Adult Corn not Eating

Hey!

I have a female, ~2 year old, normal corn (the pic in the thumbnail). Usually she eats two adult mice a week, one right after the other. And, usually she is very happy to eat them. This is week 4 now that she has refused her mice. The first week she was in her super blue-eyed pre shed phase, so her guessed this was the reason she didn't feel like eating. However a week later (after shed) she still didn't want her mice. She has been extra active lately, and always seems to want to come out of the viv and slither around. She will smell the mouse, but then be more concerned about getting out of the viv or going around the cage. Jiggling the mouse (which usually gets her to strike it quite fast) but it has had no effect. I have not changed anything about how I thaw the mice. She has only ever had frozen. Never live.

She did eliminate once after refusing food the second time, and there was a little bit of solid material. Other than that one time just liquids (she does seem to be drinking).

I have heard that snakes go through spots of refusing food so the first two times she pushed her nose up at mice I didn't think much of it. Now that it's week four I'm getting nervous. Should I be worried? It's weird because other than being extra active she looks and acts normal :/ Does she think it's spring and is mate hunting? When do I need to consider taking her to a vet? This is the fist pet snake I have had. Worried about my little Katsu.

Thanks for reading!

While I do not know why your snake has refused some food, I can tell you that you do not need to see a vet yet. That eating pattern is normal, and sometimes snakes vary off their "normal" for a while. An adult, of that age, is not in any danger from not eating for a couple of cycles ( if I read your note correctly, it has been 4 weeks?). An adult corn can go much longer than that without food, and be healthy. It is possible that he/she is going to shed again and is just in that process. OR it is winter an he/she wants to sleep for a while.

Your snake is now an adult and she may be trying to get ready to breed. During winter, prior to breeding, corns often go dormant. This could be nothing more than that. But more experienced folks will chime in soon ;-)

Yes, you read correct. This is week 4 of not eating. Alright, I won't worry too much yet. She did eliminate a little bit again, and I think I will hold onto that in a lil' baggy just in case I do need to take her to the vet.

Thank you for your response!

That really sounds like mating behavior to me, although its a trifle early for it. I'd suggest putting a humid hide in with her, she could possibly be carrying infertile eggs and might be looking for a place to lay them. So it would be a good idea to make sure to give her a good spot to lay them in just in case. That's a little young for a female to do that but not unheard of. Or she could just be interested in finding a male.

I have one female that goes off feed from around late Feb - mid March sometimes until August each year for breeding season. I'd thought she was a male, unsexed pet store snake, up until 2013 when she laid a clutch of infertile eggs. So that kind of seasonal feeding strike is more common with males but some females will do it too.
An otherwise healthy adult or near adult, can easily go several months without eating, without harm. Unless she starts to lose weight rapidly, I wouldn't worry about it.

Several months! Wow. Maybe just the tiniest bit thinner but looks super healthy.
And EGGS? Is this something I should be expecting? (If not now, then when she is older?) ...Do I just throw them away? Will they make a big mess in the cage?

Thanks Tavia

Some females, if not ever bred, can go their whole lives without laying a single clutch. Others may lay one or two in their life time. And then there is the rare individual that lays one or even sometimes two, every single year that they are mature. So she may or may not ever lay eggs.

But it is probably best to give a female a lay box, which is pretty much just a humid hide, just in case once they start getting 2 or 3 years old around this time of year. The possible problem with a female laying infertile eggs is that if she can't find a good spot to lay them, she might hold onto them too long and become egg bound, which could be deadly for her.
Otherwise it's not really a problem. If she ever lays any, they can just be thrown away. You'll want to keep watch on her if she does lay any, that she doesn't retain any. It's kind of hard to see eggs in a snake before they start to lay them, though the very experienced breeders can but once some are laid, it becomes obvious usually if any are still in there.

Thank you Tavia! This is good to know. This is my first pet snake so she gets pampered, but also quite fretted over. Her normal hide is not any more humid that the rest of the cage, so perhaps I will put a more sealed tupperware box in there. Should I buy sphagnum moss, or can I improvise with papertowels, or washcloths and such? Should I leave the regular hide in there as well or can the damp hide be the only hide for awhile? And how long should I keep it in there?
Sorry for all the questions! And thanks for the help.

Moss works best but damp paper towels will do in a pinch. You can have both hides in there, as long as both fit. I'd probably keep the lay box in at least a month, maybe as many as 3 months, just to be safe.

Thank you Thank you Thank you! <3

Tavia said:

That really sounds like mating behavior to me, although its a trifle early for it. I'd suggest putting a humid hide in with her, she could possibly be carrying infertile eggs and might be looking for a place to lay them. So it would be a good idea to make sure to give her a good spot to lay them in just in case. That's a little young for a female to do that but not unheard of. Or she could just be interested in finding a male.

I have one female that goes off feed from around late Feb - mid March sometimes until August each year for breeding season. I'd thought she was a male, unsexed pet store snake, up until 2013 when she laid a clutch of infertile eggs. So that kind of seasonal feeding strike is more common with males but some females will do it too.
An otherwise healthy adult or near adult, can easily go several months without eating, without harm. Unless she starts to lose weight rapidly, I wouldn't worry about it.

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I agree with this, love is in the air, and if it is anything like last year all the kiddos will be bonkers. My females struck at the glass, the males couldn't sit still for a second (I swore Bootsie would wear a hole in the glass from "pacing" back and forth), good eaters suddenly were on hunger strikes and they were all just, well, weird. And it wasn't just me, many breeders and keepers said the same thing all over the country (I don't remember if anyone on the other side of the world had bizarre behavior like we did here in the US)

And with your girl, definitely get a lay box ready. My 13 year old Snow kept "telling" me what she needed, I didn't understand her language yet, when I found slugs in another girl's viv I made a mad dash to get Snow a lay box, she went in and two days later died crawling out. She laid about 13 tiny slugs and passed away. It was a learning experience, and I hope my experience helps you and others!