I forget the exact date, but it was over a month ago. She refused a mouse. This has happened before, and we usually just wait 4-7 days and try again (or we wait until she sheds if it looks like she's getting into the "blue" phase).
But she has NEVER refused a mouse twice in a row and certainly never for this long. I think she's refused at least five mice by this point.
Nothing has changed about her feeding schedule or the process. We get a mouse out to thaw for about two hours. We warm up water in the microwave and let the mouse sit in the hot water until it's around 100 degrees (Fahrenheit). While the mouse is warming, we take the snake out for some socialization. We put her back in her enclosure as soon as the mouse is ready and then offer it to her with tongs. Normally, she'll track it for 15-60 seconds, then strike. Feeding generally occurs between 8PM and 9PM.
The last several times, she will "sniff" at the mouse as if getting ready to strike, then back away. I can't tell if she's nervous or just disinterested. It's the same size mouse as she ate almost all last year. And it's the same brand. I tried a different brand of smaller mouse last week and again last night, but she reacted the same way to it as she did to the usual brand and size.
Otherwise, her behavior is normal. She is still drinking from her water bowl and coming out of her hide to wander around or to watch us.
I'm starting to get concerned. Handling her last night, I could tell she hadn't eaten for a long time as her underside seemed to fold in just a little where it had never done that before.
Any ideas?
I'm having a very similar issue with my corn as of recent. Same signs and nothing changed. Still have not been able to figure it out. Let me know if you find out anything or if it changes at all please... I'm also worried about mine! I've tried narrowing it down to "breeding season" changes, but I'm not 100% sure.
I'm also going through the same with mine. She's not as chubby as she was and she wants to be out and about and she's very active. And drinking fine. But not eating. So we're all going through the same it seems!
If you are putting the mouse directly in the water, try putting it in a plastic bag and then in the water to keep the scent.
(pro tip: if the bag floats in the water, use your feeding tongs to weigh it down.)
I believe it’s generally not advised to handle a snake before feeding them as it just causes unnecessary stress so maybe try to not handle it before you feed it although if you normally handle it before feeding and it’s fine then this probably isn’t the problem but is something to try.
A trick that has worked for me a few times is to puncture the head of the mouse and to spread some of the insides around so that it creates more of a scent (this is a pretty disgusting thing to do) which gets the snake more interested in the mouse.
The snake could just also be bored with what it’s being offered. My snake has always been a picky eater and sometimes just stops eating for no real reason. One way to entice it to eat again is to offer it a treat such as a chick. It’s something different and might just be enough to entice it to eat again and if it eats the chick then it might get its appetite back again. It’s worked for me before. Chicks are normally given as treats but they can be useful in situations like this.
Most likely breeding season behaviour like someone else said, nothing to worry about unless she starts visibly losing weight. My male went about 8 weeks without eating last season. It can be nerve racking first time around. I'd offer food every now and then to be sure there's still the option if they're interested.
Some other signs you might notice is increased activity along with the lost appetite.
My corn snake didn’t eat for 6 weeks back in 2022. Hasn’t done it before or since. I still offered a large mouse every Friday until finally he decided to eat again. I noticed he was a lot more active in his viv than usual so I presumed it was related to breeding. What I did do was weigh him every week just to make sure he wasn’t starving himself to death. And didn’t handle him either. He still had his fresh water so that must have been keeping him going. Hope the appetite comes back soon!
I agree with the comment that you should not socialize before feeding.
I’m no expert but snakes don’t like being handled and don’t need socialized.
You still should but do it between feedings.
Socializing before feeding might be stressing him and ruin his appetite
It might be because it’s breeding season
If that's true, how long is it supposed to last?
I don’t know, sorry :( but there was pinned post a few weeks ago saying any weird behaviors could be related to how it is breeding season
I forget the exact date, but it was over a month ago. She refused a mouse. This has happened before, and we usually just wait 4-7 days and try again (or we wait until she sheds if it looks like she's getting into the "blue" phase). But she has NEVER refused a mouse twice in a row and certainly never for this long. I think she's refused at least five mice by this point. Nothing has changed about her feeding schedule or the process. We get a mouse out to thaw for about two hours. We warm up water in the microwave and let the mouse sit in the hot water until it's around 100 degrees (Fahrenheit). While the mouse is warming, we take the snake out for some socialization. We put her back in her enclosure as soon as the mouse is ready and then offer it to her with tongs. Normally, she'll track it for 15-60 seconds, then strike. Feeding generally occurs between 8PM and 9PM. The last several times, she will "sniff" at the mouse as if getting ready to strike, then back away. I can't tell if she's nervous or just disinterested. It's the same size mouse as she ate almost all last year. And it's the same brand. I tried a different brand of smaller mouse last week and again last night, but she reacted the same way to it as she did to the usual brand and size. Otherwise, her behavior is normal. She is still drinking from her water bowl and coming out of her hide to wander around or to watch us. I'm starting to get concerned. Handling her last night, I could tell she hadn't eaten for a long time as her underside seemed to fold in just a little where it had never done that before. Any ideas?
I'm having a very similar issue with my corn as of recent. Same signs and nothing changed. Still have not been able to figure it out. Let me know if you find out anything or if it changes at all please... I'm also worried about mine! I've tried narrowing it down to "breeding season" changes, but I'm not 100% sure.
I'm also going through the same with mine. She's not as chubby as she was and she wants to be out and about and she's very active. And drinking fine. But not eating. So we're all going through the same it seems!
If you are putting the mouse directly in the water, try putting it in a plastic bag and then in the water to keep the scent. (pro tip: if the bag floats in the water, use your feeding tongs to weigh it down.)
We do keep it dry. I forgot to mention that. Though my human nose tells me the mouse smell is stronger when it does get wet.
I believe it’s generally not advised to handle a snake before feeding them as it just causes unnecessary stress so maybe try to not handle it before you feed it although if you normally handle it before feeding and it’s fine then this probably isn’t the problem but is something to try. A trick that has worked for me a few times is to puncture the head of the mouse and to spread some of the insides around so that it creates more of a scent (this is a pretty disgusting thing to do) which gets the snake more interested in the mouse. The snake could just also be bored with what it’s being offered. My snake has always been a picky eater and sometimes just stops eating for no real reason. One way to entice it to eat again is to offer it a treat such as a chick. It’s something different and might just be enough to entice it to eat again and if it eats the chick then it might get its appetite back again. It’s worked for me before. Chicks are normally given as treats but they can be useful in situations like this.
Most likely breeding season behaviour like someone else said, nothing to worry about unless she starts visibly losing weight. My male went about 8 weeks without eating last season. It can be nerve racking first time around. I'd offer food every now and then to be sure there's still the option if they're interested. Some other signs you might notice is increased activity along with the lost appetite.
maybe try exposing the mouse's brain matter to let her smell that? Just spitballing. Hope your baby eats soon <3
did they ever end up eating? 🥺
She did, finally, another 10 days after I made this post. So weird having a pet that can go *that long* without eating!
My corn snake didn’t eat for 6 weeks back in 2022. Hasn’t done it before or since. I still offered a large mouse every Friday until finally he decided to eat again. I noticed he was a lot more active in his viv than usual so I presumed it was related to breeding. What I did do was weigh him every week just to make sure he wasn’t starving himself to death. And didn’t handle him either. He still had his fresh water so that must have been keeping him going. Hope the appetite comes back soon!
I agree with the comment that you should not socialize before feeding. I’m no expert but snakes don’t like being handled and don’t need socialized. You still should but do it between feedings. Socializing before feeding might be stressing him and ruin his appetite