Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello, I have a 2 year old corn snake, my little Cali Monster as she's affectionately known, who has stopped eating. She used to have a mouse once a week and now has not eaten for 5 weeks. She is still very active, mostly looking for a way out of her tank, still drinks and does not appear sick. We have tried putting in live mice, freshly killed mice and stunned mice, she just won't pay them any mind. She crawls right over them without a flick of the tounge. Her heating pad is working, though it's rather small, it is very hot to the touch (it's on the underside of the tank of course, not inside. Does anyone have any advice or suggestions? The man at the pet store said that they can go for up to a year without eating but that if I'm worried I might try force feeding her. I don't know if I can do that. Any help would be greatly appreciated, I love my little girl and don't want to loose her! I have pictures but don't know how to put them with my message

I, too, have an adult male that has refused food for over a month. All indications are that he is well and not losing weight. I've posted on a couple boards requesting info and each time have been comforted with "pretty common with adult males this time of year". I'm watching him closely but I'm wondering if breeding him would change his situation or do the breeding males also refuse food til the season ends?

As the post below says, that's not really uncommon for males when they're "lookin' for love"... I've found that most of my snakes have gone through a brief fast at one time or another.
If they are generally healthy, I would not worry. I think that if a snake is fasting and you can't figure out why, that's a good time to check it out really closely for any other signs of trouble. Ditto for the temps and conditions in general. If all seems well...especially the snake...don't worry too much.
I would avoid force-feeding until ALL other questions were answered and options tried. Have you tried cutting the head completely off of whatever size mouse (s)he's eating? I have a little snow that's a reluctant feeder, but she can't resist a headless pinky. One of my little garter snakes gets the heads!
Good luck. Duffy

Thanks so much for the response and no I'm not at all sure that she's a she, that was just a guess based on her tail. I had read that female corns have a tail that is blunted rather abruptly and then tapers off thin and that males have a more evenly tappered tail. This is my first snake though so I'm not very qualified to make an educated guess My vet doesn't like snakes so she (he?) has never been to see him. I'm a little uncertain about doing the probing and such myself. I will monitor all the things you listed. Any idea how long this fasting usually lasts? Thanks again!