• Hello!

    Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.

    Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....

    Please be certain that the location field is correctly filled out when you register. All registrations that appear to be bogus will be rejected. Which means that if your location field does NOT match the actual location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected.

    Sorry about the strictness of this requirement, but it is necessary to block spammers and scammers at the door as much as possible.

I'm afraid that she's gonna die soon....

Snake Queen

Snake Queen

rakes snock!
Just before I begin... I know there are gajillions of posts about non-eating snakes... but please take the time to read this one! Thank you so much.

Hi, I posted about 4 weeks ago, saying that my 1.5 yr old corn wasn't eating.....well its been six weeks since her last meal and she still isn't eating. When I hold her I can tell she's loosing weight. She isnt as thick as she usually is.

I don't know what else to feed her. I have tried "home raised" frozen, "storebought" frozen, "big" frozen, "little" frozen, exposed brain frozen, "me not touching it at all so it wont smell like me" frozen... and I just tried a live rat pinky today. I got two small strikes at the rat pink, but no eating.

She is waaay active.... she just started being hyper (trying to get out all the time almost) last week. She is also a bit agressive. She has never been agressive before. I am at my whits end. She has never refused a meal, and has never had ANY problems... I Dont know what is wrong!:confused:

I have a vet near me, and i know i should go.... but my dad doesnt care if my snake isn't eating and he doesn't like the idea of having to pay $40 for a sick snake. And I have offered to pay fr it myself, but he just doesnt want to take the time out of his day. *sigh*. So I am trying as many forums as I can to see if there is anyone with something that I can try at home... any type of antibiotics i can get...etc...

I don't think she is dehydrated, but I havent seen her drink in a while (i know that doesnt really mean anything). Is there a spray I can get that could help her rehydrate if she IS dehydrated? I know a snake wont eat if it is dehydrated.

I have a question. is it better to hold them a lot or leave them alone when they aren't eating?

in case someone needs it for a diagnosis, the temp is about 80-85 deg F during the day and around 60-70 during the night. It is rather humid, too... about 60% humidity. Her tank has papertowel bedding and a water dish. Thats all she's had for the past year and a half.

Ok, well that's all the info I can give ya. I hope I haven't ruled out all the possibilities with all this info. This is my first cornsnake and I love her very much!!! Thank you to anyone that can help me.
 
I assume you're talking about Xena. I looked at your other posts and I have some questions for you:

Are you sure she is a female and not a male? If Xena is male, then he might be in breeding mode and not feel like eating just now.

If your dad won't take you to the vet even as you offer to pay, can the parents of a friend of yours take you? Perhaps a teacher at school? Also, you could call the vet and explain your plight, and he/she might give you advice over the phone for free, you never know until you ask. The vet might also be persuaded to do a house call, which would be ideal, as he/she could see the environment and clues that would help pinpoint the source of the problem.

I would say don't handle the snake too much for now.

Has there been a change in the source of the food from before she quit eating? I'm wondering if there's a different smell now that she doesn't like.

Does she have any lumps in her body? She should feel smooth and even from head to tail.

Is this the same snake you posted about as having flakes on the nose? Has the flakiness gone away? Have you noticed any relationship between the onset of the flakiness and her not eating?

A last recourse would be to force-feed. Not easy to do and it's stressful to the snake, so you must succeed on the first try. It's hard to hold a squirming snake with one hand and open its mouth and shove a pinkie in it with the other. I'm guessing your dad won't volunteer to help. For this I highly recommend the vet or a herp friend who has done this before. But the basic procedure is to wrap your fingers around the snake's head and neck, and with the other hand open the mouth with the smooth side of a paperclip or something like it. Be prepared to prick your fingers on the teeth. Have a pinkie already in your hand and put its head in her mouth. She'll squirm and try to get it out, but you must hold it there and try to get it as deep into her mouth as possible. Hopefully after a few moments she'll stop fighting and decide to start swallowing the pinkie. When that happens, hold more pinkies to the butt of the first one so she continues eating as many as you deem necessary. This may or may not solve the feeding behavior problem, but it would at least buy you more time.
 
Thank you for your advice!

Liz- Yeah, this is the same snake that had the flaky nose. However, the flakyness has gone away. I don't remember when the flaky ness ecaxtly started, but it was around the time of the post.

As for it possibly being a male: I bought her from serpenco, and I trust them. But I know even the most experienced get it wrong some times, so she could be a he. When will... um... 'it' start eating again if it is just a male phase?

As for the smells... I did change from mice that I bought online (which are about as old as she is) to Adult mice that I raised and then killed (about 3 months old). but she had been eating the newer ones for a while before the problem started.

I really dont want to have to forcefeed her. i probably wont- i dont want to hurt her. I know it could save her life, but I just couldn't do it.

