Irish Eyes (Mrs.Z)
Zookeeper
Just like the title says. 2 weeks ago I was given a 4 y/o female Miami Cornsnake, supposedly because the kid who owned it didn't want it anymore--he wants a Ball Python.
The snake was (and is) in horrible shape. So thin you can see her ribs and backbone. So covered in dry shes that she feels like wrinkly tissue paper. And she WON'T EAT, which I suspect may be why the previous owner wanted to part with her before she dies on his son....
I need help. I've never had a snake this skinny who won't eat. Of course, I've only had her 2 weeks, and if she was a normal size, I wouldn't worry. But she is WAY too skinny, and I don't feel as if she can go another month w/out eating w/out dying of starvation.
What have I done with her so far:
1) Put her in a tub with a moist hide (on the warm side of the tub), a dry hide, a rough stone, and a big bowl of water that she can actually hang out in if she so desires. Humidity stands at around 80% 24/7. According to thermometer/hygrometer, the temp stays around 85 F on the arm side, and 78 F on the cool side. I use a UTH.
2) Week 1--I attempted to feed her a hot, thawed/frozen normal adult mouse. The previous owner said he managed to get her to eat one f/t adult mouse. But he also said that the breeder fed only live. Long story short, Snake didn't eat.
3) Week 2--today was another 7 days since I last tried to feed her, but this time I offered a small adult/good sized hopper LIVE mouse. She has struck at it a couple of times but missed, and hasn't tried since then. I'll keep the mouse in the tub overnight with its own food, and if the snake hasn't eaten it by the time I get up in the morning at around 8 am, I'll remove it and feed it to my MBK, who will eat anything and everything.... Snake, so far, is hanging out at one end of the tub, and Mouse is hanging out in the far corner, avoiding the Snake like the plague, so I don't THINK it's likely to attack the snake, especially considering there is now appropriate mouse food in there, in case it gets hungry overnight.
So what's next? Well, if she doesn't eat this, I'll be taking her to our reptile vet in Portland (a 100 mile one way drive, but worth it) to make sure she's not full of parasites or other illnesses. I'll be asking the vet the best way to get this Snake to eat before it actually starves to death. But considering it usually takes a couple of weeks to get an appointment with her, I'd like to ask for advice from others until I can get in. Assist or force feed? Leave her alone and hope she doesn't starve to death?
I don't know how much she weighs, as my gram scale isn't big enough to hold or weigh her, but considering that her ribs and spine are VERY visible, I think it's a pretty fair assumption that she's WAY underweight. She's about 4.5' long.
I love my snakes as much as I love my dogs, and I want her to survive and become healthy again, which apparently she was when the previous owner bought her from the breeder. Breeder seemed to know his stuff when I talked with him, whereas the previous owner had never kept a snake, before.
I look forward to your kind and helpful reply. I haven't been on her since my heart dog, Foxworthy Fuzz, was poisoned almost 5 years ago, and I don't care to be driven away by rude commentary. I have experience keeping several different snake species, but this girl has me worried sick. Like I said, I've never seen a living snake this thin. She's almost a skeleton!
Thanks
The snake was (and is) in horrible shape. So thin you can see her ribs and backbone. So covered in dry shes that she feels like wrinkly tissue paper. And she WON'T EAT, which I suspect may be why the previous owner wanted to part with her before she dies on his son....
I need help. I've never had a snake this skinny who won't eat. Of course, I've only had her 2 weeks, and if she was a normal size, I wouldn't worry. But she is WAY too skinny, and I don't feel as if she can go another month w/out eating w/out dying of starvation.
What have I done with her so far:
1) Put her in a tub with a moist hide (on the warm side of the tub), a dry hide, a rough stone, and a big bowl of water that she can actually hang out in if she so desires. Humidity stands at around 80% 24/7. According to thermometer/hygrometer, the temp stays around 85 F on the arm side, and 78 F on the cool side. I use a UTH.
2) Week 1--I attempted to feed her a hot, thawed/frozen normal adult mouse. The previous owner said he managed to get her to eat one f/t adult mouse. But he also said that the breeder fed only live. Long story short, Snake didn't eat.
3) Week 2--today was another 7 days since I last tried to feed her, but this time I offered a small adult/good sized hopper LIVE mouse. She has struck at it a couple of times but missed, and hasn't tried since then. I'll keep the mouse in the tub overnight with its own food, and if the snake hasn't eaten it by the time I get up in the morning at around 8 am, I'll remove it and feed it to my MBK, who will eat anything and everything.... Snake, so far, is hanging out at one end of the tub, and Mouse is hanging out in the far corner, avoiding the Snake like the plague, so I don't THINK it's likely to attack the snake, especially considering there is now appropriate mouse food in there, in case it gets hungry overnight.
So what's next? Well, if she doesn't eat this, I'll be taking her to our reptile vet in Portland (a 100 mile one way drive, but worth it) to make sure she's not full of parasites or other illnesses. I'll be asking the vet the best way to get this Snake to eat before it actually starves to death. But considering it usually takes a couple of weeks to get an appointment with her, I'd like to ask for advice from others until I can get in. Assist or force feed? Leave her alone and hope she doesn't starve to death?
I don't know how much she weighs, as my gram scale isn't big enough to hold or weigh her, but considering that her ribs and spine are VERY visible, I think it's a pretty fair assumption that she's WAY underweight. She's about 4.5' long.
I love my snakes as much as I love my dogs, and I want her to survive and become healthy again, which apparently she was when the previous owner bought her from the breeder. Breeder seemed to know his stuff when I talked with him, whereas the previous owner had never kept a snake, before.
I look forward to your kind and helpful reply. I haven't been on her since my heart dog, Foxworthy Fuzz, was poisoned almost 5 years ago, and I don't care to be driven away by rude commentary. I have experience keeping several different snake species, but this girl has me worried sick. Like I said, I've never seen a living snake this thin. She's almost a skeleton!
Thanks