Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok my WC male southern copperhead just refuses to eat. first i tried F/T with lots of teasing. he wouldnt even strike at it. I threw it out and tried a live mouse. i left it in for a couple of hours closely supervised of course. the snake never even struck at it. i waited another week and tried a live mouse scented like a rat using bedding out of a rats cage. again, no interest. so then i held the mouse by the tail with the hemoststs just above the snake and after about 5 minutess of waving the mouse in front of the snake he struck at it. as soon as he hit it i dropped the mouse to let it run around and die on its own to see if the snake had any interest. still no interest what so ever. so i guess ill leave it in for about 2 days and see if he will take it then. if he doesnt, what should be the next step? my CB male southern has never been this difficult to feed. as a very last resort i will try force feeding. i have experience in force feeding copperheads, cottonmouths and timber rattlers, so im no newbie to that, i just dont like doing it but if it becomes nessecary i will.
thanks for any advice yall can give

also here is a pic of the W/C enclosure

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0.0.1 albino burmese
0.1.0 normal burmese
0.0.1 redtail boa
1.0.0 albino corn
1.1.0 leopard geckos
1.2.0 copperheads
1.0.0 green iguana
0.0.1 veiled chameleon
2.1.0 ball pythons
0.0.1 mexican red knee tarantula
0.0.1 emperor scorpion

I forgot to mention that the snakes that I have had to force feed were juveniles using a pinky pump. I know these are for mainly smaller snakes but would I be able to use it with the adult also?
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0.1.0 albino burmese
1.0.0 normal burmese
1.0.0 redtail boa
1.0.0 albino corn
0.1.0 creamsicle corn
1.1.0 leopard geckos
2.0.0 copperheads
1.0.0 green iguana
0.0.1 veiled chameleon
2.1.0 ball pythons
0.0.1 mexican red knee tarantula
0.0.1 emperor scorpion

There is a good chance if she is wc. she can be gravid. That is why she would refuse food. So I would not worry just yet. Wait a couple of more weeks. Then try something small like a hopper at night when it is dark. I feel that snakes only refuse food if they are gravid, being offered the wrong type of food (something they were not eating in the wild where they are from) or sick. If sick you should see some signs. But I do not think this is the case just yet. Where did you get the snake? Maybe it was consumeing a frog diet. Good luck keep us posted.

SORRY. I should have read the first post better. I see it is your male. Some times as the fall comes around the male copperheads will also breed. At this time they only have one thing in their mind and it is not food. Do not worry at this time.

If this was an animal you personally collected and you know where it orginated...release it. Why keep it? There are plenty of captive bred established animals to keep. But, if that's not an option, your set up needs improvement. I would recommend ditching the glass tank and getting a reptile cage that is dark on three sides. Additionally, provide a deep layer of dead leaves - you'll be surprised how much less stressed your snake will be with a deep leaf layer. This will equate to a snake that will be much more willing to feed. They should still be willing to feed this time of year. Another seldom tried "trick of the trade" is to soak your feeder animal in a pinch of sea salt and water. It sounds crazy but it works...very well.

Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center

>>ok my WC male southern copperhead just refuses to eat. first i tried F/T with lots of teasing. he wouldnt even strike at it. I threw it out and tried a live mouse. i left it in for a couple of hours closely supervised of course. the snake never even struck at it. i waited another week and tried a live mouse scented like a rat using bedding out of a rats cage. again, no interest. so then i held the mouse by the tail with the hemoststs just above the snake and after about 5 minutess of waving the mouse in front of the snake he struck at it. as soon as he hit it i dropped the mouse to let it run around and die on its own to see if the snake had any interest. still no interest what so ever. so i guess ill leave it in for about 2 days and see if he will take it then. if he doesnt, what should be the next step? my CB male southern has never been this difficult to feed. as a very last resort i will try force feeding. i have experience in force feeding copperheads, cottonmouths and timber rattlers, so im no newbie to that, i just dont like doing it but if it becomes nessecary i will.
>>thanks for any advice yall can give
>>
>>also here is a pic of the W/C enclosure
>>
>>-----
>>0.0.1 albino burmese
>>0.1.0 normal burmese
>>0.0.1 redtail boa
>>1.0.0 albino corn
>>1.1.0 leopard geckos
>>1.2.0 copperheads
>>1.0.0 green iguana
>>0.0.1 veiled chameleon
>>2.1.0 ball pythons
>>0.0.1 mexican red knee tarantula
>>0.0.1 emperor scorpion
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Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, IL

thanks for the info. The glass tank is just a temporary enclosure until I get the other enclosure finished. The enclosure that I'm building for it is melamine with a sliding glass front. I'll definatly do what you suggest and I really appreciate the advice
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0.1.0 albino burmese
1.0.0 normal burmese
1.0.0 redtail boa
1.0.0 albino corn
0.1.0 creamsicle corn
1.1.0 leopard geckos
2.0.0 copperheads
1.0.0 green iguana
0.0.1 veiled chameleon
2.1.0 ball pythons
0.0.1 mexican red knee tarantula
0.0.1 emperor scorpion

I forgot to mention that the snake was found by my dad in a load of railroad ties that came in on a semi truck where he works. The RR ties came from Tennessee and he called me to come and get it. That's the reason I'm not too keen on the idea of releasing it around here. If worse comes to worse I guess I'll take it out to my farm and let it go.
-----
0.1.0 albino burmese
1.0.0 normal burmese
1.0.0 redtail boa
1.0.0 albino corn
0.1.0 creamsicle corn
1.1.0 leopard geckos
2.0.0 copperheads
1.0.0 green iguana
0.0.1 veiled chameleon
2.1.0 ball pythons
0.0.1 mexican red knee tarantula
0.0.1 emperor scorpion

i have the same problem with my wc southern copperhead if you were able to get yours to eat please tell me how thanks