Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey,
I got a milksnake from a petstore about 3 months ago and he was eating fine for a while and now he wont eat... he hasn't ate in about a month and a half. The first couple of times i fed him i put him in a smaller cage with nothing in it except for his food.

Please help me!

There could be a variety of reasons why it's not eating. You don't give enough information to really pinpoint what the issue is.

Here are some basic questions that would help us focus on the issue for you:

Have you changed its environment at all (changed temp, humidity, substrate, cage or cage location, etc.) recently?

How old is the animal/what size is the animal?

What size prey item are you feeding it? Did you change the size of the prey?

You said it was eating when placed in a smaller cage with just the food item. Did you stop doing that?

Those are just a few Q's to help figure out the issue!

Dave

DNS Reptiles

Have you changed its environment at all (changed temp, humidity, substrate, cage or cage location, etc.) recently?
I havent changed its environment... but it has been pretty hot and humid lately.
How old is the animal/what size is the animal?
I think its a hatchling... he is almost 14 inches long

What size prey item are you feeding it? Did you change the size of the prey?
I am feeding him pinkey mice... and no i didnt change the size ( i have to cut the mice up to feed him)
You said it was eating when placed in a smaller cage with just the food item. Did you stop doing that?
No I didnt stop putting him in a cage

well, it doesn't sound like an easy answer since you didn't change too much. Make sure the temps are good and there is a heat gradient for the snake.

One trick that never (usually never) fails is to put the snake in a deli cup (or some other very samll container) with the pinky mouse in a dark place and leave it alone for several hours. This will usually get a stubborn snake to eat or one that went off feed to eat again.

Give that a try. I have some other tricks if that doesn't work, but usually it does.

Good luck

Dave
DNS Reptiles

Thank you very much... ill try this tomorrow and ill reply back later to tell you if it works..

Thanks for all the help!!!!!!!!!

That trick didn't work... i left him in a dark room in a gladware container for about 5 hours and when i looked at him he was just laying there...

You have to cut the pinky up to feed him? Have you tried feeding live pinkies to him. I have a few that will only eat live and from your post,I assume that you are feeding frozen thawed or fresh killed. If you have not tried live you might want to give it a shot.

is your snake going into a shed??

The most common feeding problem is the temperature being too low. Check online for a viable care sheet and make sure your temperature is accurate, and your snake has a spot to be warm and a spot to keep cool. Let's hear all the answers to the questions above and I'm sure we'll be able to answer. If all else fails...deer mice?

-Sean

is your snake going into a shed??

He might be soon... but i have been tring to feed him for 3 weeks now

It is not unusual for milk snakes to stop eating in late july and august. If your snake ate well in the spring and early summer then he will eat well again. Don't worry

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Doug
....and am I the only one here that thinks designer snakes are ugly ?

"It is not unusual for milk snakes to stop eating in late july and august."

How commonly does this occur for you? I've been keeping milks for some time now and I had a large female go completely off of food for about 10 weeks. This is the first time I've had this occur.
She only just ate for me a few days ago. (Prior to that, she was eating like a beast, downing up to three sizable rat pups at a time.)
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-Paul