Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My boyfriend and I got a 1-2 yr old gopher snake earlier this year, I believe in the month of April. Her previous owner had been feeding live and we switched her to F/T with no problem at all. She ate a lot.. 2-3 large mice a week. My boyfriend left for around a month in June - July. The week he left, she stopped eating. He got back early July, and we went and got her a live mouse and after that she was eating readily again, but only for a couple weeks. There have been several environmental changes(we have moved but she is in the same enclosure and I also have pet rats now), but she started acting picky right before we moved. Some weeks she will only take a small mouse, some weeks she will take 4, and there are periods of 2-3 weeks where she just won't eat. Leaving her alone with the mouse doesn't work at all, as she only strikes if it is moving. We've tried dipping in egg yolk, and "braining" and those things just seem to make her less interested. Anyone got any advice? Also, she used to only become active when she was hungry, but otherwise would stay put.. Nowadays she is constantly moving around, except for 2 days after she eats a large meal(which is rare). So I'm assuming she's hungry.. She just won't eat.

I think the key in this situation would be to find out what exactly is causing her stress to prevent her from wanting to eat on a more consistent basis.

Check to see if the proper temps are in place. I believe pits do better in slightly cooler temps than kings. 78 to 82 works good, but I actually keep mine at 79-80 at the most, with a nightime drop of around 74-75. Hotter than 82 and they seem to be uncomfortable, cruising cages constantly.

Also, make sure, since this may be stress related, that she has a hiding box/spot that makes her feel really secure. If she already has one, add another hiding box/spot to the cage. See if that helps with her feeling secure. In doing so, she may become more relaxed, and this may aid in her wanting to eat more. Multiple hides are always a good idea, IMO.

Is there too much commotion and distraction going on when she is being fed? Is she being watched, or are you allowing her to be completely alone, perhaps with the lights out, when she is offered food? Some snakes prefer to be left alone when fed, as for those particular individuals, the stress level may be too high if there is constant movement around their cage at feeding time, resulting in distraction.

Then, there may be the simple fact that she, at times, may not be hungry. If there are times that she eats 4 at a time, then, the possibility of her being full for a while should be thought about, and she may not want to eat for another few weeks. Since snakes are individuals, some may eat any time you throw food in their cage, no matter how big the last meal was, and some may decide they simply do not want to eat. I have seen both examples. Perhaps offering her consistent sized meals, once she eats, can help. In other words, if a good meal for her is 1-2 good sized items, keep it at that. Then, in doing so, she can work off her meal, and be hungry the following week, if weekly feedings are what you are aiming for.

As long as her weight is good, and she has not gone off food completley, I would not worry about it too much. I would stress though, to key in on her root problem of her stress. Just experiment with different techniques to see what exactly works best for your individual snake.

Hope this helps!
-----
Genesis 1:1

In addition to the previous good advice, her high level of activity suggests that she is seeking a place to brumate for the winter. If you have a quiet spot that you can be sure will stay in the low 50s - low 60s for two or three months, put her in a smallish box with a stable water bowl and a hide and stash it in the dark. Check in every few weeks to make sure she has water. After 90 days or so, take her out and let her re-acclimatize to her cage for a few days. Then she'll probably be ravenous again.

BUT, resist the temptation to over-feed. Snakes generally require less food than we keepers think and will probably do better. Also, they can go a long time without. I just had an adult Honduran Milksnake come off a 175 day fast. He had lost a lot of weight but was still fit and healthy.

Hope that helps.
-----
See all my snakes at SerpenTrack.com

I also have feeding troubles with my nearly 4 foot long, extremely finicky, W/C Great Basin Gopher snake of unknown gender. Go-Go was caught in May of 2002 between 1 and 2 miles away from my house. In general, s/he will usually only eat during the few months of late Spring and early Summer, and completely refuse food the rest of the year.

I would like my snake to eat something, even just one mouse, (and pass excrement) before going into Winter dormancy. Since s/he has not eaten much all year, I am worried that my Gopher snake will starve before next Spring's appatite return.

Over 95% of the time this snake will refuse to take any f/t, so I usually have to feed live; even though I know that is not the best for my snake, but try telling that to Go-Go.

Housing is a 55 gallon acrylic tank, with 5 interconnected cereal box hides for a substrate. Go-Go has been spending a lot of time lately trying to push through one corner of the tank, which knocks the extra hide box located there into the water dish.

How can I convince my Gopher snake to eat?

In my limited experience with a few WC CalKings and a GB Gopher it seems they (WC) are much more inclined to go off feed and seek a brumation site in the fall. Not sure if there's anything you can do about it, especially if live food won't even get here interest. If her body weight is good, I'd just let here go down for a couple months and try again.
-----
See all my snakes at SerpenTrack.com

Likewise. Mine stop eating at the beginning of Sept, too warm to start brumating my collection so they go a little longer without food.

When I had one with nowhere to brumate, I placed her in a cool spot with a fan on her. She came out hungry a month later and still had good weight.
-----
Nick Puder
www.rnpreptiles.com