Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My corn snake shed about 2 weeks ago, reluctantly eat a thawed mouse the day after that, and hasn't had the interest in eating since. On top of that he is very restless and circles the tank much more then usual. The environment and temperature are fine, so i'm wondering if he might be attempting to find a place to hibernate for what he percieves as the 'coming winter'. should I move him to my cooler basement for a while?

Any advice is appreciated...

2 weeks is nothing this time of year. Many ratsnakes (corns included) will cut back on their intake, especially if the temps in your home have cooled a bit. Your setup may be the same, but if your home is cooler the temps may have dropped on both the warm and the cool side. Or your snake may just be responding to the shorter days.
Continue to offer food weekly. If he refuses for a month or so, give him a few weeks or more in the basement just to cycle him back up. My black rat went 2 months without eating, I put him in the basement for 3 weeks, brought him back up, now he's back on schedule.
I am assuming, of course, that your snake is otherwise in good health as far as you can tell. Good luck. I bet he eats again in a week or two. Duffy

Brian,

Great question. But it's really up to you. If you plan on breeding your corn snake some day, cooling might be in order (closer to the first breeding season).

But you can certainly keep your snake active and healthy year-round by maintaining proper temperatures.

Cooling is not at all necessary to maintain a healthy corn snake ... it only factors in if you plan to breed.

Best wishes,

-Brandon
www.nosnakeban.org

It was very helpful, i'll slow down with the feedings.