAP- just in case...
 
Nanci said:
Hold it! Are you positive he's a male? Because you are describing "jello butt" to a T. The condition a female is in right before laying eggs. I'd throw a lay box in with him ASAP- just in case...
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Haha jello butt xD
He was sold to me as a male but I've never had a vet opinion or had him sexed in front of me. Are there any other "female" things he might be doing during this time? He has been super active and on a hunger strike so I just figured those are male things? Should I replace once of his hides with a lay box? Cause there's not much room in his Viv with the giant water dish and 2 hides lol


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Rigby & Marcy said:
Mine still isn't eating. He's starting to look pretty bad. :( I can say I'm proficient in braining a mouse though! Marcy was very excited about Rigby's brained leftovers. :/
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Jez poor guy :( I hate when any of my animals don't eat. It's so frustrating. Especially with snakes cause there's limited things to do with their food to make them eat it. At least with my cat, I can just give him some "junk" cat food and he'll chow down. Hopefully your guy snaps out of it soon :(


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smigon said:
I think he is "squishy" from losing muscle mass, he will bulk back up. It was a weird spring, so I have some "squishy" snakes too! Just feed him, take him out often and let him explore to help with exercise. He should be fine!
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Haha I hope it's just that! I keep trying to remember exactly how he felt before. Now I'm worrying so much my brain is playing tricks on me. I mean, he's def MORE squishy, but I'm having a hard time remembering if he was a little squishy in the beginning. Ah!


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I think if its a female it is restless because it's looking for somewhere to lay. Put a box with damp spagnum moss in and see if he/she takes to it.

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RedCloud said:
Should I replace once of his hides with a lay box? Cause there's not much room in his Viv with the giant water dish and 2 hides lol
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Yes, and do it ASAP. This is why I lost Snow a few weeks ago, I had no idea she needed to lay and as soon as the box went in she went in it and laid 12 tiny slugs, crawled out and died. She (if it is a she!) won't need the hides, the box is a hide in itself. I made it on the fly with a regular shoebox and put a hole on one end. If she needs to lay and needs it now, you will only need the box for a few days, once she lays you can take it out and toss it and the slugs. I will have a more appropriate box (or several!) for Scarlett (and whoever else comes along this year) for next spring.

Good luck, I hope it gets figured out soon!
 
smigon said:
Yes, and do it ASAP. This is why I lost Snow a few weeks ago, I had no idea she needed to lay and as soon as the box went in she went in it and laid 12 tiny slugs, crawled out and died. She (if it is a she!) won't need the hides, the box is a hide in itself. I made it on the fly with a regular shoebox and put a hole on one end. If she needs to lay and needs it now, you will only need the box for a few days, once she lays you can take it out and toss it and the slugs. I will have a more appropriate box (or several!) for Scarlett (and whoever else comes along this year) for next spring.



Good luck, I hope it gets figured out soon!
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Woah he/she/it is getting a hide box ASAP. Should it be make of something like cardboard or can it be see through like a humid hide? Should I put it on the warm side or cool side? If Chipotle turns out to be a female, that snake place is gonna hear it from me >.> I would rather them tell me they don't know the gender then make something up. At least then I would have had him sexed by a professional and been prepared for the situation.


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