hi i have a 7month old corn snake
she has not eaten in 6 weeks and just refusses her feed every week.

her temp in the tank is fine

just woundering if anybody has any idea why this could be or anything to try to get her to feed. i have tryed different size mice and hand feeding and braining the mice e.t.c

many thanks if anybody has any info

Is he ready to shed?

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ive just gone through a similar thing with one of my snakes about the same age,it didnt eat for 3 months and i was going mad with worry! i tried everything i could think of and i thought it had finished shedding but it hadnt,must have been the other that shed,so i guess thats why. i waiting for a couple of days after shedding put the fogger n for a bit as this gets t all chilled out and put it in a cardboard box(so it could be left in a quiet room) with a live and a dead so it had a choice and left it undisterbed in the dark for an hour when i went back both mice were gone

were do you feed it?

we have a problem with one our boas we have never got her to eat alot BUT last time we we put her in her feeding box on top of the cooker with the cooker on low (not the hob!) just so she was getting a litte heat from the bottom and we covered the mice in warm beef/chicken fat and she loved it and ate 9 lol

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Owner to-
lots of rodents
2 monster dogs
1 slinky cat

hi she hasnt shed in over 16 weeks now and she use to shed like clock work every 4 weeks on the 26-28th of every month...

i feed her in either her house or i have a feeding container that i place next to her vivarium..

i tryed her with a smaller mouse last night and brained it and kept her in a nice quiet room in the dark on her own and she still didnt take to the mouse... i got some advice the other day from my local pet shop and they said for me to consider that she could be in season eithen with her young age.. do any off you think this could be a possability??

thanks for all the advice

gary

Not at that age, she's still a 'child' as it were at 7 months of age, and not at this time of year either although breeding season isn't too far away. Plus it's usually the males that go off their food during breeding season, not females, provided she's been sexed correctly.

How long have you had her? It's more likely stress related, health related or a husbandry issue.

Regarding husbandry: What are the actual temperature ranges in her tank? how are you heating it and what's the setup like? a picture would be useful if possible. Temperatures too warm or too cold would interefere with normal digestion and discourage the snake from eating, if the snake is unable to thermoregulate appropriately this can also induce stress which would result in loss of appitite. Humidity can also be a factor. If conditions are not optimal the snake is not likely to eat. Regarding setup, too few hides and too much exposure may also cause stress resulting in loss of appitite.

How often have you been handling her? Too much handling is another trigger for stress - if she's a recent addition to your family, new reptiles require a settling in period were the reptile is left alone for approx 3 weeks to settle in a quite environment and only disturbed to be fed and water changed. Too much handling and not allowing her to settle will also result in stress and loss of appitite.



A few other methods used to get anorectic snakes to eat:

- Warming prey briefly before offering
- Breaking prey open to release the scent of blood
- Teasing snake by moving dead prey item around the cage with forceps, to mimic live prey.
- Trying a variety of colours of prey – some snakes will only take dark furred rodents
- Scenting by wiping scent of a different prey item
- Ensure there are plenty of areas to hide
- Leave prey in overnight – some species prefer to hunt at night
- Choose next smallest size of rodent.

Internal parasites may also be a possible reason for loss of appitite as well as disease or even dehydration. If she's not shed in a while either dehydration may be a serious factor to consider.

How often do you offer her food? Offering too often can cause the snake to make it a habit to ignore the food item, it is better stratergy to feed every 1-2 weeks to try and prevent this habit from developing, as well as reduce stress by not disturbing her as often.

Considering how long she's gone without food have you considered taking her to a vet?(one knowledgable of reptiles). There's a variety of potential reasons as to why she's not eating, whatever the reason is needs to be identified and corrected.

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iv had her since she was 5 and half week old

she is in a 2ftx1ftx1ft glass vivarium and using a heat matt. the temps are 29-30 at the warm side and around 26 on the cold side.. there are plenty of hiding places within the vivarium..
she gets fresh water every day and i also spray the vivarium with a mist of water every 2-3 days to keep up the humidity

i use to handle her every 4 days but since this problem has accured i have left it to every week

i have tryed everything i can with the food
i.e braining,leaving in over night,teasing and choosing smaller prey.. i have been offering her a feed every 10 days

i have noticed that she seems to stick to staying under her water bowl all the time which is on the cooler side of her vivarium

thanks for advice

i would take a guess at maybe about to lay eggs, my female hasnt eaten in close to 3 months, she is now laying the last of her 25 eggs, a large clutch!, the eggs take up most of the snakes body, so it will not want to eat, after mine has laid her eggs, they will be put in an incubator and she will feed again