Thanks for the advice about the vet. If her color starts fading, or she starts to become lethargic, them I will figure out a way to take her or call the vet. But right now she is active, bright, and alert.

Your info about possibly being in a male phase is giving me hope... because it was just boggling my mind that she wasnt eating but was still active and breathing correctly, etc. Thank you so much!!
 
I think I've read that some people's male corns go for almost 5 months without eating...but for others it lasted like 2 months. It all depends on the snake I guess.
Hopefully it is that she is actually a he and there are no other problems...I know what it's like to have unsupportive parents...;)
 
Worth a try...

You tried a rat pup, so now try a live mouse. Average size for her.
Also, call or email Serpenco and ask for advice. If you still have the snake's ID #, they will be able to tell you more info on the line it came from, and possibly verify the gender.
Luck to you.
 
I think i will email serpeco. I do have her id number, and hopefully they made a mistake :( :eek: Thanks Iris for that info on the male corn not eating peroid. You all have helped much!!!
 
I have found that even males in "mating mode" will sometimes take a mouse scented with an anole. I know it is offensive to some, but I keep a few anoles in the freezer to scent mice for problems feeders at all times. You really might want to give this a try.

Good luck -- Darin
 
You know, I just looked at your pictures of your animal on your website. I know how hard it is to tell from a visual inspection of a snake (especially from a photo), but I think that snake may very well be a male. It appears that the tail begins at the fourteenth banding working backward from the tail tip (just before the Mickey Mouse ears blotch!). If that is true, that appears to me to be a longer tail than you would expect to find on a female. Maybe not! I could be all wet here (and probably am!!), but I think it is a very real possibility to take under consideration. Are there no experienced herp people around you to have the animal probed? That would settle the issue once and for all.

Hope this helps -- Darin
 
Which snake did you look at darin? I have a feeling that you looked at my white one... its Xena, my orange one thats haveing the problems.

I don't think I have anyone near me that Could sex it...Darn.

Xena may well be a male, though... "it" is still active... no signs of sluggishness. I am hopeful that she is a he.... "it" is a very large snake for its age... I've heard that Males are usually larger than females. Oh well, there is nothing I can do right now except keep trying to feed Xena.

Thanks Darin and everyone!
 
ESU Reptile Jump Start

Recommend using ESU Reptile Jump Start. It's a highly nutritious food made to smear inside the mouth cavity of non-feeding snakes. No dangerous force-feeding of whole mice is necessary or advisable, as it could choke them or impact in the esophagus. See the link

ESU Reptile Jump Start - Creative Aquatics

Although I don't have complete information on your snake, there is a very common cycle of

Stress > Failure to Feed > Physiological Deterioration > Even Less Appetite > Continued Failure to Feed > Physical Wasting Away > And So On

The only way to break a vicious cycle like this is to force the introduction of nutrition, but that doesn't have to mean "force-feeding" of whole mice. Although that can work if successful, it can also be very dangerous, especially for the inexperienced. Vets will typically use a prescription supplement called A/D, which is a liquified blend of mice meat and vitamins. They use a blunt tipped syringe to introduce this into the esophagus [being careful not to insert the tip into the trachea = windpipe]. Since I don't recommend that the inexperienced use a syringe that deeply, try the ESU stuff instead.

To open your snake's mouth, you'll need one person that the snake is comfortable with to hold her, and then you'll take the rod portion of a Q-Tip sideways. Place it gently against the lingual notch [hole through which the tongue flicks] on the snout, and gently roll it back into propping open the snake's mouth. Then use a blunt tipped applicator to smear the Jump Start around the inside of the mouth. Do this every other day for about 10 days, and then try feeding your snake again. The increased vitality may help "jump start" your snake back into feeding on her own.

Make sure that the tank is clean, and use plain white, no chemical, no scent paper towels changed every day to create a hospital tank. This will allow you to observe any regurgitation or excretion very carefully. Cut back on handling except when using the JS. Make sure there is fresh water daily.

You already know that a vet visit would be best, and I am sorry that others in your life don't understand how much your corn means to you--and all the rest of us here. Since you may not be able to get to a vet, I offer all of this as a substitute in the sincere hope that it works. I'm a people MD, not a vet, but have observed my vet friend carefully as he treated my snakes and other snakes, and have done lots of reading, as well as a year and a half of experience in solving my own snakes' problems, one of which was not feeding a little over a year ago.

Let us know how this goes, and do not hesitate to ask for more help. You are not bothering us if it is the health of your snake at stake.

Best of health to your corn and you,
Doctor Mike
 
Thanks DM for you wonderful insight. you are such a GREAT help at this forum.

As for the paper towels, that is what her bedding normally is, so there is no major change there. :)

I will see If I can get the Jump Start stuff within the next week or so.

Can I hurt her by doing the force-smearing thing? What if she struggles alot... How hard can you hold before she gets a hernia or something?

