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Common problem....not eating

M

MartiniGirl108

New member
I see a few people around here are having the same problem I am. My snake stopped eating after February 21st, just like that. I was feeding her every wednesday, and as soon as id drop a pinkie in, shed eat it.

i tried to feed her on the 28th, the 2nd......and then I waited til today and she still didnt eat. Ive tried braining, cutting the back, warming it up more, and nothing. Her temps are fine and I havent changed anything from my normal feeding routine.

She sniffs the pink and pulls away like its poison, and then for the remainder of the time in the container, she just crawls around looking for a way out.

Now she hasnt shed in more then 5 weeks, and Ive noticed she is losing her color, going "pink" or "white" or whatever you call it. She looks like she rolled in flour a little bit, but not as much as youd look at her and say yes shes going to shed. To me as her owner I can see shes lost her vibrant colors.

Is this a shedding thing? She is still drinking water, I know two weeks isnt anything to worry about, but she was a great eater now bam, nothing.
 
I would say that she's going to go blue in a little bit, but that doesn't appear to be what's causing the feeding issue. Have you tried the "pinky dance"? Basically, take the mouse with a pair of tongs and wiggle it around in front of the snake. Make sure you don't get too close - you don't want to scare her. You can also try tapping her gently with the mouse on her lower half. I've heard that this works because they'll strike out of irritation, then realize the mouse is food. Another idea, have you every left her alone in her feeding tub with the mouse for the night? Some people have a non-feeder and wake up to find it ate during the night.

Also, I would minimize handling until she feeds. Good luck!
 
Jrgh17 said:
I would say that she's going to go blue in a little bit, but that doesn't appear to be what's causing the feeding issue. Have you tried the "pinky dance"? Basically, take the mouse with a pair of tongs and wiggle it around in front of the snake. Make sure you don't get too close - you don't want to scare her. You can also try tapping her gently with the mouse on her lower half. I've heard that this works because they'll strike out of irritation, then realize the mouse is food. Another idea, have you every left her alone in her feeding tub with the mouse for the night? Some people have a non-feeder and wake up to find it ate during the night.

Also, I would minimize handling until she feeds. Good luck!
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The "pinky dance" only freaks her out. Im thinking if I feed her a live pink, once she realized it was alive or moved, that freak her out too. I havent had her that long, so she isnt interested in me approaching her with tongs with or without a mouse. I did have 6 successful feeds consecutively until now.

How I always got her to eat was I dropped it in the container and she gobbled it up.

Ive notice she is less active too, do they stop the climbing and circling the top of the tank when they approach shedding time?
 
MartiniGirl108 said:
The "pinky dance" only freaks her out. Im thinking if I feed her a live pink, once she realized it was alive or moved, that freak her out too. I havent had her that long, so she isnt interested in me approaching her with tongs with or without a mouse. I did have 6 successful feeds consecutively until now.

How I always got her to eat was I dropped it in the container and she gobbled it up.

Ive notice she is less active too, do they stop the climbing and circling the top of the tank when they approach shedding time?
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Shes probably in shed. Just leave her alone and raise the humidity up. Also, feeding in a deli cup overnight with lights out usually does the trick.
 
The obligatory question; how old is she, and are you sure she's a she? Males go off their food for many weeks at this time of year.

Don't worry, as mentioned your snake is more than likely just in shed. Just wait a week and try again :) Post back if you notice any health deterioration.
 
mine has not eaten in four weeks now, he shed three weeks ago then nothing, it must be a time of year thing. lets hope both are fine soon. good luck.
 
Tracee said:
The obligatory question; how old is she, and are you sure she's a she? Males go off their food for many weeks at this time of year.

Don't worry, as mentioned your snake is more than likely just in shed. Just wait a week and try again :) Post back if you notice any health deterioration.
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I was told it was a female, but I guess it could be a mistake. She or he is only 5 months though, is that too young for that sort of thing?

Last night again, for the about the 3rd night in a row she didnt come out of her hide like she usually does and do her "laps". She stayed in her hide.
 
