Corn snake not eating?

Question

Hi I have a 3ft corn snake who eats adult mice but for the past month he has not been eating. I feed him frozen pre-killed mice and he won't eat it,the only time he shows the lest bit interest is when i move it in front of him but he won't eat. so my question is should I switch over to live mice and see if he eats that?

Answer 1

I wouldnt switch to live mice at the moment. Hes too sluggish to attempt to eat these and if they bite him he may become infected, snakes are very slow healers too.

Insted check the temp in the viv, it should be 75-85F. Any lower and your snake wont be able to function properly, digestion will be slow (leading to bacterial problems in its gut due to the slow digestion and 'turn over' of food passing through the gut.) and he wont want to eat.

Your set up should have a 'hot rock' or heat pad, a basking lamp (covered with a mesh grill to stop your snake from burning itself), branches to climb on and a 'cool' area that is unheated. The viv should be at least three foot long so you can achieve these gradients.

Try bathing your snake a couple of times daily in warm water. This will help raise the body tempreture and to encourage the snake to defecate (a well known trick in the herp world).

If the temps correct, hes defecating and active again, offer food. If you cut the mouse your offering the smell of blood should get him going. Start by offering 'fuzzies', if you brain these the cerebral fluid is released and this is tempting to snakes. Once hes feeding again, feed small meals every day until hes eager. Then try getting him back on his regular meals.

Answer 2

Life Cycle

Reptiles go through a process called brumination (like hibernation) in the cold months, usually in December – February.  It is common for snakes in the wild to find a cave or hollow tree stump to “sleep” for a period of time.  This is called the cooling down period and normally takes place just prior to mating in the spring. Captive snake’s tanks should be allowed to cool down, removing any heat pad source and allowing temperatures to fall as low as 50° F. Snakes in captivity during the brumination period may just seem inactive and refuse to eat.   Brumination is a normal occurrence in nature; so do not be alarmed if a corn snake does not eat during this time period.  During the month of March snakes become more active and seek out mates.  Females will eat whenever the opportunity arises building up their fat reserves, whereas males eat occasionally keeping their main focus or agenda on finding a female in whom to pass on his genetic information.  Females normally breed approximately one to two months after coming out of brumination, and lay their clutch in or around the month of July.  Some reptiles are known to store sperm.  If this occurs, the snake will lay another clutch in or around August-September, or possibly a third in or around October.  Snakes will then eat large meals in late December preparing for the next brumination period.  Captive snakes are know to live as long as 20+ years, with wild snakes having a much reduced life span due to natural predators, including road kill and frightful humans.



Feeding

Corn snakes normally eat once a week to once every other week.  Size of the meal varies depending on the size of the snake.  Mouse size range in order from smallest to largest: pinkie, fuzzy, hopper, small mouse, medium mouse, and large mouse. Hatchlings in captivity eat pinkie mice (tiny baby mice without hair).  They are affectionately called pinkies due to their pink appearance. Juvenile snakes move up to fuzzies and hoppers, then to small, medium, or large mice.  Larger snakes may eat small, medium or large rats.  Rats are larger in size from birth and may also be referred to as pinkies, small- large rats much like the naming of mice.

Answer 3

Try warming up the mice more, cutting them up, and taking off the top of its head. Hopefully it should attract it.

If not, don't worry too much. Snakes can go for months without eating anything.

Answer 4

yes live mice have some bad and good things about it

LIVE MICE

good: they have alll the viatamins in their bones like calcium and some snakes prefer live prey

bad: live mice but not usualy can fight the snake back usualy  rats and some snakes prefer prekilled

Answer 5

yes try live mice if sbnakes dont eat dead mice try live mice for alittle bit and then swich back over to dead he should eat it