Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone!

We have a mature 4 1/2 foot corn however, he hasn't eaten since mid December. He is very active, but not interested in eating - we feed him live mice. I am worried because it has been 4 months... When I put in a mouse, the snake smells him, but is not interested in earing him. I have had to let 3 mice go in the woods because I do not want a pet mouse!

Any advice or should I not worry??

Thanks!

My first advice would be NOT to let store bought mice go into the wild.. I am sure others will agree with this..

Second, and the answer I think your looking for is.. Your snake is more active than usuall because he is in search of a mate and he is not eating because he is more interested in breeding at this time of year.

Next time your snake refuses a meal.. freeze it and in a few weeks when your snake begins feeding again defrost the mouse and offer it to him then.

Good Luck and Happy Easter!

~ Mike Russo

Thanks Mike! So - not eating for 4 months is nothing to worry about?

Question - will my snake eat the mouse if its not alive? He has always eaten live mice - not frozen. And how do I freeze it? Just stick it in a box & let it freeze to death??

Why not let it go?

Just wondering.

A 4 foot plus snake is well prepared to go a few months witout food.. Next year you may want to consider hibernating him for the winter.. Even if you don't plan to breed him.

Most if not all corn snakes will eat thawed mice without a problem.. That is all i & prob. most of us here feed our animals. So, give it a try!

And, yes you can just freeze the mouse in the box if you need to

Why not let it go? It is always a bad idea to let captive animals free into the wild.. For a whole host of reasons..

Hope this helps!

~ Mike Russo

Thanks Mike - you have put my worries to rest.

I'll try freezing the mouse & giving it to him in a couple weeks.

It seems pretty cruel to freeze a mouse to death, seems that would be pretty slow. Why not just kill it quickly first?
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1.1 Ghost corns, 1.1 Butter het. stripe corns, 0.1 normal corn
1.1 Tremper Albino Leopard Geckos
1.0 Super dalmation crested, 1.1 Pinstripe crested, 2.1.1 Misc crested
1.0 Ghost Bull, 0.1 Snow bull

Seboba, are you referring to a strike on the counter as a quick death?

When a lifeform freezes, it's organs begin to shut down because the core temperature drops, and they get sleepy. I'd rather freeze to death then be struck on the counter multiple times.

You don't let animals go (especially rodents!) because they cause all kinds of problems for native flora and fauna. If nature had intended the life form to be in the habitat, it would have put them there. Captive animals can hold many parasites that wild animals will not, and vice versa.

Take the Cane Toads in Australia, for instance. They have wiped out many plants and animals, they are a complete scourge for many of the inhabitants.

I quick kill my mice with a hard throw to cement. Wack! and dead. Only have problems with rats... but that's another story. And pretty much all states and countries they have mice and rats, so what real harm would letting a mouse go do? I can understand the whole cane toad thing, it's like the brown snake in Guam, ate like 3/4 of the bird population.
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1.0.0 Bearded Dragon (Rex- "normal" orange fire)
1.0.0 Bearded Dragon (Glutany- German Giant Mix)
0.1.0 Okeetee Corn (Okatee)
1.1.0 Spotted Python (Hotdog and Shoelace)