Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Any ideas? He's three years old and his pattern has been to eat every week and skip a week when he's molting. About 3.5 weeks ago, he molted and hasn't eaten since - a total of 5 weeks. I've since tried changing mice suppliers (and made sure the mice were "good". I've bought him a bigger aquarium (56 gallon - huge for him) and given him places to hide. It's been a week since that change. And still he does not eat! His cage is clean and he's never had mites or bugs of any kind. I'm worried.

Snakes crave security and often do far better (i.e. eat more readily) in small enclosures.
My guess is moving the snake to a bigger tank "freaked it out" and moving it back to it's former home will result in it going back to eating.

Also, if your snake is a male, it is now breeding season. Some males aren't very interested in food at this time of year, as all they want to do is breed.

Tim

Third Eye

I agree.. it's breeding season and your male is more interested in locking up with female then eating.. You can keep offering him meals, but he most likely will not take till after his next shed..

No issues though, he will be fine!

~ Mike Russo

Thanks, Tim. The "breeding season explanation" might just be it! I hope so. I moved him to the larger cage after he hadn't eaten for 5 weeks already in the smaller cage - in hopes of solving the problem. At what point should I be very concerned? It's already been 6 weeks.

Rest assured, if the snake is a male, and doing a lot of cruising, and NOT eating this time of year, it's because just as Tim and Mike mentioned, it is busy looking for a mate. This will take a while for him to get over, but DO NOT worry, the snake will return to normal within a month or so, sometimes even longer, and start feeding normally again. This is absolutely normal behavior, and isn't anything to worry about at all. He will sustain just fine while fasting.

best regards, ~Doug

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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"