I am afraid of tramatizing her after doing the force-smearing thing. SHe has always been a docile and loving snakey... will it make her afraid of me? I know it sounds a little whiny because its either Jump start or die, but I would just like to know anyway.

I have had the front of her cage covered in a white pillowcase so she can't see out. I think it has helped calm her down, because she udes to always be crawling, and pushing her nose everywhere to try and get out. Is the pillowcase a good idea?

And, I was holding her for about 5 mintues today and I am noticing some body thickness loss, but not too much. How thin is way to thin? I can't see her backbone yet... i suspect that's a good thing.

Your little cycle diagram started with "stress". What could have caused it? would moving up to a bigger size mouse cause it? because a few weeks before i moved her to adult mice once every two weeks (because she wasn't hungry within a week). But she did eat adults about 3 or four times before she quit eating.

*sigh* I am asking so many questions.... Oh well. I am greatful to all of you who are helping me get through this. I have never dealt with a sick snake and all these brains working together come in really handy! Thank you all again!
 
Not that it matters much in relation to my post (if I'm right he'll eat soon enough), but I was looking at Xena right there on the first page of your website. Nice looking snake too!

Darin
 
Thanks Darin!

I have made my decision. I am going to wait a few more weeks, for two reasons.

1 - the Jump Start was kind of expensive and It came too big of a bottle.
2 - Xena has gone through a similar stage like this, during the winter of 2000-2001. She did not eat for 3 months. (sorry for not mentioning this fact earlier... I am kicking myself ;^.^)

Thank you all for your help and support and I will keep you updated on her/his condition.
 
Snake Queen, reviewing everything. . .

[1] Your corn hasn't been feeding for 6 weeks, and is 1.5 years old. Assuming that your corn was well fed before stopping feeding, you aren't yet in a high danger zone for starvation. [FOR A HATCHLING, 6 WEEKS WITHOUT FEEDING WOULD BE IN THE DANGER ZONE FOR STARVATION]. You should be concerned with finding the reasons for this behavior, and should be working on the solution, but not in an emergency mode yet.

[2] Nevertheless, it's a mistake to think that this corn's non-feeding phase can be justified by looking at Xena's non-feeding phase. Xena stopped feeding during the winter, suggesting that she was on the borderline of going into brumation, normal during the winter. It's now spring going into summer, and your corn should be even more active and more hungry [like mine are right now--I've never seen them so frisky].

[3] I just tried to log into Creative Aquatics to check on the $ for Jump Start, but their server wasn't answering tonight. I didn't remember JS as being that expensive, somewhere under $10.00. This would be well worth the money if you love your corn and can't get to a vet.

[4] Any "trauma" from smearing Jump Start in the mouth while someone else is holding her will be far less than the danger of trying to force a whole mouse of any size down her throat. And, even though 6 weeks isn't the danger zone yet, you will be crossing that line at about 10 to 12 weeks of non-feeding. Starvation will also be far more damaging than what I suggest. Think of what I recommend as ASSISTED FEEDING, not "force feeding". So why wait to try JS?

[5] Your helper should hold your snake firmly with his or her whole hand, avoiding pinching in one spot. Firmly means just firm enough to keep your corn from getting away. This won't hurt your corn.

[6] It's good that you cut down on handling, and covered the tank.

[7] What caused the initial stress that caused non-feeding? Hard to say without a lot more data. All we can do is to try to reduce physical and psychological stress as much as possible now, and to get some good nutrition into her now.

I strongly recommend you reconsider getting the Jump Start, or better yet, get to a vet [I know about the issues that make this difficult]. A vet would look for things like impaction, parasites and other infectious disease, and then syringe feed her.

Keep us posted.

Get well little corn,
Doctor Mike
 
I know I should try Jump Start, but I want to find a less expensive and smaller bottle of it, but if I can't I will fork out the money, and not make my parents pay for it. The place where I went to had only one bottle left, so I will try another place.

You said my snake should be extra active and extra hungry... well she is more active, just not more hungry! I have never seen her crawling around everywhere and trying so hard to get out... if thats what she is doing. She sleeps a little more now that I put the cover up, but she is still active.

I am so grateful that you have taken the time to help me and my little corn!!! :)

As always, thanks for the help and the advice.
 
I hate to be the lone voice of dissent here, but I think I would find somone to probe the snake to see if it's a male or not before I spent any money on a vet or anything else. If it's a male, it will eat in a few weeks once its search for a mate is over. If its not, THEN I might begin to look for other (medical) reasons for its not eating.

Darin
 
umm I could be wrong here but dont females go through a "breeding season" too? At least my female does (just found out that Ike is a 'she' last week!) The guy I bought my snake from said that alot of his females, especially if you keep males too, will show signs similar to males during the breeding season...loss of interest in food, cranky behaviour etc. Just a thought.....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top