Food refusal with tank cruising and lid pushing

[ratsnakehaven]

Here's a few things you can stick in your cage that will help...they're free and easy to clean too...

PS: Your snake sounds overweight. If it is, there's probably not too much you can do, except go on a different feeding schedule, and hope she hasn't gotten too much fatty tissue.

You shouldn't feed your snake when it isn't hungry. Try a different approach. Feed it when it's hungry. Learn to read your snake's body language. I wouldn't feed it for about two weeks and see if the behavior changes. All the props and hides will help change behavior. Your snake will hide more, unless there's a problem with temp control. Maybe she's too hot. Also make sure she doesn't get dried out. A humid hide doesn't hurt. Actually, many of my snakes will go into the water jugs occasionally.

When she's hungry she'll start looking for food. I have a gravid female that is very shy and hides most of the time, but when she's hungry she'll come out and lay on top of or in one of the water jugs.

You've got lots to manage and the snake will become easy once you get some more experience with it. That's one reason folks like snakes as pets...they are usually easy to care for, and not time consuming. Good luck grasshopper..heheh!

Terry

 

[Raptor]

I've never really been able to tell when she's hungry. I can't recall her acting any different. I can tell with my legless lizard, he comes to the front of the tank and begs.

Other than running fans I can't do anything about temperature. Mom won't turn on the AC until she can't stand the heat. However, it's not overly hot right now. It's running in the upper 80s during the day and with me running the fans it's probably lower 80s in my room. I've read over at the ball python forum that low humidity results in poor sheds. She's always had a good shed. Doesn't always shed the tip of her tail right, but I always remove that when it happens. Never had a retained eyecap or anything. However, ball pythons are different than cornsnakes, so it might be different.

With the jugs, are they filled with water? I can't tell very well from the picture. I do wish we had a bathtub still, but it got pulled out and replaced with a shower. Else I'd let her swim a bit.

I suppose the weight issue comes from me following the breeder's feeding schedule. They said they fed once a week, so I followed that. Didn't give me much information either. I probably should have asked, but too late now. Didn't think of it at the time.

 

[ratsnakehaven]

The jugs do have water in them. The small one cannot be filled too much or it might overflow when the snake gets in. Some snakes like the feeling of security from a tight fit. The gallon jug can be filled about half way and the largest corn will easily fit. Two of my Brazos Island ratsnakes mated in a gallon jug and they are my largest ratsnakes. The water is fairly heavy and keeps the jugs from tipping/moving. The jugs also keeps water from being splashed on the bedding. Ratsnakes like water and often go into the jugs for a bath or to defecate (makes cleaning easy). I also have several that feed from the water jugs. They can eat under water too. BTW, spraying the bedding lightly is a good signal to your snakes that it's feeding time. Often a feeding response can be gotten from spraying.

Hope this helps you see some possibilities...

 

[Raptor]

I recall that when I first got her she'd curl up in her water dish prior to shedding..I also recall the time she decided that her waterbowl would make a lovely toilet. Fun times..What's interesting is that she has the larger hide, but doesn't really use it. She's more content to hang out at the front of the tank around her waterbowl. Wonder if the hide is too tall. I've heard of people using upside down terracotta flower pots, so I'm not sure.

Haven't gotten a chance to go looking for a larger waterbowl or sanitize some limbs either. I was wanting to do it Wednesday, but I ended up having to go into town to get something for college.

I'll look into the jugs bit. I think there's some fruit juice jugs that's almost empty in the fridge. Keyword: think. I have no idea if they've gotten finished off and thrown away or not.

 

[ratsnakehaven]

I just thought of something. Did you "brumate" your corn snake last winter, or keep her going/feeding all winter? It makes a difference as to how she's acting now, possibly.

Also, this time of year makes snakes antsy. I have a couple that like to roam and rub a little when it gets hot.

Later... :idea:

 

[Raptor]

I did not brumate her. I read up on it and considered it, but decided that I didn't have the knowledge. Plus I like my room warmer than is needed to brumate. So, I kept with the feeding schedule.

 

[Nanci]

How many gallons is your tank?

 

[Raptor]

I'm not exactly sure. It was bought for me as a christmas gift. I measured it at 30 x 12 x 12. According to a website that finds the gallons based on size, 18.7 gallons. So, that's my best guess.

 

[Raptor]

Took a break from homework today and worked on Morana's tank. The upside down ice cream bucket has been there a few days. The extra bedding/jug with water was added today.

She's already been having fun rearranging the bedding.

 

[ratsnakehaven]

I did not brumate her. I read up on it and considered it, but decided that I didn't have the knowledge. Plus I like my room warmer than is needed to brumate. So, I kept with the feeding schedule.

Ok, a couple of things...

