Reptile & Amphibian Forums

One of my hatchling okeeties won't eat??
the temps in the cage haven't changed and he used to eat like a champ.

he used to shed all in one perfect peice but the last shed he retained and he hasn't eaten in 2 weeks now. he just refused another meal

I got the shed off of him by soaking and a wet towel

the only thing i have changed in his tank was taking away his abiltity to burrow because i couldn't find him ever i just reduced the amount of substrate
my Q is would this cause him stress enough to not eat
and does stress cause retained sheds??

thanks for any advise
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Girlfriend: Your room smells like reptiles!
Me: Are you saying that my Balls smell?

The only thing i can think of is what i used on my 4 month old, try dropping the smallest food item you can get on the snake and then leaving, be shure not to drop it near the head. i used this on mine and she ate well, i also tried the method of dropping it in the entrance to the hide and that worked today. good luck.
Demon

Im not trying to sell or push anything but Kathy Loves corn snakebook has an exstensive section on all the ways to get a stubborn young one to eat. everything from scenting pinks to feeding anoles.

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1.1 Leos
1.1 Corn snakes (1 Lav & 1 Ghost)
0.1 Banan California King
0.0.1 Childrens python
0.1 Brazilian Rainbow boa
1.0 Rat (as pet not food)
1.0 Cat
"whats with you and all those dang reptiles?"

it never used to be picky so that leads me to believe that its something to do with the husbandry???

do you think that taking its ability to burrow would cause it to not eat??

does stress cause retaind sheds??
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Girlfriend: Your room smells like reptiles!
Me: Are you saying that my Balls smell?

If the depth of substrate is all you've changed, maybe try to add some again and see if this will make a difference.

Stress will cause a snake not to eat, I'm not sure if it can cause retained sheds, but I know that stress can do some pretty nasty things to people, so I imagine it could cause a snake to shed badly. (stress is a major cause of acne in people, so if it affects our skin, I spose it can affect the snakes skin too.)

Depending on the snake, anything can cause stress, even something as small as a little less substrate. My corns are always burrowing and love it. I may not get to see them as often this way, but I know they're happy.

Try adding some more substrate again and see if this cures his eating/shedding problems. If not, the eating could be because of the winter season, and winter is also dryer than summer, so could account for the shed as well....
good luck
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Dianne
AKA IcedGoddess
0.1 Snow (Ruby)
1.0 Anery A (Breaden)
0.0.4 Normal het-snow (no names yet)
1.1 Bloodred (Vlad the Impailer and Natasha)
0.1 Anery Stripe (Morticia)
1.0 Candy Cane (Kane)
0.1 Amel (Christine)
1.3 Cats (Alexys{f}, Mikki{f}, Timothy{m}, Seven{f})
0.1 Child
IcedGoddess Creations
Castle Serpents

I put more substrate in and cleanded the shed off of him as soon as i put him back in the tank he burrowed and i haven't seen him since. acually i saw his little head pop out but when he noticed that i was looking he was gone again

as far as hummidity thats a good call i put a hydrometer in and sure enough it was a little low so i'm just gunna raise that up about 10 percent and hopefully he will eat in a couple of days

i hate to dethaw and then have him not eat because its such a waist of life throwing out pinkies

anyways thanks to all who replyed and i'll keep you updated on the eating thing
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Girlfriend: Your room smells like reptiles!
Me: Are you saying that my Balls smell?

Need more humidity in your cage.If it's an adult male he may be off feed because of the light cycles with winter here...Paul