Snake afraid of f/t mouse

So, I own two adult corns. One female, and one I believe is male. They are around the same age, kept in separate cages but same environment (temps, bedding, humidity). The only difference between the two is I got the female from a breeder and I got the (?)male from Petsmart. Perhaps that was my mistake. They didn't have any information on him, not even a hatch date.

With that being said, back in late April, the male cornsnake stopped eating. I didn't worry about it because I figured it might have been breeding season. Also, it's not the first time one of them refused food.

It is now August. He refuses to eat and he's obviously lost weight. I haven't changed how I heat the food, only how I present it. They got too big for their feeding cage so I started feeding them in their vivs. The female eats fine. I leave the mouse overnight and hers is gone. She poops and sheds and is at a healthy weight.

If it was just a husbandry issue, then I would think the female would've stopped feeding too.

Anyway, I tried to feed the male last night and he licked the mouse, flinched away, then darted. I left it in the tank overnight and it wasn't touched. He's never been fed a live mouse so I don't know where this fear is suddenly coming from. I've tried braining the mouse (though maybe I didn't do it quite right), heating the head with a hairdryer, I've put him in the feeding tank and covered it with a towel. Nothing.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm trying so hard to be a good snake mom and I think I'll break down if he dies.

See if you can get access to quail chicks. Anything to get him started eating. Since he's losing weight, I'd start with just a day old chick.
You should also schedule a vet visit to make sure there's nothing going wrong internally.

If i was you i would double check everythink, and try to feed in 5-6 days, what was the last shed like? was it a full or partial

failing that i would take a trip to the vets just to be on the safe side...

Hope the lil fella gets better.

Okay, I just ordered some quail chicks. They'll be here in a couple days so I'll try it then.

If he doesn't eat it, I'll get a vet appointment. I'm really low on funds. Does anyone know what they typically charge for a check-up?

Also, his last shed was full. But I can't for the life of me remember when it was. Not that this is an excuse, but my friend died unexpectedly back in May and I was living in a haze I only recently crawled out of. My note taking skills have been lacking.

i have no idea what they will charge in the USA for a vet im in the uk so its different i give my corns day old chicks as a treat just to keep things different, sorry to hear about your freind! hope things get better !

Okay, I went ahead and scheduled a vet appointment for him on Monday. We'll see what happens.

Good luck let us know how you get on

StayWithMeArienette said:

....... Anyway, I tried to feed the male last night and he licked the mouse, flinched away, then darted. I left it in the tank overnight and it wasn't touched. He's never been fed a live mouse so I don't know where this fear is suddenly coming from...........
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm trying so hard to be a good snake mom and I think I'll break down if he dies.

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Just because the snake did not eat the mouse does not mean he's afraid of it. In fact I'll go on record right now and say he's not. There is something else going on.

He could be sick, internal parasites, infection, shed issues, temp issues, there are a lot of reason a snake may refuse food. Fearing the mouse is not likely to be it.

I'd take him to a qualified reptile vet.

Karl sometimes they do develop aversions though I definitely agree it's not likely in this case. But quail can get them started again. A vet visit is definitely a first order of business.
My Eugene refuses any and all mice in my care (he ate mice for his previous owner) but will eat quail and rats. And my snake Ratbait had a rodent aversion from years of being feed live rats while blind. If he smelled them he would jerk and flee. But he would take quail and time, scenting, and patience got him on f/t rats after 18 months.

Shiari said:

Karl sometimes they do develop aversions though I definitely agree it's not likely in this case. But quail can get them started again. A vet visit is definitely a first order of business.
My Eugene refuses any and all mice in my care (he ate mice for his previous owner) but will eat quail and rats. And my snake Ratbait had a rodent aversion from years of being feed live rats while blind. If he smelled them he would jerk and flee. But he would take quail and time, scenting, and patience got him on f/t rats after 18 months.

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Just got to say well done on the progress you made on Ratbait

Shiari said:

Karl sometimes they do develop aversions though I definitely agree it's not likely in this case. But quail can get them started again. A vet visit is definitely a first order of business.
My Eugene refuses any and all mice in my care (he ate mice for his previous owner) but will eat quail and rats. And my snake Ratbait had a rodent aversion from years of being feed live rats while blind. If he smelled them he would jerk and flee. But he would take quail and time, scenting, and patience got him on f/t rats after 18 months.

