Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, I have a honduran milksnake that hasnt eaten in 3 weeks.I have another in the exact same aquarium set up that eats whenever i feed her.The other one wont eat and i cant figure out why. Of course the one not eating is a high dollar tri-color albino. Any help from you guys would be nice!!! Thanks Greg

What is the animals feeding history? This can help answer your question better.

Try:
1. Place snake and pinky in a small brown paper bag and leave alone for several hours.
2. Try smaller or larger meal sizes. Some snakes are intimidated by large meals and some don't know what to do with a small meal.
3. Try pre-killed, a baby snake can be easily scared by a moving or crying pinky.
4. Split Brain a pre-killed pinky, the smell of the brain juices and blood will usually encourage a feed response.
5. If all else fails try to scent with a lizard or gecko if possible.
6. tease feed, hold snake gently and smack him in the nose woth the pinky, when he opens his mouth to bit put the pinky in. Hold him still for a while then place back inside cage. If he spits-up the pinky try again later.

Be sure not to stress the snake, give a couple of days between each attempt. Keep in mind some snakes prefer to eat in the morning, some late at night, some have no preference.

These are just ideas that have worked for me. As I said I need a little history to help further..

Hi there ! thanks for the fast reply!!!
The snake in question is a 05 hatchling and had eaten live pinkys a 3 times in the past.i have only had her for a month and usually fed the youngsters every 4 days or so. does this help or do you need more info ? thanks dude , Greg

When was the last shed? Could it be time for a shed? I have had baby snakes eat like crazy from the start and then just stop for no reason. It could be improper cage temps causing meals to take longer to digest. Or maybe he just needs a fews days off feed. He may have eaten to much to soon, really hard to say for sure. But since he ate I would say it's safe to say he will eat again soon. Just keep offering the way you have been every couple of days. Good luck..John

PS. If he had never eaten then I would be more concerned and try some of tips I suggested earlier.

As always John has given you good advice the only thing I would add or question is the caging. You kinda made it unclear when you said same exact setup. Does that mean that both snakes are in the same cage or do you have two cages of the same size setup the same? If they are both in the same cage the more aggressive feeder could be intimidating the other. If they are in different cages then just listen to John.

good Luck

later jason