Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Im so sick and tired of the [bleep]ing snake i bought which wont eat and if it attacks it misses. I wish i never bought it.
What a big disapointment this is.

I guess that's what happens if you buy a snake because they're "cool" rather than because you're totally in love with the animals. Some snakes are easier to care for than others, but none of them are worry-free and all of them require a rather large commitment on the part of their owner, including coaxing and teaching it to eat, sometimes.

I imagine if you say what kind it is, and what part of the country you live in, there would be numerous folks here in the forums who would be glad to take it off your hands and give it a good home.

Good luck,
Judy
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1.0 red cape gopher (Caesar)

I assume this is the same King Snake you posted about a week or so ago....

How big is this snake? Is it a baby or an adult?

yep its the same king snake as i posted earlier...
I brought it back to the pet shop where i bought it explaining my story. I left it there for 7 days and it ate 2 mice.
Now i have it back for around 10 days and it doesnt eat.
When i put the mouse in he gets very active and starts to attack it but he misses en then goes hiding. When i tried to get that mouse out it bite my hand 3 times thats why im a bit upset in the msg i send because i send it 1 min after getting biten by that mouse heh. Its just that why does it eat fine in the pet store and doesnt want to eat when i feed him.
And its really pissing me off i have to scare the living [bleep] out of these mice... its so sad. They even told me at the pet store my snake was is a big eater.

Why are you feeding live mice?

Because the store where i bought him feeds living mice.
He never had a dead 1. Well i just killed 1 and im leaving it in his tank for tonight but he just crawled 4 times passed it not even looking at it.

Lots of snakes wont eat when people are around or if something "changed" in its environment. Even the "amazing/super duper eaters" sometimes are a bit odd when they are being bothered. Every snake is different. You just need to recognize the problem and deal with it.

I just fed my baby house snake yesterday. african house snakes are supposed to be real good eaters. Well this girl is a bit of a pain at times...
She wont eat in a separate container. She wont eat after being picked up. She gets a bit nervous if I pick her up (I weight her before each feeding) or move things around in the enclosure.
Quite simply, I have to feed her in a spot she is comfortable with...

So now I place a large slab of wood in the cage and place the pinkie on top of it (to avoid ingestion of substrate).
I also place the slab just in front of the entrance to her hide spot she is useing at the time. Once she settled down, she ate it no problem at all.

Also, why are you putting you hand in there? I highly suggest a pair of tongs or something. This keeps your hand from smelling like food and keeps the snake from associating your hand with food (a bad thing if you dislike being bit).

Stay away from live mice. Get frozen.

And like the other fellow said, if it really becomes a problem or too hard for you to keep, someone can adopt it from you. I know, its not an option that sounds very attractive to you, but this is better than keeping a stressed snake and/or letting it starve.

I definately think you're bothering it too much, it's scared of you and might be too stressed to eat.
I'd leave the snake completely alone for a full week, only making sure it has water. Then very quietly give it a either a p/k adult mouse or a nice fat live rat pup (no fur). I almost guarantee you the snake will eat.
My first snake was a king, but I think I remember her being slightly less picky.
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Peter: It's OK, I'll handle it. I read a book about something like this.
Brian: Are you sure it was a book? Are you sure it wasn't NOTHING?

I'm reading this and i'm getting the feeling something in your habitat has got this snake upset. What are you using that is different or what is different about your place VS the Petshop...Bedding, temp, housing....
Many years ago I had one of the first w/c patternless pines. She grew to be a beautiful snake....But. She would only eat white mice. She would only eat in aher wood cage. she would only allow me to handle her.
An extreme case...but it illustrates that some snakes can Really be picky. Also I have had some kings (easterns, brooks, californias) that would occasionally hunger strike for a month or more.....Some times it is challenging.
Frank

I'm sorry. I don't usually post such negative and judgemental things. My own off-mood promted the uncharacteristic words, I guess. If there were a "delete" option, I would have done so.

Try and be patient. The experts here (like oldherper ) are full of great advice to help you get a handle on things. I hope it works out for you.

Judy
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1.0 red cape gopher (Caesar)