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A year and 1/2 snake not eating

P

psmith

New member
Hi there,

I have a female corn snake (according to the shop where I bought the snake, they told me the snake is a female). I have had the snake now for a year and a half.
She has always had a good appetite (eating 4- 5 small mice per week), during winter, her eating habit was reduced to about 2 small mice per week but she was eating during winter.

I had originally kept her in a 1 foot by half a foot tank, but she got big. I have recently built her a tank that is now approx 4 feet long x 1.5 feet wide x 2 feet high. I have placed a rock, 30 cm diameter water bowl that is shallow and a branch for the snake. there are 2 heating pads on the on side of the tank, away from the water. the temperature is regulated at approx 26.5 degrees during the day and it drops to 22 degrees at night.
Since the snake is in its new cage, the snake seems to be more active, but wont eat. She has eaten a fuzzy about 3 weeks ago. after that she shed her skin and I though that this was the problem, however when I want to feed her, she basically hides under the rock and doesnt come out until I remove the mouse. I have tried to cover the tank whilst leaving the mouse inside the tank overnight.


She is approx 1.2 meters long and approx 50 mm thick in diameter at the thickest part of her body.
She seems to be stressed at the moment, cause if I want to take her out the cage, she literally jumps away from me, shakes her tail to warn me and then goes into hiding.

I am very worried about her cause this is the first time since I had her that her eating habits are inconsistent. She still sheds her skin 1 every 4 weeks though.

Please help!
 
Are you sure it's a female? Aren't you starting spring now? Males often stop feeding for a few months in the spring, and females will, too, especially if they are ovulating, which they do even if virgin.
 
Hi Nanci,

Thank you for your response. Yes Spring has just started. I am not sure if she is a female though. According to the shop that sold it to me said that the snake is female. I dont even know how to check whether it is a male or female so I took there word for it. would the ovulating cause the snake to be very active and stressed? yesterday I again attempted to take her out the cage for a while, and it looked like she was going to attack me, and I have never experienced it with the snake, that she actually starts jumping away, tail rattling and looked like she was getting ready (coiling) to attack my hand.
 
I forgot to ask: if it is due to the ovulating or the spring season that has effect on the snake, how long will it be before the snake will eat?
 
One to two months.

Your temps look low to me; 80F during the day with a night drop to 71. Are you dropping the temp by turning the heat off, or can the heat not compensate for a low room temp? Can you move the heat to the bottom of the tank? Do you have the heat on a thermostat? I would aim for a constant temp on the warm side, directly on the heat, of 29C.
 
One sign that the snake is experiencing the effects of sexual maturity, whether male or female, would be if you take the snake out to handle it, and gently stroke it along the back, it starts twitching, similar to how a horse twitches a fly off its skin. Males to this much more readily than females, but females do it, too, sometimes.

Have you considered offering the prey in a small container so the snake doesn't wander off and forget about it, covered up, maybe even overnight?
 
Hi Nanci.
reffering to the temperature, the tempereture is now standing on 77.9F and will drop to about 71 at night. I dont switch off the heating pads that are situated under the crushed corn cobs. I do think though that the temp is effected by the room temp, and no I dont have the heat on a thermostat. I will purchase a thermostat if it is going to help keep the temp constant.

with regards to feeding the snake, I have attempted to feed the snake at night and leave the prey overnight in the tank. I have also covered the tank whilst the prey is inside overnight, but no success(the mouse runs over the snakes body or head and all the snake does is moves away, not even trying to strike at the mouse). I will take your advise and place the snake in a smaller container with its prey, hopefully this will work.
And lastly yes if I run my hand down its back, it twitches and moves away. So I think you are correct in saying that it is experiencing sexual maturity.

Thank you very much for your advise! I am glad that I have found this forum as I have limited knowledge on snakes, yet I do want to learn more and look well after my pet!
 
Just so you don't get too worried, an adult snake can easily go two or three months without eating and only lose grams of weight. I have had a female go more than four months and then start eating like nothing happened. I usually offer food about every two weeks if the snake is on a hunger strike. Often I offer a smaller prey item like a mouse hopper or fuzzy.

The thermostat won't make the heating pad heat _more_. I wonder if a different brand of heating pad might work better?
 
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