Help Me Please!

[[Bad.Luck.Bear]]

Hello,
For about one or so years now I've been the proud owner of a bubblegum snow cornsnake named poppy.
She eats live mice and I've followed all the rules about tempature, climate, and housing that have been given to me and yet for the passed 3 weeks she hasn't been eating.
I read a book that I bought apon first getting her and all I could find that sounds anything like what might be wrong is either she feels she needs more protein then whats given in the store bought mice i've been giving her since I've gotten her or she's become stressed or depressed because I haven't had the time lately to play with her because i've been sick.
I feed her one adult mice every 7 to 14 days as required but do I need to try goldfish or lizards and frogs like the book says or what?
I don't know what to do and I need help fast!
I don't know if I can afford to take her to the vet but if you think I should I'll try it.
Do you think I should try frozen food?
she's never had frozen before and might now know what to do with it?
I have a mouse at home in another cage because she just wouldn't eat it and it was starting to scare her.
Please, please reply!
This is the first snake I've ever had and I don't want to lose her!

 

[diamondlil]

Sounds like you've been lucky that you've fed live so far without any problems.
If your snake was unsexed then the going off food could be due to it being a male with other things on it's mind at this time of year.
Id suggest just keeping an eye on any signs of weightloss and just try feeding a fuzzy every 2 weeks or so until it takes an interest again. If you can get your snake to convert to f/t it owuld be safer in the long run. Goldfish are a terrible feeder food, being very fatty and lacking some essential nutrition for a cornsnake. Lizard or frog scenting shouldn't be necessary for an established sub-adult that's always fed well on unscented prey until now

 

[Tracee]

Seconded. Possibly a male (is she VERY active as well at the moment), possibly going into shed, possibly just not interested.

Only attempt feeds every 2-3 weeks, especially if you're feeding live, you don't want to risk injury to Poppy - and also try not to worry your snake can go a lot longer than this without food quite easily.

 

[[Bad.Luck.Bear]]

Thank you!
and Poppy is a girl, I've checked myself plus the people who I bought her from did blood work to make sure everything was fine before I got her.
Do you think she could still be thinking about...other things?
I believe so far she's kept her wieght plus last week she shed but thats usually when she's hungry the most after she's done shedding.
Also, why are frozen foods better?
I would think the warmth they get from killed prey they kill themselfs would be better.

 

[[Bad.Luck.Bear]]

Seconded. Possibly a male (is she VERY active as well at the moment), possibly going into shed, possibly just not interested.

Only attempt feeds every 2-3 weeks, especially if you're feeding live, you don't want to risk injury to Poppy - and also try not to worry your snake can go a lot longer than this without food quite easily.

she is really active...could she possibly be a male? the book I bought says that she's not but I guess it sounds like she could really be a he!

 

[diamondlil]

she is really active...could she possibly be a male? the book I bought says that she's not but I guess it sounds like she could really be a he!

If you've been going by the shape of the tail, then mistaken identity could be the case. Even popping and probing aren't 100% acurate all the time. Some very experienced members on here have missexed snakes.
Most people feed warmed up thawed-out mice because there's a risk of injury to the snake in feeding live prey

 

[[Bad.Luck.Bear]]

If you've been going by the shape of the tail, then mistaken identity could be the case. Even popping and probing aren't 100% acurate all the time. Some very experienced members on here have missexed snakes.
Most people feed warmed up thawed-out mice because there's a risk of injury to the snake in feeding live prey

So does it just sound like it's a he and he's got other things to think about then just food?
:eek1: wow for a year now i've been calling it a she!
how embarassing!

 

[Tracee]

"Blood work"?

If you would like to know for sure, the snake should be probed by an experienced person. You may well find your girl is a male. She/he is showing signs of a male in breeding season - however you should know that very occasionally females do the same.

There are no known disadvantages to feeding frozen/thawed prey that I am aware of, certainly not the "warmth" of the mouse.. The huge advantage is the mouse, if left uneaten (or not disable by the first strike), cannot harm your snake.

 

[[Bad.Luck.Bear]]

hmm, were could I find someone to check if its a he or she? I bought the snake from petland, which of coarse is a pet shop, do you think they would do it?

 

[Cuddles]

I would take it to a Herp Vet. I dont rely on any pet stores any more.

 

[[Bad.Luck.Bear]]

I would take it to a Herp Vet. I dont rely on any pet stores any more.

ok, thank you!
Do you think I can find one online near me?
This is such a shock that my little girl might just be my little boy!
oh well, I love Poppy no matter what, it's just going to take some practice to get used to it.

 

[Cuddles]

Do you think I can find one online near me?

Google!!! Ive been able to find them through google searching. There weren't any close to me however.

