Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My corn snake is approx 3 years old. The last time I tried to feed him (couple of days ago) he completely ignored the mouse. I tried again today, and he ignored that one also, even going as far as sleeping right by it as if it wasnt there!
I know he would ignore his food if he was hiding away in the process of shedding, but he actually been out and about quite a lot, moving to and from various hides, also lying out in the open and on top of his bark. If he was in his hide all the time I wouldnt be worried cos id assume he's shedding, but like I say hes quite active. Its been a fair while since his last feed as well. Is it possible the mice I tried to give him have been stored too long? or is there another reason why he doesnt want to eat?

ANY help whatsoever is very appreciated, thanks a lot

Wow, tons of things going on there that can be addressed, so I will try to hit some highlights, and let the experts fill in what I screw up or leave out.

First off, is the temperature in the cage good? If you just kicked on your AC and it's cooler in your house than it was before, you might want to put in a 60 watt bulb instead of a 40 watt. Without proper heat, a snake can't digest and therefore, food looks bad to them.

Second, and this seems dumb, but I didn't think it was important until one of my snakes started stressing from it, but do you have a big enough hide box for your snake? I had a snake that grew out of his hide box, and without a new one, he got all stressed out and nippy, until I got a decent one for him. Now, calm and eating great. I think hide boxes are more important than some people let on.

Third, is "he" really a "she" and pregnant? Do you have two or more snakes in the cage and they were just mis-sexed? My females, and I'm sure other people's females are like this two, don't eat about 3 weeks before laying eggs. Just another thought to contemplate.

Fourth, it is that time of year for lovin', so maybe he's just lookin' for a little something-something. I know two of my males don't eat around the late spring early summer time, just cause they have other things on their minds. Imagine a 16 year old human at a Victoria's Secret runway show, and you'll get the idea. They obviously aren't thinking of food...

Fifth, shed is an obvious problem. Most snakes don't eat if they are about to shed. Up the humidity a bit. Might help.

Overall, if all these aren't your issue, although the 4th one seems to be most problems these days, I wouldn't worry too much. Keep an eye on weight, and as long as it doesn't seem like they are losing weight, I wouldn't worry too much. Snakes can go a while without food.

Hope this helps. Again, I'm no expert, so I'm sure other people will chime in with their two cents.

AJ
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1.0 Hypo Okeetee - Wesley (Princess Bride)
0.1 Ghost - Sydney (Scream)
2.0 Striped Amel - Jay and Aiden (Kevin Smith movies)
1.0 Snow - Silent Bob (Kevin Smith movies)
0.1 Anery - Columbia (Rocky Horror)
1.0 Creamcicle - Brandon (Mallrats)
0.1 Zig Zag Anery - Pepper (didn't name her)
0.1 Normal - Bindy (Croc. Hunter)
0.1 Motley - Craven (Underworld)

Hey thanks a lot for taking the time to write such a detailed reply! I'll try and explain the situation with each point you mentioned:

The weather in my country (England) has gone warmer now, we are getting a lot of sunny days. I am using a 100watt bulb as usual, with the thermo at a steady 84.

I have 3 hiding places for my snake, I have a large ceramic hide which is under the heat lamp, this is plenty big enough for him. I have a smaller ceramic one nearer the other end of the aquarium, and I have a very large bark which is also likes to hide under.

The guy I bought the snake off a year or 2 ago told me that it was a "he", so ive always thought it was of that gender. Is there any sure-fire way to check for definite? (without requiring a trip to the vets). Either way, there are no other snakes in the aquarium so there is no chance if it being pregnant, unless its the virgin mary in snake form

I suppose its very possible he's just feeling horny, I get the same around this time of year =)

Shedding was my first thought, but I kind of discarded the idea because he is pretty active. Not pushing up the glass or anything like he sometimes does, but hes lying around outside of his hides, and also swapping hides often.

I'll do as you say, and keep on eye on his weight. I'll also keep trying a mouse every so often. Is it at all possible that he IS shedding, but he's lying outside his hides because hes too hot? What with the heat lamp, and our new hot weather?

Thanks again for the reply, it was a great help

100 watt bulb seems a bit hot, depending on the size of cage and all that. I use 40 watt bulbs in my cage, shown below, and they're good to go. However, if he was too hot, he wouldn't just hang around outside his hides, he'd be in his water dish, assuming you definately have one in there for him, right?

Hides don't seem to be a problem, so we'll leave that one alone.

Virgin Mary in snake form seems like a bit of irony there, but I'm catholic, that's just how we see things sometimes. Do you not see how funny that is?? No matter a he or she, obviously it's not a pregnant thing. Your best bet to find sex of the snake would be a pet store that does probing, or even a herp show/meeting. THat's where I get my snakes sexed. Sometimes it'll cost, so be prepared for that, but hey, in St. Louis, we have an awesome herp society that really helps each other out, so I'm lucky, I know.

