Hi, I am looking for any suggestions or advice on what I should do in a situation. I have a newly wild caught (about a month ago) gopher snake that came from somewhere near Oregon, that refuses to eat. I started with my usual frozen/thawed white mice, no interest, then tried live, same thing. A friend told me that they had a snake that would only take mice without any white on them. I've tried dark frozen thawed mice, not live dark mice yet, but still worried that it might not work. Can anyone give me suggestions?? Been slightly over a month now, and unsure of when he ate last before being caught.
--Chris
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Gopher snake that won't eat
darkrose714
Jun 14, 2015 02:03 PM
Replies (2)
tbrophy
Jun 17, 2015 07:45 PM
Sometimes wild caught snakes, particularly adults, will not eat at all, or just sporadically. I would release it from where it came and buy a captive born baby. They are cheap and always feed better than wild caught.
SnakeyLakey
Mar 14, 2016 08:21 PM
Hi,
The great basin gopher snake I caught in the Oregon high desert over 10 years ago has always been an extremely finicky eater. S/he will not eat frozen thawed at all.
White does not seem to be an issue. The last 3 mice my snake ate were white; 1 on Christmas day, and 2 one day in January.
Went inactive the rest of January and all of February, shed the beginning of March. I have offered a mouse 3 times in the last few days, but my snake has refused to take it each time.
Be patient. Keep offering live mice, or pinky rats, and when your snake is hungry enough (or in the right mood) s/he should eventually eat. Make sure that your enclosure is large enough, and the right temp.
