help, snake not eating

[sueb]

I'm having a problem!! I got my corn on feb 14. she's been eating f/t the entire time twice a week, well up until Mar. 18. She doesn't seem interested in eating anyting. So on Mar. 28, we gave her a live pinky, she killed it right away, tried to injest it but let it go 3x, then she left it there for a day. I finally took it out. What should I do?? The last shed she had was on Feb. 25. Could she be getting ready to shed again, and that's why she's not eating??
We gave her another live on Apr. 5, and she did the same thing as with the first live. I'm at a total loss!!! She is still pretty active as well. I've tried giving her a warm bath, then a warm f/t. Nothings working. I'm afraid that she's going to starve to death. Help me please!!

 

[Simon]

Don't worry too much about it yet. A month or two without eating will not do too much harm to the snake. As long as it's still active and doesn't look too wrong. It might only be in shed or preparing for shedding. Keep a good eye on the snake and make sure that the weight of the snake doesn't get too low. That is make sure that the snake's skin isn't wrinkly.......
make sure that is has access to fresh water and the temperature and humidity level is correct.

If the problem still continues, come back on forum and post agian, we'll think of something to help it. Don't worry.

Good luck and Happy Herping!

 

[sueb]

thank-you

Thanks for the advice. I'm really new at this snake raising thing. But I love snakes so much, that I made my hubby get one!!, He wanted to get a tarantula(yuck!!)

 

[jim]

sue,
i agree with simon. don't worry unless you otice signs that the snake is getting too thin. 3 of my snakes are totally off food right now an i expect that they'll be back on in less than a month and hungry. this time of year it seems to happen quite often especially with the males. with the cooler dryer weather the most important thing is to make sure that they have plenty of fresh drinking water and go through their shed cycles normally. (not too fast, could be dehydration) take care... jim

 

[sue frederick]

Are you positive "she" is a "she"? I had the same thing happen with mine last spring, and found out "she" was a "he"! Male cornsnakes can go into a breeding mode and will commonly refuse food during breeding season. If your snake was eating F/T, I would not try to switch her to live food now. See my response to "feeding two mice at time" post for reasons for not feeding live.
sue frederick

 

[LizS]

Just another thought here: examine the mouth to make sure she doesn't have mouth rot. It's a bit hard to do, as snakes squirm a lot when restrained. Try slipping a folded business card or a paperclip (rounded sides only) into the mouth, and look for localized red areas. Chances are she's ok, and simply not hungry right now. Mouth rot would probably show on the outside as a swollen area along her "lips".

 

[csmith1626]

i'm helping

LIKE IT SAID EARLYIER SHE MAYBE REALLY A HESO HAVE A PROFESSIONAL BREEDER CHECK FOR YOU.

 

[nicky]

ya sounds like a classic pronle,m

don't worry
like all these other smart people said just relax. It could be hibernation or breeding behaviour either or just wanted towish ya good luck
corns rule!!!

 

[Darin Chappell]

Maybe this has already been answered, and possibly I just missed it in the original post. How old is your snake? I assume that she is rather young as you are giving her pinkies. However, my females that are old enough to breed will often go off of their feed for quite a while before they actually lay their eggs. I still try to get them to take pinkies (hence my possible confusion with your post) even though their eggs are taking up much of their stomach space/capacity. That way they tend to lose less weight throughout the process and are more likely to double clutch wihtout any harmful effects.

Let us know how it goes -- Darin

 

[lynn]

my corn has not eaten her last two meal's either and she didn't have her shed last month though at this particular moment she look's like she could be having a shed soon but it never stopped her eating before. I even managed to give her a bath this time I didn't realize they could swim underwater. It was not that deep not even half way up her body but she kept putting her head in. So I'm hoping mine will shed this time and start eating again. let us know how you get on.

 

[Doctor Mike]

If this snake is over a year old and of a size and weight appropriate for age, not feeding for 1 month is not that big a deal yet.

However, if this non-feeding corn is a hatchling or very young, say 8 months or less, you should be getting concerned at the one month point of not eating. At the two month point of not eating, the potential for serious health declines and death becomes a real problem for such young snakes. I know because I went through that when I was a novice at snakekeeping, and numerous members here have had close calls or have lost their hatchlings because of this. I was very lucky to get my corn to a vet for syringe feeding with "AD" at the 2 month point, and today, Valentine is a very healthy 20 month old corn.

See my other post on gentler "force-feeding" options.

http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php3?s=&postid=2207#post2207

Again, don't freak if you have an older snake, but I suspect your corn is a hatchling from your mention of pinkies for food.

Let us know how this goes.

Good health to your corn,
Doctor Mike

 

[sueb]

I don't think that she is a young snake, she is almost 4' long, and the pet store told us that she was around 3 or 4.
It is now April 19, and she hasn't eaten for a month, but is still very active.
Can she lay eggs without being bred first? I've heard that some animals can do that, what about snakes??
I'm going to try feeding her again this week and I'll let you know what happens. She seems pretty happy tho. I think that i'm just worrying too much.

 

[sueb]

and to Doctor Mike,
we were told to feed her the f/t pinkies. I'm just trying to get all the advice i can. Sometines she'll eat two in one feeding.

 

[kellum]

pinkies sound really small for a 4' snake. Sounds like it should be eating big 'ole mice

 

[jim]

the pet store gets more bang for your buck if you feed pinkies... a 4' snake should take adult mice no problem...
i wouldn't worry about the non-feeding thing for now. it is quite common for snakes to go off food at this time of year. (especially males) enjoy!!! ---jim

 

[sueb]

she ate!!! yay!!!!

yay, Finally after a month, Cleo ate today.(April 21)!!!! I just put the f/t in and she ate it right away. I think I have to get get more mice now. And I'll get her full size ones too. Now i just hope that she keeps it up.Thanks for all the advice guys. You really do care.!!

 

[sueb]

one more thing. I think that I am confused with the whole pinky, fuzzie etc... thing. We are feeding Cleo f/t mice. I think that they are young adult mice. Are pinkies the ones with no fur?? If so then I haven't given her any of those. All the mice that we have fed her have fur on them, so would these be fuzzies?? I'm confused Anyway I think that we are giving her young adults. That is what the pet store told me today. Thax for the help everyone.

 

[jim]

mice names... pinky, fuzzie, hopper, etc.

sue,
in my experience the names that are applied to mice vary somewhat from person to person or vendor to vendor so this is just a rough estimate. pinkies are newborn-hairless eyes closed. fuzzies are a little larger but their eyes are still not open. some people sell peach fuzzies- pretty mch the same except that these are starting to grow some fur. hoppers/weanlings- eyes open and moving around well pre-adolescents i guess. then pretty much just small and large adult mice. i guess that just about covers it but like i said these parameters will vary from person to person. hope that helps... jim