Can shedding make snakes feed-shy...?

[Lycari]

I thought I had done my research before I bought my snakey, but I guess there was a gap in my education....

My lovely little snakey Saga has been a good, aggressive eater since her first meal, if I remember what Heather (nwheather here) told me correctly. Her iHerp page shows that she refused for the first time ever just before she went into blue in October. She had shed and was eating well again when I picked her up the weekend before Halloween.

On the 23rd of November, she refused the two pinkies I offered hr and went into blue shortly thereafter. I did not attempt to feed her while she was in blue; she shed on December 1st. I offered her two pinkies the same way I always had the next night: hot, still wet, simply offerred with tweezers/chopsticks. She showed no more interest than she had when she refused before going into shed. Finally, I slit the belly of one of the pinkies. She still wasn't interested. As an experiment, I left her alone with both pinkies--one slit, one not--overnight. By morning, the slit one was gone, the other untouched, and Saga curled up as far away from it as she could get.

Tonight, I tried something different. I thawed the pinkies one at a time and made sure she ate one before thawing and offering the other. She still wasn't much interested in them when simply presented with the mouse, no matter how much I wiggled it around. Finally, I slit the belly and left her alone with it in a dark room for an hour. That worked, so I did the same for the second pinkie and it was eaten too.

What bothers me about this is that she used to strike, and sometimes even constrict, and she never had a problem eating in front of people, nor did she ever need me to do anything to the pinkie before she would eat it. This all started after that shed--her first shed with me (which was perfect; all in one piece, tail tip and eye caps present). Could the shed have made her shy about feeding for some reason?

(And yes, the meal size and source is the same as it was before her shed: two large pinkies, every six to seven days as according to the Munson plan as she weighs around 20g, purchased recently from Layne Labs.)

 

[bitsy]

Their habits tend to change over time when they're youngsters.

The vast majority of Corns don't need to be hand-fed - and some actively dislike it. I think from now on, you just need to leave her alone with the food and let her get on with her meal.

Striking and constricting are also individual behaviours. A couple of mine still do it as adults, but the majority don't. It isn't necessary with defrosted mice and it goes against a cold-blooded animal's instinct to waste precious energy.

A Corn that eats - any way at all! - is a happy Corn. I'm afraid you're just going to have less interactive feeding times from now on.

 

[Christen]

They can change their habits but it could also be the time of year. Our temps are cooler and our days are shorter. Which usually encourages them to brumate so she might not want to eat at this time but when you slit it you are making it irresistible for her. So I wouldn't worry about her to much just yet.

 

[Nanci]

Some snakes just aren't very thrilled about multiple prey items. Many snakes refuse when blue, and in my experience there is a definite relationship between feeding a snake when blue and the snake regurging, so I avoid feeding blue snakes. It all sounds within the normal range of behaviour to me. Sometimes you have to discover what suits a snake best in terms of how it wants its meals presented and then offer them that way, and be open to change if the snake changes its routine.

 

[MysticExotics]

I have a few that have refused, & then within a couple days start turning blue. That's pretty normal.

One of my normal siblings from the Miami Tessera is refusing the second pinkie as well. Also, one of Saga's siblings has refused more lately, & I think it's the season. He's also a very shy eater & will never eat the pinky until after I leave the snake room.