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Just not hungry or in the mood for love?

safire6

safire6

New member
First a little background: I've had my male Amel for a year and a half. He was 5 years old when I got him from a breeder. The breeder said he always fed him live mice so that is what I've done for the past 1-1/2 years. He is 58" long and weighs 822 grams. He has always eaten very well. The last time "Cornelius" ate was in November so it's been about 4 months now. This is the second winter that I've had him-he goes into what I'll call semi-hibernation and doesn't eat for months. I handle him about once or twice a week during this time. About 3 weeks ago he started being more active-he came out of his hides, evacuated his bowels and shed. I thought he'd be ready for a mouse. Not! I feed him in a separate cage but he has no interest in the mouse. He strikes at the mouse as if to say don't bother me or he just looks at it and slithers away. Could it be that he is just in the mood for love and not ready to eat or something else? He weighed about 840 grams in November so he hasn't lost much weight in the last 4 months and he definitely does not look thin. Should I be worried he hasn't eaten in 4 months? thanks, Steve
 
no need to worry. If he's not losing weight, then he's ok. He will eat again when he's ready.

What are the temps in his cage? You said he goes in a "semi-hibernation." Wild snakes do this when it gets too cool for them, but a pet snake kept inside? Do you allow your cage temps to drop during the winter?

A Corn snake can not digest food properly if the temp falls below 80 and stays there. (The preferred temps are about 82 to 88.) So the snake probably won't eat if the temps are too cold for him to digest.

If your temps are lower than normal you might try raising them a bit and see if he will eat.

Otherwise if your temps are correct, then he's just not hungry right now.
 
Thanks for the reply. The temp on the glass above the UTH (and under the warm hide) is 87-88F. The viv is in a finished (and heated) part of the basement where it is bit cooler than the rest of the house though. I use a light above the viv on a timer to simulate natural daylight cycles. Seems that he has been spending more time than normal in his warm hide so I think I'll raise the temp a degree or two.

Steve
 
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