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Help, Snake not eating

L

lilbug82

New member
i could use some help with my sons albino corn snake. he is about 7 years old, we've had him for two years. last spring he didn't eat part of march, april and the beginning of may. i was told on here last spring it was cause its breeding season and sometimes males will do that. he did that again this year but he is still not eating. he sits out all day curled up looking out of the cage. when i try to feed him he has no interest and will start shaking his tail at me. is this still normal for him to be doing?
 
Offer food once every two to three weeks. You could try something smaller than he's used to- a hopper or weanling. REALLY hot.

Are you positive he's a male? I can't tell you how many 'males" we've seen here this spring go off feed, behave strangely, and then lay eggs. Including one of mine.
 
My Rigby just started eating again last week after 8 weeks off. I put him in his feeding tub with a warm mouse, and (ashamed to admit) completely forgot about him until I walked past 45 minutes later and the mouse was halfway down his throat. Luckily the tub is nice and secure. LOL. This week he ate more quickly but didn't strike and constrict like he and Marceline have always done.
 
Oh, also can you tell when he's going to shed? Sometimes they're defensive and refuse food when they're blue... which with white snakes can be hard to see. Rigby started eating again the week after he shed.
 
When we bought our first corn snake the pet store told us she was on frozen^thawed. We tried for 2 weeks trying to get her to eat. Someone suggested trying a live mouse. So we got her one and bam..she was eating like champ! We have a few snakes like that. If he still hasn't eaten try that. I know it's not as safe with live. My husband takes them and knocks them out first. Out of the 7 corn snakes, 4 of them only want live.
 
Yeah but they are eating and that's what is important. We tried going back to frozen/thawed and they wouldn't even look at it.
 
Have you tried the zombie mouse dance? I take the F/T mouse and dangle it by the tail above the snake in the viv. He should, out of curiosity, at least acknowledge it, and hopefully attack it and coil around it. By holding it by the tail you are less likely to be bitten, but you can use tongs if that would make you feel more comfortable.
 
smigon said:
Have you tried the zombie mouse dance? I take the F/T mouse and dangle it by the tail above the snake in the viv. He should, out of curiosity, at least acknowledge it, and hopefully attack it and coil around it. By holding it by the tail you are less likely to be bitten, but you can use tongs if that would make you feel more comfortable.
Click to expand...

This is what I've done with Calypso (my corn) She has, to this date, never refused a meal. (I've had her for about 5 years)

I have no idea if it makes a difference or not, but after the frozen mouse is thawed, I (and yes I know this is a bit crazy) use my hair dryer to dry off the fur on the mouse.... also has the advantage of "warming" the mouse so she probably thinks it really is alive?

Always strikes and coils....
 
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