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nobody mentioned "aversion."

I have an aversion to Liver, but I'm not afraid of it.

The original post stated their corn snake was afraid of mice. That's just silly. Especially since the snake has eaten before.

Take the entire post, the fact the snake won't eat, noticeable loss of weight. This is not a fear of mice, there is something wrong. I simply stated take the snake to a vet. That's what I would do.

Ratbait, when fully healed, did not eat for 9 (the point where I first offered quail) months. He had an aversion... a fear response to the scent of rodent. He got bit in the face and was covered in scars. He lost weight. Not tons, but about 200 grams off of a 1300 gram snake.

I also said that this was not likely the case for the OPs snake, just that it is something that can occur. I also told the OP to take the snake to a vet. I was just bringing up some additional information. Many animals can develop an aversion to certain foods if they feel ill after eating it. My last dog was all "oo, what's that?" and licked wasabi. After that, if I brought sushi home with wasabi paste, he'd start drooling and run. Having had the experience of consuming rotten coconut milk, coconut now makes me feel nauseous. Studies have been done on rats showing they develop such aversions as well. And it's a real issue when treating ill cats because they form food aversions super easily.

While this is a snake and not as complicated mentally, they are capable of learning and forming associations. If something is wrong with the snake (very possible, very likely in fact) and it ate a rodent and then felt particularly sick, it might no longer want mice. Normally a snake that just doesn't want to eat doesn't dart away from a f/t mouse. They just ignore it. So something unusual is going on with this snake, which is why a vet visit is of prime importance. But novel foods might also tempt it eat, hence recommending quail as well.

UPDATE: I dropped Max off at the vet this morning. He had an incomplete shed last night. We'll see how the exam goes.

I'm sorry for being "silly". This is just the first time he's done something like this and I didn't know how else to describe the reaction. I'll update my vocabulary in case it happens again with him or the other snake.

StayWithMeArienette said:

UPDATE: I dropped Max off at the vet this morning. He had an incomplete shed last night. We'll see how the exam goes.

I'm sorry for being "silly". This is just the first time he's done something like this and I didn't know how else to describe the reaction. I'll update my vocabulary in case it happens again with him or the other snake.

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You should'nt feel the need to apologies for your vocabulary it isnt your fault someone didnt understand what you ment, they should of asked you to be more specific if they didnt understand, instead of coming to an assumption

Max pooped at the vet so they tested it and everything came back fine. It just might be a husbandry issue that didn't affect him until now. So I bought a infrared thermometer and will make sure his high temps are where they should be.

Question though: I've been so confused by info on here. Should it be 85 on the top of the substrate or 85 on the glass? My snakes like to burrow to the glass so I'm afraid of burning them on accident.

StayWithMeArienette said:

Max pooped at the vet so they tested it and everything came back fine. It just might be a husbandry issue that didn't affect him until now. So I bought a infrared thermometer and will make sure his high temps are where they should be.

Question though: I've been so confused by info on here. Should it be 85 on the top of the substrate or 85 on the glass? My snakes like to burrow to the glass so I'm afraid of burning them on accident.

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I have mine kept at 86F with the thermostat's temprature sensor right on top of the heat matt and substrate on top..

So if your heat matt is under the glass then your thermostats temp sensor should be directly on-top of the glass with the substrate ontop, your temps can be anywere between 85f-88f

UPDATE:

Max didn't have any parasites. He got two rounds of injections and has one more scheduled on Monday. But today, he took the quail chick!! He licked it a couple times, I wiggles it, and he struck!! I can't even explain how happy I am.

I'm going to keep giving him the quail chicks for a while. I have 24 left. Does anyone have any suggestions for when I should reintroduce mice?

Have a bag where you store some of the mice and quail together, so they'll get the scent of the other on them. Maybe 5 and 5? After he's eaten 3 or 4 times consistently, offer one of the quail stored with the mice. If he's willing to eat several of those without issue, try offering a quail scented mouse.