Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Our yearling GBK hasn't eaten for 4 weeks.

She was eating weekly fuzzies no problem. Then she stopped eating. Then we noticed she was approaching shed. She had her first difficult shed (all others no problem). She shed in pieces. After I thought she was done, she still had some by her vent and her head.

I even went back to pinkies, and she's still not interested.

Today I used a forceps and gently removed a piece from one side of her head, but she still has a little to remove on the other side of her head.

1. Could the incomplete shed still on her head be keeping her from reacquiring her feeding impulse?

2. The incomplete shed doesn't affect her opening her mouth, does it??

3. How long can she not eat before I should really worry??

4. Should I give her some time in a humid hide and then try feeding again?

Help!

Thanks,

Walt

I would try a humid hide for a couple of days. Stuck sheds are a pain. Where do you live? How big is your snake? I had some yearling GBKs stop eating this time of year when the the temps started dropping and natural light started diminishing. Derek

I was wondering about the time of year, because it's been 2 weeks now of not eating for my Jalisco Milk Snake. Our Corn Snake eats like clockwork year round and is really big compared to the other two (she's on adult mice). The Milk is the next biggest (still on fuzzies - would a hopper entice her to eat?), and the GBK is pretty small (18-20"?).

How can the snakes know it's time to brumate when they never have and the room is kept a constant temperature?

Also, how long can she go without a meal?

(P.S. all on F/T mice)

Thanks,

Walt

Daylight has a lot to do with it also, and I'm sure there are other reasons too. I guess they just know. Derek

Hey Walt, If your snake is healthy and has good weight she/he can go a long time without a meal, I had a Pueblan milk go for more than 4 months and that was after she had just laid a clutch of eggs, so she was in less than perfect condition. I also have a pair of Rubber boa's that refused all food offered for over a year and had lost only about 7% body weight, they now eat like pigs. You could try to brumate the snake for 6-8 weeks, get the temps down to 48* to 52* and let it cycle its self. Make sure to give it a water dish and keep it in complete dark. This will sometimes trigger it to start feeding again when you warm it up after it's hibernated. With the cool temperatures the snake will not lose hardly any weight maybe 1-2 percent at most. Jack