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Picky eater, a rat snake that won't eat rats.

S

sgbrandon

New member
I've had my captive born corn snake for several years, raised him from a little under two feet long to nearly five feet long.

Over the years, gradually went from small mice to small rats (always frozen) and always a happy eater.

But five months ago, he just cold turkey stopped eating rats. Completely ignores and rejects them. I have had to revert back to mice, which he scarfs up.

I have tried a few different sources; so it is not a matter of simply being a bad batch.

As we know, corns snakes are a type of rat snake. So, I have a rat snake that won't eat rats.

As larger snakes get better nutrition from rats, I would like to solve this problem. Anybody have any idea why my rat snake won't eat rats any more?
 
No idea why he might have changed his mind, but he'll be fine on mice. With breeding season starting, that might dampen his appetite, but if it's been already going on for 5 months, then that probably isn't the issue.
 
hi Brandon,

I'm new here too. Why do you say "larger snakes get better nutrition from rats"? Do you mean more nutrition because rats are bigger than mice?

"Corns snakes are a type of rat snake. So, I have a rat snake that won't eat rats." LOL maybe that's too literal of an interpretation. "Rat Snake" sounds better than "Mouse Snake" but I would be willing to bet a temp-gun that almost all species of "rat snakes" evolved on mice (and squirrels, chipmunks, and birds/eggs) not rats.

The rats that have been fed to captive reptiles during the last 50 years are domesticated Brown Rats (Rattus norvegicus) even though they are all different colors today, and are from China, not from America where "rat snakes" are from. They came to America about 200 years ago but have and still do mostly inhabit urban areas and most wild Corns probably live their entire lives without ever eating one.

The domesticated mice that are fed to captive reptiles are much more similar to the wild mice that Corns evolved on than any kind of rat. Do you raise your own feeders or buy them? Gram per gram mice are less expensive than rats. Offer 2 mice instead of 1 rat, or feed a mouse every 3-4 days instead of 1 rat every week.
 
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