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Refusing food..help?

Quill

Quill

New member
Zaida is my four year old corn snake. She has always been a hearty eater, never picky. I've always fed frozen/thawed mice to her. However, for the past three weeks, she hasn't eaten. I'm starting to become concerned, as it isn't like her to refuse a meal, she normally loves her mice.

I don't know if I'm just being paranoid or rightfully concerned. I'd go out and buy live mice if I had to just to get her to eat, but being as I've always fed frozen/thawed, I'm worried she wouldn't take it, or worse the feeder would hurt her.

I don't object to taking her to a specialized vet. But I figured I could post here first, to see if anybody could offer advice or suggestions.

I'm just at my wits end, and yes, it is my first and only snake, probably why I'm even more concerned. I'm very attached to this snake, she is my companion animal, even if she can't play fetch or do cute little tricks.

If anybody has the time and knowledge to offer advice, I'd me immensely appreciative. This snake means a great deal to me, she is literally my baby.

Thank you so much for your time!
 
I might be nothing more than that time of year.... mating season.

If you had her for four years and fed her well she can go with out food for a good period without worries.

Just give her water and try to feed her on her usually day or better yet spread the feeding days farther apart for now.
 
As Lennycorn said it could be the season. I have a few guys and girls here that have refused a couple of meals, but have accepted a smaller than usual food item the next offering, so you could try dropping the size of the food item and see if that works for your girl too :)
 
You may want to have her probed...she might just be a he! Very common for mature males to fast in early spring.
 
It's a little bit late for a male breeding season fast to start, but it could well be that. Sue's idea of offering a smaller meal is a good one. Sometimes they're tempted into eating.

Apart from that, temps are starting to go up outside so maybe just double-check what the temps are in the viv. Temps that are too high can cause them to stop eating. Might be worth a look, just in case it's a quick fix by turning the thermostat down a notch.
 
Thank you all so much for the helpful suggestions!

Zaida is once again eating, I paid a visit to the local pet shop last week and bought her some smaller prey items. When offered, she hesitated at first, but finally gobbled them right up! She is eating normally again now, as I fed her a live adult today, though I normally feed F/T. Seems her appetite has came back in full force.

Again, thank you so much everyone!
 
With the next feeding, see if she'll take a f/t adult. If not, try to obtain two live hopper or weanling mice. Feed one live, then feed the next right after killing it. You can snap the next or use CO2. Someone could explain better to you how to do both.
 
And there are lots of tricks written in any good corn book to try. Sometimes they're just weird. I went to feed all my snakes yesterday and my two worst eaters chomped down on a few items while all my good eaters didn't want to eat! Alternate universe for a day.
 
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