If he is pretty active, he might be getting ready to shed. Did you notice eye caps at all recently? Do you keep track of sheds/eat cycles? I made an Excel spredsheet that I use as a calender. I keep track of sheds and eating, for peace of mind. That way, I can easily see any problems, and how long it's been since eating or shedding, stuff like that.

My opinion, and this is just my humble opinion, you're doing everything right (assuming you have a water dish) and he's just looking for a mate. Again, that's just my guess, so if you see a dramatic loss of weight or get a basically lathargic snake, find a vet. Better to error on the side of caution, in my opinion. I've taken a snake in that was acting wierd, and doc said he was just horny, so it's all good. You doing it wouldn't be a first time, especially this time of year. It's mating season ya know.

AJ

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1.0 Hypo Okeetee - Wesley (Princess Bride)
0.1 Ghost - Sydney (Scream)
2.0 Striped Amel - Jay and Aiden (Kevin Smith movies)
1.0 Snow - Silent Bob (Kevin Smith movies)
0.1 Anery - Columbia (Rocky Horror)
1.0 Creamcicle - Brandon (Mallrats)
0.1 Zig Zag Anery - Pepper (didn't name her)
0.1 Normal - Bindy (Croc. Hunter)
0.1 Motley - Craven (Underworld)

Hi, sorry for taking so long to reply.

I have a large water dish for the snake (its actually a dog bowl lol). I havnt seen him in there any more than usual, so I guess the heat is not a problem.

I just had him out of his aquarium, his eyes and body arent pale like if he was shedding. However he was quite lethargic. Usually if i put him on the floor he tries to quickly crawl into the nearest hole or under the mat or something, but this time he just lay there next to me, moving a few inches every couple of minutes.

Physically he seems to be fine, bright eyed, healthy looking etc, quite plump round the middle.

Now this is a long shot, but I cant remember having to clean out any snake poo for a while (well only a little bit). Is it at all possible that his food has got stuck inside his body?? this would explain why he doesnt want to eat any more, and the mice we were giving him seemed quite large, although he had no trouble gobbling them down.

Your thoughts? What do you think I should do next?

thanks

But if any animal I owned, or even me, could just eat and eat and never poop, I would think something's wrong. Sounds like a doctor's visit is in order, especially if he's not as active as usual. Try letting him crawl across your hand, and see if you feel anything stiff or hard. This could be caused by blockage or impaction. If so, I can tell ya, it's not a fun problem to have. I lost two geckos to it last year. What is your substrate? Do you feed the snake in the cage he lives in? Couple reasons for that. First, if you feed inside the cage he lives in, he might of accidently injested some of the substrate, causing the blockage. Second reason why I would feed outside the cage, if you don't, is because the snake could begin to associate the cage opening with food, and begin to strike at anything that comes in the cage, including your hand. I always get my snakes out of the cage and play with him a little before putting him in a different box for feeding. THis also gives me plenty of time to clean all the cages. Just a few heads up, hope that helps!

AJ

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1.0 Hypo Okeetee - Wesley (Princess Bride)
0.1 Ghost - Sydney (Scream)
2.0 Striped Amel - Jay and Aiden (Kevin Smith movies)
1.0 Snow - Silent Bob (Kevin Smith movies)
0.1 Anery - Columbia (Rocky Horror)
1.0 Creamcicle - Brandon (Mallrats)
0.1 Zig Zag Anery - Pepper (didn't name her)
0.1 Normal - Bindy (Croc. Hunter)
0.1 Motley - Craven (Underworld)

Unfortunately my beautiful snake has passed away. I love him so much, im just trying to deal with the grief now.

I have made a tribute thread at this page:

http://forums.pethobbyist.com/view.php?id=1163,1163

I would personally like to thank cmsuphoto for giving me help while I was in need. Thanks for taking time out your day to try and help me and Chowder, it means a lot.

Sounds like you had everything right though, so sometimes, God just needs another pet.
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1.0 Hypo Okeetee - Wesley (Princess Bride)
0.1 Ghost - Sydney (Scream)
2.0 Striped Amel - Jay and Aiden (Kevin Smith movies)
1.0 Snow - Silent Bob (Kevin Smith movies)
0.1 Anery - Columbia (Rocky Horror)
1.0 Creamcicle - Brandon (Mallrats)
0.1 Zig Zag Anery - Pepper (didn't name her)
0.1 Normal - Bindy (Croc. Hunter)
0.1 Motley - Craven (Underworld)