First, you kept your snake feeding all winter, so the snake didn't get a metabolic break. That means it's been building up reserves and when it stopped eating it probably was wanting to take a break. Feeding your snake once a week is probably too often at this point. I'd switch to one mouse once every two weeks until the snake shows signs of being hungrier. You could probably do that for at least a month or two. Then go to one mouse every ten days, or maybe two weanling mice every ten days.

Second, you could make a good hide by making a bottomless wooden box. Just make a wooden box that fits in your cage, with a bottom and four sides. Flip it over and you have a hide. Of course, it needs an entrance. Use your imagination and put an appropriately sized hole somewhere. I believe you should have a moist hide too. That means you need a large enough container to put some moist sphagnum. Or you can do something I try sometimes, putting gravel a few inches deep in a large plastic container, like a kitty litter box. After you wash the gravel and pour out the excess water, you have a moist hide for a week, or so. Fill it with some old newspaper and the snake will hide there when it needs humidity, like when it gets ready to shed.

Third, it's possible your snake is getting too warm during the day. Be careful it doesn't overheat.

PS: Your snake doesn't look like a corn snake to me. I hate to say this because I don't have the snake in hand and it's hard to tell what it is from the photos, but it looks like it could be a hybrid to me. In other words it might be a "cross" bt. a corn and another ratsnake species, or maybe even a non-ratsnake species. That probably doesn't make any difference in how you should care for it, however. Good luck...

TC

 

[Raptor]

I doubt she was getting too hot. I removed her heat entirely sometime last week when the daily temperatures was hitting the 80s. Now that the AC is on, I'm considering putting her heat back. However, my room is fairly warm, even with AC on, so I'm not sure yet.

She was advertised as a charcoal corn and her pattern does match up with some of the pictures I've found. Though, I imagine the difference would be in headshape.

 

[Nanci]

I didn't forget you; I'm gathering up stuff. Thought I was going to a reptile show Saturday but then didn't.

 

[Raptor]

I didn't forget you; I'm gathering up stuff. Thought I was going to a reptile show Saturday but then didn't.

I'm not worried. People have lives. x) I do art work for a couple of online games. People who order at do so knowing that it can take me several weeks to get their order done.

So, I understand that people get busy.

 

[Caryl]

I'm glad you were able to find some time to work on the tank. Your snake looks like she's enjoying the deep bedding. Here's another tip to promote her staying active. She'll make tunnels and arrange the bedding, and aspen tends to hold the shape into which it's sculpted fairly well. Give her a few days, then go in and fluff it all around again. She'll busy herself in rearranging all over again.

 

[Raptor]

Time is mildly scarce here with summer classes. Each class period is covering the equivalent of a week of school during the normal spring/fall semester.

Morana isn't one to tunnel that much. She very rarely does it, preferring to hang out on the top. Even with the larger hides she isn't really using them. She hangs out in the front. Perhaps she enjoys staring at me? Her extremely active behavior seems to have come to a stop. Still, miss chunky needs to lose some weight. I weighed her on Saturday and she's a hefty 740 grams. I've decided to weigh her weekly to keep track of her weight loss.

 

[ratsnakehaven]

Another idea... :idea:

Save the cardboard inner roll from your paper towels, or anything on a roll, and bury it under the shavings. She might go in there to hide.

She's probably not using the new hides or water jugs, because she's not used to them. Give her time...

PS: Also, think about making a moist hide box (plastic is free from our daily purchases).

 

[Raptor]

I use the paper towel/toilet rolls for my mice. Gives them something to chew on and make bedding out of. Morana does occasionally go into the hides/jugs, but not that often. I can't really add much more to the tank since it's starting to get a bit cramped.

 

[ratsnakehaven]

"Cramped" isn't necessarily a bad thing. It gives the snake a sense of security. You can do a lot of functional stuff in some cramped spaces...

PS: I used to keep and breed lab mice, over twenty yrs. I used to cut up all kinds of cardboard for them to make little "houses." They would eventually tear up the cardboard for bedding though, so I had to add new material about once a month, or so. I had great mice and liked working with them a lot. But since we moved to AZ, I don't keep them anymore.

 

[Raptor]

I enjoy breeding the mice. I know what they've ate and I know how they died. Plus I love the genetics aspect. I had a big success this month: bred my first litter of broken marked babies. I also think I've developed a line of very maternal does. Yesterday, I went and put some old school papers through a paper shredder and gave the mice some. They've all made nests with the material. Keeps them nice and busy.

 

[ratsnakehaven]

Sounds like me a few years ago.

I had four ten gallon tanks with one male and three or four females in each, usually. I started with white lab mice from my college, got some genes from a wild mouse a few years along, then added a colored mouse from a pet shop maybe six/seven yrs. in.