Reptile & Amphibian Forums

my pueblan milksnake doesnt seem to want to eat,i just bought some larger pinkies and im thinking there too big, but he was eating 3 smaller ones so?? any suggestions??

Just be patient. Pueblans often go off food for a little while each year. I have found males more frequent than females.
A little more info would be nice though...There can be many other reasons as to why your male Pueblan refuses to eat.
Post some history if you would like some better answers.
How old is it?
Was it cooled?
What temp variances do you have in its enclosure?
How long since his last meal?
Has he deficated since his last meal?
Is his body looking healthy?
What is his weight?
Has he gone off food in the past?
How long have you owned him?

There are alot of reasons why it may not be eating. Answering as many of these questions as possible will help.

Hope he comes around.

Brian
HighWaterHerps

its been one week 3 days,
ive had him for 3 months
hes never been off food
his tank is between 80-83
body looks fine
has defecated regularly
sheds regularly
just picky i think?

>>my pueblan milksnake doesnt seem to want to eat,i just bought some larger pinkies and im thinking there too big, but he was eating 3 smaller ones so?? any suggestions??

all of brian's questions in his post are good ones, on target. be aware also that some snakes will eat almost anything, and some are astoundingly picky--they'll eat only mouse fuzzies and not rat pinks of the same size, or they'll eat live mouse pinks but not frozen or even fresh killed; or...

you get the idea. they're annoying when they exhibit that behavior, but one of the possibilities you ahve to consider is that your snake has an especially strong preference for a particular kind/size of food item.

when i encounter these situations the dilemma is always between my desire to move them up to a more practical or efficient food item, vs keeping them eating by letting THEM be the boss. I usually opt for the latter, and maybe one time in five or ten feedings offer the alternate food item again. It may be that i'm just perpetuating the behavior...maybe NOT giving the preferred food would get the snake hungry and it would eventually respond to the new kind/size. but in the meantime all that consumption and conversion to growth is lost. So i guess it partly depends, too, on whether you're completely patient to let the snake grow at its own pace or to help it on its way.

Remember though I'm just talking here about idiosyncratic feeding preferences: Brian's questions are important, because there can be other factors that you'd address differently.

peace
terry