Well, curiosity just got to me, I took all the clips off, and took the lid off to check on her. To my relief she is completely dull now and her eyes are cloudy almost like she has cataracts(sp) (she has red eyes, I was told they dont necessarily go "blue") She looks like she cant see a thing though.

I just misted the tank and covered half the top with a towel. I just wanted to thank you guys for your posts. Im off to read about shedding!

Hopefully when this passes she gets her appetite back!
 
If she's on pinkies I was hoping she was still young. She's much too young to be a male going off food. I'd bet that it's due to her impending shed. I've a couple that stop eating when in shed.
 
MartiniGirl108 said:
Well, curiosity just got to me, I took all the clips off, and took the lid off to check on her. To my relief she is completely dull now and her eyes are cloudy almost like she has cataracts(sp) (she has red eyes, I was told they dont necessarily go "blue") She looks like she cant see a thing though.

I just misted the tank and covered half the top with a towel. I just wanted to thank you guys for your posts. Im off to read about shedding!

Hopefully when this passes she gets her appetite back!
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That's undoubtedly what it is. I woke this morning to find my old boy all blue (or pink, as amels turn) with cataracts as well. He looks so sad :(

One thing you might not know yet is that the skin and eyes clear up completely a few days before the snake actually sheds. So don't go looking for a skin immediately after she turns back to normal :)
 
MegF. said:
If she's on pinkies I was hoping she was still young. She's much too young to be a male going off food. I'd bet that it's due to her impending shed. I've a couple that stop eating when in shed.
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I guess Im going to get my answer sooner or later but, I offered her a pinky on Feb 28th, today is the 10th, and yesterday the 9th she went into "blue".

Could what she is in now have affected her appetite a week ago I guess is what I am asking.
 
In answer...yes. I had a couple of my Okeetees who would refuse to eat up to two weeks before going into blue.
 
Well I came home Tuesday to find half of her shed skin in there. Some more ended up coming off, but now her tail, I would say about 4 inches of her tail have not come off yet.

Im afraid to pull it off, does that hurt them? Ive been misting her viv and working shed conditioner into her for 2 days. How long do I wait for her to get it off on her own? Do I help?

By the way, I tried to feed her Wednesday, she still didnt eat. But I guess technically she is still "shedding"
 
You can put her in her feeding container with a damp washcloth, with just a little bit of water, for about 20 minutes, then see if you can rub/peel the rest of the tail shed off. Repeat as necessary. It is very important to get it off, and you won't hurt her. Then just recheck tomorrow when she is completely dry to make sure every trace of old shed is gone. I would do this ASAP- you don't want to have circulation cut off to her tail tip- she can lose it.

Nanci
 
Nanci said:
You can put her in her feeding container with a damp washcloth, with just a little bit of water, for about 20 minutes, then see if you can rub/peel the rest of the tail shed off. Repeat as necessary. It is very important to get it off, and you won't hurt her. Then just recheck tomorrow when she is completely dry to make sure every trace of old shed is gone. I would do this ASAP- you don't want to have circulation cut off to her tail tip- she can lose it.

Nanci
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Just got the rest off, she sure doesnt like having her tail touched LOL, anyway thank you!
 
I just wanted to post this cause I noticed alot of people with non feeder posts. I tried to feed my snake again today and she sat in the container next to the pink for about an hour with no intention to eat again. This was 28 days from her last meal and she is completely done shedding. Prior to shedding it would take her about 2 seconds before shed eat what I gave to her, she was great.


I wasnt planning to offer her anything again until wednesday but just out of curiousity and since I was already offering food, i took another pink, cut it open like I was doing, made it really hot like I was doing but this time I heated it up real hot in some chicken broth.....

I put it in her container with her and covered her, about 20 minutes later, pinky was gone and someone had a little bump in her belly.

I know it was the shedding all along, but maybe that chicken jogged her appetite who knows......thanks for your help everyone.
 
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