I got Arwen 4/3/04 from Petco and she has generally been eatting 1 large goldfish, lately. She's about 3-4 foot long or so. For the last 2 weeks, though, she will not touch her fish. She has not even attempted to go after them. She hides under her bedding most of the day with only her head sticking out. I keep her cage from 68ish at night to 84 in the daytime. She is not sick and she's not thin, either, so I'm not too terribly worried, but I thought I'd ask. I even tried putting the fish in front of her and she won't touch it. She is not shedding and she should be for another few weeks or so. Help? I'll probably be switching her over to pinkies or fuzzies, later, but it would be kind of redundant to do that when she's not eatting as it is. Any ideas as to why she wouldn't be eatting? I guess about a month or 2 ago I switched her over to the larger goldfish and she hasn't had any problems eatting them.
Reptile & Amphibian Forums
Welcome to kingsnake.com's message board system. Here you may share and discuss information with others about your favorite reptile and amphibian related topics such as care and feeding, caging requirements, permits and licenses, and more. Launched in 1997, the kingsnake.com message board system is one of the oldest and largest systems on the internet.
Garter snake not eatting.
Replies (7)
Maybe the snake is inclined to hibernate.Although, who knows, as you didn't mention what species of snake she is. 
Michael
Michael's Place
I honestly have no idea. But here's a pic...
looks like a ribbon, but I can't tell for sure
If it is a ribbon, it doesn't eat worms. Let's say it is going into hybernation, what am I supposed to do? I read something about lowering the tempurature, but I'm unsure.
ok first thing is you have to make sure there is no food in the stomache of the snake do this by waiting 2 weeks for any food to pass, to brumate a snake you need to find an area where you can keep it at a constant 55-60degrees a few degrees in either end is not going to hurt. always make sure your snake has fresh water at all times. I cover there cage as to block the light but I heard this is not necessary.hope this helps
Wayne
Keep the snake warm, 70-83 degrees on each side of the enclosure, and do not feed it. Occasionally(if it allows you) give it a couple warm water baths during this 2 week wait period, to help it pass through more food and stomach content. 2 weeks after it last ate, I try to wait 2 weeks and a couple days, put it in a dark area where it won't be disturbed, and a place where the temperature stays inbetween 45 and 55 degrees, alot of garter snakes and ribbon snakes are active at 60 degrees and higher
Mike
Michael's Place
How long should I let her "hibernate"?
