[sblentz]

We bought a cornsnake this past july so we haven't had it long. We bought it from a reptile store and the snake is between 2 and 3 years old, so the pet store said. He's between 3 and 4 feet long. Hes been shedding fine and really active, but he hasn't eaten in 5 weeks. The pet store told us he only eats once a week, so we fed him every week. I know its winter time and all but how do we know that, thats the reason he stopped eating. Everytime we offer him a dead mouse he gets scared and moves away from it, and sometimes buries himself. Is 5 weeks normal not to eat for him, or should we be worried. I can't tell if hes lost at weight. There isn't any local vets around me that deal with snakes and I didn't want to drive an hour and a half away for them to tell me everything is fine, so i just wanted to see if someone else could help. Thanks, Sarah.

 

[Triangulum]

The Drop of temperture outside may have something to do with it. But it could be anything.

First is first, Buy Scales so you can keep a record of your corns weight, And if it drops dramaticly, You will need to visit a vet. 5 weeks is the concerned point, and you have the rigth to be worried (I would be) But cornsnakes could go much longer, At around 10 weeks if not eating, I would get a to a vet.

What Tempertures is He on, Substrate, Enough Hides On Both Ends. How Often do you offer food again. Try Leaving the mouse/rat over night in the vivarium, And cover the glass or any viewing areas with towels or paper. So he feels fully secure. has he stayed in this vivarium since you got him. Did he stop eating after a change of food size? Say Pinke to Fuzzy (Example).

I Would be to worried Sarah. My best bet is the outside drop, And theres a high case of snakes not eating around this time, Especially Royals, As Breeding Season Is Coming Up, Aswell As Temp Outside. But im not sure if Corn And Royal Breeding season is the same.

Just try and not worry But A Set Of Scales Is A Must, Get Them Cheap From Argos

 

[bjherp]

We bought a cornsnake this past july so we haven't had it long. We bought it from a reptile store and the snake is between 2 and 3 years old, so the pet store said. He's between 3 and 4 feet long. Hes been shedding fine and really active, but he hasn't eaten in 5 weeks. The pet store told us he only eats once a week, so we fed him every week. I know its winter time and all but how do we know that, thats the reason he stopped eating. Everytime we offer him a dead mouse he gets scared and moves away from it, and sometimes buries himself. Is 5 weeks normal not to eat for him, or should we be worried. I can't tell if hes lost at weight. There isn't any local vets around me that deal with snakes and I didn't want to drive an hour and a half away for them to tell me everything is fine, so i just wanted to see if someone else could help. Thanks, Sarah.

There is no need to be worried, firstly the drop in temperatures, the now extending day length, and also it's coming to breeding season means basically he is getting horny.

As males approach breeding season they will go off their food.

We had one corn that went 12 months without eating, but if it goes above 4 months that is when to start looking at other issues.

Regards

Jerry Cole
Reptilekeeping.com

 

[Guest]

I agree with bjherps here.

Most of my male corns go off food for around 3 months every year at this time.It is for them the breeding season and even if they have never bred before they still have the instinct.I have males ranging from 2 years to 5 years in age and none of them are eating at the moment.I would not start to worry about him not feeding till at least 12 weeks of missing a meal.All i do at this time of year is only offer food once a fortnight then when they start feeding again go back to weekly feeds.

 

[eeji]

....and to back up what everyone else has said, my male did the same thing last year - he went about 3 months without feeding, and he's doing it again this year, having refused for the past 2 weeks. he caught a whiff of one of my females last week and went absolutely crazy in his viv, jerking and fast circling in a coil, so he's definetly getting the horn again!

 

[cornmorphs]

one thing is, the weather where you are is likely to be much different to that of the uk... so, i would say the weather could be a factor, but the more likely reason would be as already mentioned.. males often go off food for months at this time of year due to wanting to mate.

 

[sblentz]

Thanks for all the help!

After I posted this today, I went back in there to play with him and he was making some weird noises and when i picked him up, he kept blowing cold air on my arms, so i took him to the vet and hes got a respiratory (that doesn't look like the right spelling, but oh well) infection, so I have to give him shots every 72 hours. The vet said it was probably from the dust in his bedding, some kind of aspen bedding or something like that. I got him from a reptile store that only deals with snakes, lizards and alligators and thats what they used and recommended that i do the same and so we went out and bought some lining for the cage thats like carpet i guess. So hopefully he'll be better. The doctor said hes not eating cause hes sick and cant smell and isn't in the mood. Thanks for all your help. I greatly appreciate it.

 

[Razaiel]

Not sure about dust from bedding - Respiratory infections are often caused by too low temps - definitely in BPs and boas - so I assume corns as well. Could your temps have been a bit low?

I hope your vet showed you well how to do an injection - I had to do injections on a snake once and there are very specific areas and specific ways to do it, and the internal organs aren't always where you think they'll be - but I won't comment anymore on this aspect of it as it was a long time ago and I don't want to give false information.

I hope your snake soon gets better.

 

[Nerys]

snakes can become senstive to subtances like aspen, almost like an allergic reaction to it.. so that could also be a cause of the RI..

N

 

[serpentkid100]

hope he gets better soon, good luck with him, my corn always fasts himself over christmas, so i leave him too brumate....but he is huge an still growing...5 foot an 4 years

 

[ratboy]

The vet said it was probably from the dust in his bedding, some kind of aspen bedding or something like that.

That's a very odd thing for a vet to say, what evidence was that based on ?

Did he ask you about draughts in the vivarium, temperature gradients, humidity and ventilation first ?

 

[1949_sam]

my male corn snake is not eating it's been 3 weeks now...nige said it could be because he wants a lady...but he's only a yearlin about 13 months old now 2.1/2ft long...and i thought he was to young...i've got a female but she's about 5.1/2ft long now...is she too big for him?

Any thoughts would help?

Sam