I actually dont know the sex of my snake either. But so far Ive defaulted to male. :shrugs:

 

[[Bad.Luck.Bear]]

Hehehe Thank you, I'll try that, I'm sure Dallas (which is where I live) will have at least one.
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!
I've been worried since the first refusal but I noticed its eyes which said it was going to shed and sure enough it did, but I waited a week and now it just wont eat.
guessing that Poppy is a male, how long should I wait before offering it food again?
I think I've actually been over feeding it if your only suppose to feed them every 2-3 weeks.

 

[[Bad.Luck.Bear]]

Also, how do I start my snake onto frozen foods, do I just make the switch and hope she goes for it or what?

 

[snakemom1961]

1. If your snake is very active I'd lean towards it actually being a male. Finding a herp vet in your area shouldn't be too hard I wouldn't think

2. I can speak from personal experience with my own snake in feeding her almost 3 years on live mice and small rats. That was what she was fed at the petstore I purchased her from and knew no better till I found this site. I decided to try f/t with her and she had no problems taking them at all. Only once has she refused and that was when she was in blue on feeding day.

3. You should be feeding her/him every 7 days. Not every 14 days. I made the same mistake with my snake and she was very underfed, showing her backbone (and did I feel horrible) and it wasn't till I posted pictures here and asked that I found out how underfed she was.

Please read thru the FAQ'S and do many searches on feeding. You will find most of your answers there. Good luck with your gal/guy! Hope this helps.

 

[snakemom1961]

Dang it. I forgot.
Feeding f/t over live is SO much better for the snake.
I know they are predators and are use to killing thier prey, but in the wild they don't have a choice between f/t and live.

F/T is much better for a couple reasons.
1. You can keep many feedings in your freezer. So you don't have to go buy a mouse each week. And often times they are cheaper.

2. The risk of injury to your snake is brought down to none with f/t. The risk of a mouse or rat bite to me isn't worth feeding live anymore. True, I did feed live for a couple years without incident, but had I known what I know now. I never would have put Tiaga in that kind of harms way.

Hope you found some good information here. Good luck!

 

[[Bad.Luck.Bear]]

1. If your snake is very active I'd lean towards it actually being a male. Finding a herp vet in your area shouldn't be too hard I wouldn't think

Thanks, I've already found one!

2. I can speak from personal experience with my own snake in feeding her almost 3 years on live mice and small rats. That was what she was fed at the petstore I purchased her from and knew no better till I found this site. I decided to try f/t with her and she had no problems taking them at all. Only once has she refused and that was when she was in blue on feeding day.

So I don't have to do anything special?

3. You should be feeding her/him every 7 days. Not every 14 days. I made the same mistake with my snake and she was very underfed, showing her backbone (and did I feel horrible) and it wasn't till I posted pictures here and asked that I found out how underfed she was.

Please read thru the FAQ'S and do many searches on feeding. You will find most of your answers there. Good luck with your gal/guy! Hope this helps.

I did and it didn't really help as much as just asking and getting straight answers for it.
Also I read that females are usually smaller then males and that there is usually a size difference which Poppy is actually under for being a boy but just the right size for being a girl.
Plus all the other people told me 2-3 weeks and your the only one on here thats still telling me 7 days, I've gone longer then that before and Poppy has never shown any signs of weight loss and her backbone is quite unclear to see.
I am starting to believe I might actually be over feeding her.

 

[[Bad.Luck.Bear]]

Dang it. I forgot.
Feeding f/t over live is SO much better for the snake.
I know they are predators and are use to killing thier prey, but in the wild they don't have a choice between f/t and live.

F/T is much better for a couple reasons.
1. You can keep many feedings in your freezer. So you don't have to go buy a mouse each week. And often times they are cheaper.

2. The risk of injury to your snake is brought down to none with f/t. The risk of a mouse or rat bite to me isn't worth feeding live anymore. True, I did feed live for a couple years without incident, but had I known what I know now. I never would have put Tiaga in that kind of harms way.

Hope you found some good information here. Good luck!

Thank you, that answers alot more of my questions on frozen feedings.

 

[snakemom1961]

Your very welcome. Just so you know I'm by no means an expert.

I would love to see pics of Poppy. What morph is she? Please post some for us.

 

[[Bad.Luck.Bear]]

I would love to see pics of Poppy. What morph is she? Please post some for us.

I'm sorry, but what does Morph mean in that context?
Like which type?
Because she's a bubblegum snow cornsnake.
I guess I shouldn't really worry about what sex it is, it's never acted this way before though so I guess by next year if it does this again I'll know if its a guy or girl, until then I'm going to say Poppy is a girl because her size and type of tail are the same as a females by what Kathy Love says.