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Lars won't eat =[ HELP

visceralrepulsion

visceralrepulsion

Nay-Sayer
lars, my corn snake ate last on the 8th. one adult mouse. he was due for feeding the 18th but he went into blue on the 15th, and completely shedded the 17th. since i figured hed be hungry i tried feeding him a few times after his shed, to no avail. i even tried braining the mice. he seems completely disinterested and even intimidated by the mouse doing the "zombie dance". but hes had bad experiences with live mice at his former home and has scars to show it. hes refused live mice in the past for the previous owners, but never f/t for me. i must mention that i did move him into a new tank after his shed, which hes been in for nearly a week and maybe hes just adjusting. should i not have held him during this adjustment period to his new surroundings? also he only poo'd once after this last feeding which he usually goes more than once, and it took a warm soak to get him to go. does anyone think this could be a heating/late brumating/gastrointenstinal issue or something else? ill answer anymore questions you guys may have that may help, and would appreciate any input or suggestions. thanks.[/SIZE][/B]
 
I'm guessing this is an adult snake, so I would first recheck your setup for temps and all. You might have to also try feeding in a small feed tub in a dim area, so it feel more secure and safe. And since you have have him in new surrounding the snake could be adjusting and or stressed. So saying all that....I would try to not feed him for say...three weeks. Because it's an adult snake it won't harm it not to feed it for a short term. Adult male sometimes go on hunger strike in the spring so it will be fine.
 
oh i always feed him in a dimly lit room in a large bin. but thanks for the thought. i figured ill let him adjust to his new tank, then offer food to him again in a week or so, and see what he does. also do you or anyone know if its okay to thaw then rethaw mice if theyre not eaten, or will that make them go bad?
 
oh and yes, lars is an adult, 6-7 yrs old. im just kinda worried about constipation,etc, because he usually goes 3-4 times, not just once. and i dont even know if thats normal or not. if he doesnt eat by the 1st ill be taking him to the vet for a checkup either way, and maybe she can sense some constipation or something else going on. also he doesnt appear to have any eyecaps left over to head him from eating. hes also still not going in his tank, only outside of it, and this is still a mystery......
 
I agree with everything David said, providing it's an adult snake. Not uncommon at all for a male to go on a months-long hunger strike in the spring. It's VERY worrying with your first snake, but after you have a bunch of them, and see that they all do start eating again afater a few weeks or months, then it seems like a vacation! If he's an adult, I'd make sure everything is fine with his set-up, temps-wise, and then just offer food every two weeks. The nice thing about having more than one snake is if one refuses, you can feed the mouse to another, providing everyone is healthy and is not a new snake in your collection (is not in isolation).

If he is a young snake, I would skip the next feeding, and then try again under the conditions David described- small container, after dusk, dimly lit quiet room, maybe even covered. Piping hot mouse.
 
I would not refreeze a mouse that has been thawed. It's not worth $2 or whatever to have your snake eat a potentially bad mouse.

Also- I'm feeding 60 snakes. They normally poop once, or very rarely twice, or very rarely not at all, between feedings, at intervals of 5-14 days.

Feeding bins are typically small- think not a lot of room to turn around. That way, the snake doesn't go off in a corner and "forget" there is a mouse there.
 
i follow you guys. the bin is maybe 18x 18 inches and hes a 4ft snake. and we do it in a quiet room with no distractions and dim lighting. i guess maybe his digestive track is slowing down to one poo per feeding now that hes in steady environment. im just being a worried mom i suppose haha. and ill remember not to thaw and refreeze. ill try again in 2 weeks. thanks.
 
These are the feeding bins I use. The largest is for adult corns that eat well. I still have some that take longer in the next size down. The babies start out in deli cups and go to the Gladwares when they are eating perfectly and about 50 grams or so. If anyone, other than a big adult, starts to get weird about eating, I'll drop them back down a size, and cover. Usually I try covering first.
 

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I had my first picky eater and I found that I had to put her in a small container (the adult-sized deli cup that she was sold in) and cover that with a towel, then leave her alone for half an hour. She will gladly eat then.

But if I disturb her, or if I move the mouse around, then she just gets defensive.
 
thanks, ill try a smaller bin, and leaving him alone with the mouse after doing the zombie dannce, for an hour or so next time. im just surprised since hes never had problems eating before, but ill heed all of your advice and give it a go. thanks again =]
 
Could well be "settling in" blues. I have one in particular that hates any kind of change and moving him to a new viv did once spark a lengthy period of refusals.

Double-check your temps - too high or too low can affect whether they eat or not.

I'd also try leaving him with the mouse overnight. Just because he's never needed that before, doesn't mean it'll stay that way. They can suddenly decide to change the habits of a lifetime for no reason that seems obvious to us.

In the absence of any other indications of a health problem, I think it's just patience now. Keep offering his usual food at his usual intervals.
 
incase anyone was wondering lars did eat a couple days after i posted this thread, and is doing well, although hes now on an every 14 day diet instead of 10 days, because he was getting a bit "robust" haha
 
I'm glad he ate for you. :) I'm playing catch-up and I'm happy to read of the happy ending.
 
i didnt change anything that i can think of. im considering that he just takes more time than most snakes do before and after shedding to want to eat again. it was a week after he shed that he ate. he certainly had me worried. and unfortunately hes on another hunger strike =[. nothing has changed. his temps are good, hes been in the same tank for nearly a month, etc. my boyfriend is the one who tried to feed him though. i couldnt be there to feed him and my boyfriend didnt try covering the feeding bin, nor leaving him in there with it for awhile. but in about a week well try again using a smaller bin with a cover and leaving him with the mouse for awhile. also he may just be in the mood for love, you could say, and on a breeding hunger strike due to it being near spring. well see what happens, wish me luck!
 
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