Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have three baby Gopher Snakes(9 1/2 months old). After they hatched had to force feed them for their first few meals, but as I went on they learned to eat on their own.

I have been feeding them on a good schedule and as they grew bigger I not to long ago upped their meal size to fuzzies. They ate the fuzzies no problem, come next feeding time, they would see it, smell it, and leave it.

I have more than one hidebox in each enclosure and keep it clean with fresh drinking water. I use an under tank heat cable on about half of their enclosure. They are are stored in the basement so the nights are fairly cool.

Each snake is around two feet long and is active and looks healthy.(the female of course is thinner due to gender)

Could it be that they are just not hungry?? that they are full??
How long should I wait before trying to feed them again???

I have had several adult Gopher snakes before but am new to raising baby snakes. Please help me, I can use all the advice I can get!!!

Thanks

When you say you had to force feed them after they hatched, was there reason enough to do that? In other words...how long after they hatched did they still not eat before you force fed them?

What is their feeding schedule now that you have them on? What is their temps at, if you know?

Take care!
Billy
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Genesis 1:1

I apologized for the delayed response. After they hatched it was about two weeks that they did not eat anything before I force fed them.

They had been on a good feeding schedule of about two fuzzies every 5 days, and when they would enter the shedding phase I would wait until 1-2 days after the shed to feed them again.

Another thing I noticedis that one of the males is noticably more slender than the other, but is just as active, so maybe it is a difference in metabolism.

The temp on the cool side is 69-70 Farenheit. and is probably to warm ont he warm side at high Eighties. I just unplugged the heat source and will use something else about it.

What would you suggest I do about feeding?? I will wait the two weeks for each snake. If you could tell me any other possible cause for the loss of appetite??? I just don't know what to do. As for now they are all healthy....but one of the males and the female have a small scale loss on the top of their necks. The skin is exposed a tiny bit and I observed it to be from them going under the reptile carpet, and then trying to back out and I guess ripping their scales of a bit. It seems to be healing especially on the male. Could that be a reason???

Thanks for the help.

"After they hatched it was about two weeks that they did not eat anything before I force fed them."

I personally would have waited on force feeding them at that time. First..that alone is a very stressful thing for them to go through and that should be a last straw attempt. Baby snakes live off of their yolk after they hatch and actually could have been still full. It is possible that they may have just not been hungry.

" They had been on a good feeding schedule of about two fuzzies every 5 days, and when they would enter the shedding phase I would wait until 1-2 days after the shed to feed them again."

For my personal taste, I would have fed every 7 days, but that is me. Sometimes I feed every 5 days, but mostly I stick to 7. They really could very well be still full if after eating 2 fuzzies 5 days ago.

" Another thing I noticedis that one of the males is noticably more slender than the other, but is just as active, so maybe it is a difference in metabolism. "

I agree and think that it is a difference in metabolism. My male red northern yearling remains slim no matter how much I feed him.

"The temp on the cool side is 69-70 Farenheit. and is probably to warm ont he warm side at high Eighties. I just unplugged the heat source and will use something else about it.
What would you suggest I do about feeding?? I will wait the two weeks for each snake. If you could tell me any other possible cause for the loss of appetite??? I just don't know what to do. As for now they are all healthy....but one of the males and the female have a small scale loss on the top of their necks. The skin is exposed a tiny bit and I observed it to be from them going under the reptile carpet, and then trying to back out and I guess ripping their scales of a bit. It seems to be healing especially on the male. Could that be a reason??? "

I personally don't feel that the scale thing would have anything to do with their appetite. The appetite issue could be a temp issue ( I would keep them at 78-80-82 at the very most ), they could be just full still from a previous meal, or it could be both. Maybe stretch out the 2 fuzzies meal to every 7-8 days and see if that makes it more consistent.

Take care!
Billy
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Genesis 1:1

Thanks for the help Billy; I very much appreciate it.

I'll wait a week and a half to two weeks before trying to feed them...as long as they are active and looking healthy I won't worry too much about it.

If they haven't eaten in two weeks, what do you suggest I do??

I have fed them dead thawed mice since they hatched; Would a live fuzzy perhaps boost their instinct to hunt and eat???

I'll keep ya posted.

Thanks again for your help.

A pic of one of them hatching.

As far as using fuzzies,..that seems like the more appropriate size than using adult mice as you described in your first post. If they ate those thawed, then they should eat thawed fuzzies.

Keep us posted!

Billy
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Genesis 1:1

It's been over two weeks since they had their last meal. I offered a thawed fuzzy to each one, and they still show no interest. The temperatures range from 68-70 on the cool side Farenheit to 79-81 for the warmer side. They still seem to be pretty active and healthy but look to be getting thinner.

At what point should I really begin to worry?? I figure since they are fairly young snakes(10 months) that they would need to eat more since they are constantly growing.

should I just keep waiting???

Would it be possible on your end to get them a constant temp? Like at what the warm end is at? If that is from a heating source, say like an undertank one..then that may be hard. In other words..in each day....do they have a drop and rise in temp significantly? That may be causing their appetite to go out of whack. I could very well be wrong, but that is something to ponder. They may do better at a constant temp. My room does drop about 2-3 degrees at night..but the temps you told me differing at appr. 10 degrees..that may be working against them.

Also...since they have been picky...try feeding them smaller than normal meals. Sometimes that gets them started.

Also...this is always something to try as well. Do you have a small deli cup that you can put each one in individually?? or a similar container? Thaw out a fuzzy you would normally feed them, then put each in a different container like a small deli cup or tupperware, etc..with holes..and keep them there overnight. I also put in a paper towel to give them something to hide under. I have to do this a lot with my albino southern pine, who will be two this year. He for the most part refuses to eat decent sized meals and prefers smaller items. In fact..I did this last week. I think it helps them focus better and since they can't get away from the food item, they just end up eating it. Try that idea.

Also...are your two snakes housed separately? If not..I would give them separate enclosures. That could possibly be a factor, perhaps stress, in this. Just a thought.

Keep us posted!

Billy
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Genesis 1:1

About the Temperatures...it isn't a rise and drop from those temps that I posted. The first is what it constantly remains at one end of the tank and the second is what it contantly remains at the other end. I am using under tank heat cables. The temp probably does drop 1-2 degrees at night on the cooler end like you said.

And I actually have three of them that are each housed separately with 2 hide boxes for each-One on the cool end and one on the warm end.

I have actually tried the Deli-cup thing, and that is what got them started so I will give it a try again. when they are in the deli-cup, should I keep it as dark as possible, and should I put it on the warm end to keep them more active???

Thanks for the help and the time to post BILLY, I really appreciate it.

I personally would wait 7 days to feed and try live fuzzies. That should give them a feeding responce. Don

That sounds like a good Idea. I just need to hunt around to find a place that has some. There is a local farm store that has mice, and occasionally pinkies and fuzzies. Hopefully they have at least one.

I think I am going to let two of the snakes go. They try more to get out and rub their noses more which cause it to get worn away somewhat. The other I have is a calm one....never tries to get out and seems pretty comfy where he is.

I now have one snake left because I let the other two go.

What would be the best thing to do??? it has been about three weeks and the remaining last snake still shows no interest at all in eating. I recenty got a hold of some live fuzzies, and he still showed no response.

Should I force feed??? Let him go?? or wait even longer?