JUNGLE WON"T EAT!!

[xKGLVRx]

We have had our Jungle Corn for a month now, when we bought her he said she was due for a feeding. We have tried everything to get her to eat, we've raised and lowered the temps, brained the mice, changed the substrate, tried live, scented it, left her in there over night. Obviously she's eaten before, she's a year and a half, and very Healthy. Any more ideas??? Please Help!

 

[Roy Munson]

We have had our Jungle Corn for a month now, when we bought her he said she was due for a feeding. We have tried everything to get her to eat, we've raised and lowered the temps, brained the mice, changed the substrate, tried live, scented it, left her in there over night. Obviously she's eaten before, she's a year and a half, and very Healthy. Any more ideas??? Please Help!

What was she feeding on before you bought her?

 

[cornsnakekid92]

did u leave her alone for a while?

 

[xKGLVRx]

Jungle

She was eating both f/t and live. He had feed her more on f/t towards the time when we bought her. And yes, we left her alone all night, in the dark...and everyother time we'd leave her alone for 2-3 hours, in a semi-dark room. She just isn't interested in eating. Could she possibly be sick? Is there a way of telling. She shed last week, and her shed came off perfectly....when do I need to start thinking about force feeding? How would I go about that?

 

[vanderkm]

If she is a yearling in good condition, a fast of several months will not do her any harm. We have purchased and sold several snakes in this age range that go off feed for a couple months just as a result of the change in environment. It is often a major difference for a snake that was in one situation to go to something entirely different and some of them need time to adjust. While some may feed right away in their new home, I had one yearling take 3 months to feel comfortable enough to feed after I bought it (even though it was left completely alone - just the change from a rubbermaid tub to an aquarium).

If your female just shed, it is likley that she avoided food during at least 2-3 weeks of the time since you bought her just due to the shed cycle. If you are trying to feed in a separate enclosure and she was used to feeding in her tank, that is certainly enough to prevent her from eating as many snakes find it quite disruptive to be moved and then expected to feed without the security of their home turf.

I would avoid handling her except to clean the cage, provide proper heat gradient and not offer food for the next two weeks. You should see evidence that she is out and cruising in her enclosure during the evening and night. If she appears to lose weight or condition, then a vet visit is needed. Then offer a small prey item (I would feed in her usual enclosure - best to have them on something like papertowel during the quarantine anyway - so minimal risk of ingesting bedding) late in the evening and leave her alone. We offer thawed, warmed prey with the nose into the snake's hide area, so they can just drag it in and feed in privacy.

Best of luck with her,

mary v.

 

[cornnewb2005]

Thank you.

Thank you. No one has said it could be stress. they just say they have had snakes go off feed for 3-4 months then they were fine. She seems healty to me, she's always out at night, trying to find a way out. Little devil, she'll hang out on the temperature gauge, prying at the lid...then she'll fall and go hide for about an hour then start all over again. We tried feeding her a pre-killed fuzzie in her viv the other night, and she seemed interested at first, then kind of forgot about it and went to loungin under the newspaper. As long as it's not going to harm her, I can wait...I know they can go awhile without feed. She's not loosing any weight, and so for the next 2 weeks don't handle her anymore then neccesary and then try to feed her again?