Hey everyone. I am new to the forum and having a pet snake. I got it just before Xmas. Everything has been going well until recently. For the last two weeks she hasn't eaten. I feed her pinkie mice once a week but the past two feedings she has not eaten. Not sure where to go from here. Is that normal?
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Feeding problems
- Thread starter Growler
- Start date
What are your temps, though? Has anything changed in her environment?The last couple a days her color had been looking a bit more dull but I couldn't exactly tell. Thought it might of been bad lighting. She is amel, right now a redish color. Nothing has changed in her normal everyday habitat. Temp has been around 71-75. However when I feed her I put her in a different cage in the same room. Nothing significant about that cage just a papertowel on the flooring. She usually wasn't in there more than a couple hours because she was eating right away (3wks ago), then I would place her back in her normal habitat and leave her be for about 48hrs. I just added a space heater in my room to try and heat up the normal room temp sometimes it does get in the cooler end and drop the temps n the cage.
beautifullywild77
Go Penguins!!!
Temp at the warm side should be 80-85 and 71-75 on the cold side. What are you using to measure your temps? What are you using to for heat?
The best is an under tank heater regulated by a thermostat.
Are you sure the snake is a girl? Males even hatchlings can stop eating during winter months.
Sometimes with amel and snows you can't really tell when they go into blue. They will get dull and some will stop eating until the process is done. A couple of people have told me it seems to take them longer from start to finish the shed process in the winter time.
The best is an under tank heater regulated by a thermostat.
Are you sure the snake is a girl? Males even hatchlings can stop eating during winter months.
Sometimes with amel and snows you can't really tell when they go into blue. They will get dull and some will stop eating until the process is done. A couple of people have told me it seems to take them longer from start to finish the shed process in the winter time.
bitsy
Owned by Corns since 1991
It's very unusual for males to go off their food completely in the winter unless the temps have been deliberately dropped to brumation levels (quite difficult to do in a house that's warm enough to be comfortable for humans!). It's certainly not usual for a hatchling of either sex. Refusing food is usually associated with older mature males in the breeding season i.e. the spring.
Having said the above... If this is a reading from a digital or infra-red thermometer on the floor surface at the warm side, then it's about 10 degrees too low and may be interfering with digestion. This will put them off eating.
Don't worry about the air temp - the Corn isn't floating in mid-air! You need to be thinking about the hottest surface he can come into contact with (the floor surface, with a heat mat), and getting that to around the mid-80s. You need a decent thermometer - if you're using one of the plastic dial or carboard LED strip types, then they can be 20 degrees wrong either way.
It's also very possible that your chap is coming up to a shed, but getting the temps right will benefit the snake anyway.
What bitsy said basically.
If they're going into shed they'll be a little less active and sometimes won't take food anymore. Don't worry too much corns can go several months without food and still be fine, not ideal because you end up worrying about them but still, not eating for 2 weeks isn't the end of the world.
How to you thaw the pinkies? If its in water then I'd advise putting them in a plastic bag first and submurging the bag. Some people say that their snake refuses the pinkie if its wet, others say they won't take it when the scent isn't as strong.
If you do get worried then you could try braining them, not the nicest thing in the world but what you do is jab a needle through the skull of the pinkie and mash it around a little, just wipe the brain goo off on the pinkie. Snakes are like zombies, they love brain.
If they're going into shed they'll be a little less active and sometimes won't take food anymore. Don't worry too much corns can go several months without food and still be fine, not ideal because you end up worrying about them but still, not eating for 2 weeks isn't the end of the world.
How to you thaw the pinkies? If its in water then I'd advise putting them in a plastic bag first and submurging the bag. Some people say that their snake refuses the pinkie if its wet, others say they won't take it when the scent isn't as strong.
If you do get worried then you could try braining them, not the nicest thing in the world but what you do is jab a needle through the skull of the pinkie and mash it around a little, just wipe the brain goo off on the pinkie. Snakes are like zombies, they love brain.
ForkedTung
Serpent Mound Monk
Hey C, It's me Kyle, I saw the thread and they've given you some good advice. I'm thinking she's probably going to shed soon.
She'll get a lil cloudy then clear then shed.
Make sure there's water in the tank, to keep humidity up for shedding and also check her shed to make sure it all came off, esp. eyes and tail.
Keep in touch and I'm sure she'll be fine, a few weeks is not a big deal for snakes.
She'll get a lil cloudy then clear then shed.
Make sure there's water in the tank, to keep humidity up for shedding and also check her shed to make sure it all came off, esp. eyes and tail.
Keep in touch and I'm sure she'll be fine, a few weeks is not a big deal for snakes.
Thanks everyone for all the valuable tips. Great news it was the shed. She had been rather less active the last couple weeks. Today I checked her and she was shedding so i'm going to keep an eye on that to make sure it all went okay. First snake deal so I just wanted to make sure I was doing everything on my part. Lesson learned!!
ForkedTung
Serpent Mound Monk
C, also just in case you didn't know, she's more than an amel.
She's a Fire (amel and bloodred/diffuse), so she'll get much more red and orange than an amel as she grows.