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Take him back?

kimbyra

kimbyra

cornsnake addict
Howdy Folks!
I really need your opinions on this one.
About a month ago I bought an adult male normal corn, who may, or may not be about six years old. He won't eat. He was in shed when I bought him, so I didn't worry the first week (until after he shed). No matter what I've tried - different size mice (from fuzzies to adult), dipping in chicken broth, leaving over night, leaving him in a closed tub with just a f/t, he just isn't interested in food. (I've tried every four or five days.) I've even increased the temp slightly. The locally owned pet shop where I bought him said not worry, it happens, they can go without eating up to a year (?!) before you should worry, and he was eating before because the woman that they bought him from buys mice all the time.... Could he have health prob's? Am I missing something? Should I go bug the guy about taking him back? Erg! :bang:
 
If I wasn't clear before -
He has never eaten for me, and the pet shop didn't exactly answer my question as to when, if ever, they fed him. I think they had him there about 2 weeks, maybe more, because I go in there a lot.
 
This is breeding season, so it wouldn't be surprising at all that this guy has no appetite. Sometimes younger males will eat throughout the breeding season, but from what I've read, most older males will at least skip a few meals. As long as his weight is good, I wouldn't worry if he fasts for a couple of months. :)
 
I agree with Roy, most of my larger adult males skip meals this time of year regardless if there's a female in the room or not. Just their time of year to be "twitterpated". I've had males go nearly 3 months without eating before, so they're capable of quite stretch so long as they were in good health to begin with.

I'd say offer food every 10-14 days, instead of every 4-5. Harassing him with it every 4-5 may have the negative effect of him associating being messed with and food. Something which is rare, but it can happen.

I typically feed my adult males on an every 14 day schedule anyway. Since they don't lay eggs, they tend to get a bit chubby on an every 7 day feeding schedule, and so far an every 14 seems to serve them quite well. Plus, that way you're not thawing out mice to waste as often.

And bottom line, don't stress about it. I know that's easier said than done, but its an adult snake, chances are its not going to wither away. Plus given the age and the sex, its all pretty plausible why he's not eating right now. Don't doctor the mice with broth and other things, or you may get him liking something you don't want to repeat for every feeding. Just offer 1 f/t adult mouse every 2 weeks until he starts eating again, which I'm most positive that he will.
 
Thanks so much for your responses! He is freindly and mild, and I would like to keep him. Its just so frustrating since he's never eaten. If he doesn't eat the mouse I've left in there now, I'll try again in 10 days. I hope its just the season, and not a problem. I was wondering why someone would bring in a 6? year old (gentle!) snake, but then again I've seen lots of ten year old sweety pie dogs at the shelter... Thanks again Dean and Misty for easing my mind.
 
kimbyra said:
The locally owned pet shop where I bought him said not worry, it happens, they can go without eating up to a year (?!) before you should worry,
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up to a year?!? i dont think it's quite that long. but yeah they can go for awhile without eating. it's frustrating i know...my male grey rat just ate a fuzzy today after "fasting" for 4 weeks...i thought he was going to starve! and he's only 6 months old. sometimes these guys just decide not to eat for a bit for no good reason.

i volunteer at an animal shelter and yeah i've seen dogs dropped off for the lamest reasons. someone dropped off a 5 year old AKC cocker spaniel because they said he was too hyper. the dog is as calm as can be, as calm as an old hounddog laying on a porch calm. i dont know what they considered hyper...right now we're mostly getting in older females that are pregnant. gotta love irresponsible dog owners who dont get their dogs spayed so they get pregnant and the owners just drop them off at the shelter. :twoguns:
 
Ha Ha Ha, I'm sorry i just have to laugh they say they can live up to a year..???? I've heard up to 3 months about, but a year!! I'm goin wit everyone on this since it's mating season he may be a little excited.
 
A year would be a bit excessive.

But, at this time of year, a few skipped meals is normal for an adult male. Both mine have been patchy with their feeding for the last month .... especially the oldest one.

If he's a good healthy weight at the moment I wouldn't really start to worry until you hit three months or so ..... :)
 
You probably already thought of this, but maybe the previous owner was giving him live mice and he just doesn't want the f/t? If not I'd go with what everyone else is saying about the breeding season refusal to eat being a common thing for adult males.
 
colinmcc said:
A year would be a bit excessive.
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Well, of course. No responsible keeper would let things go that far. All I meant was that if Blutengel/Barbara's 1100g Miami didn't eat for a year, I think he'd survive. :)
 
im guessing that that is why my male is not eating aaswell, breeding season, normally he is an excellent eater, but at the moment he just ignors it, i know that temps allright becuase my female is eating fine. im not to worried but if hes not eating by the end of the month should i be?
 
Good morning folks!
There are a couple of things that concern me.
First is the unknown. I don't know when the last time he ate was, if he ate live, if he's a good weight for his unknown age, if he's lost weight, and what an adult healthy corn even looks like (my others are all '05). He could be famished looking and I wouldn't know. The pet shop says they don't know if the lady fed him live, but they also said they're sure she did because the lady was buying f/t from them, but I'm thinking she may have had other pets, or they could be full of it. I don't want him if I have to feed him live. I didn't buy a snake to have to feed live. Its not like I would be feeding him a live pinky, he's a big snake. I would take him back if I new that is all he would eat. 1The other thing I'm worried about is that this morning there was a poo smear. It was good size, but thin, and may have been a little on the green/yellow side. :bang:
 
Oops - I didn't explain. The main reason I'm worried about the poo is that he hasn't eaten. It shouldn't be there should it?
 
It can be surprising how long they can hold in some feces. You've got to remember that feces also contains metabolic wastes which are produced whether the snake is eating or not.

I'm not going to tell you what to do, but I would never think of getting rid of a snake because it demands live food. If you are really thinking this way, you should never buy another snake again, because the possibility always exists that a snake may never accept live, or that it may start demanding live only, for no good reason, at any time. :(
 
Dean,
Will one of my '05's suddenly go off of f/t and demand live? If so I guees I would have to try and get over my squeamishness to feeding live. I just wasn't prepared to get a problem adult. I'm glad to hear about them being able to defecate at any time. That puts my mind at ease a little. This is just so frustrating.
 
kimbyra said:
Dean,
Will one of my '05's suddenly go off of f/t and demand live? If so I guees I would have to try and get over my squeamishness to feeding live. I just wasn't prepared to get a problem adult. I'm glad to hear about them being able to defecate at any time. That puts my mind at ease a little. This is just so frustrating.
Click to expand...

It has happened to me with several of my '05s, so the possibility certainly exists. And I guess it's a matter of perspective, but I don't really call a live-demanding snake a problem feeder. It's a problem for me, I guess, but I can't blame the snake for demanding its natural prey type. I'm amazed that the vast majority will take f/t. I don't think scavenged prey makes up an appreciable portion of a wild corn's diet.

If the snake is at a healthy weight, I would wait 6-8 weeks before resorting to live. If the snake was an '05, I might try live earlier. :shrugs:
 
Thanks Dean! What is a healthy weight? I don't have a scale here, maybe I can figure another way to weigh him.
 
kimbyra said:
Thanks Dean! What is a healthy weight? I don't have a scale here, maybe I can figure another way to weigh him.
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I think a couple of photos might be good enough to try to determine if he's in a safe weight range for an extended fast. Make sure you place a reference object in the pics.
 
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