Help My Snake Isn't Eating!

[JAS101]

even with thawed out food - the food has to be warm[ when u give it to the snake] for the snake to take it , i have some snakes that stuff around for an hour until they decide to eat it [ by then its not warm, but they eat it] . the presentation [ in this case its the warmth of the rodent]is the importent thing - that gets the snake into food mode .

 

[Sunnyfront]

Yer I leave it under the ceramic globe for 40-45 mins and it's fully thawed out. I'll give it a shot in the click-clack next week and not offer it in front of him just leave it in there see what happens hey.. I'll let you know

 

[k2alterra]

Hey there i have a carpet python that has to be so picky about food he can eat mice no problem but as soon as i give him a rat he will strike at it and coil it then let it go as if it tastes bad and i feed him frozen thawed for everything and its not that the rat is to big for him i have even tried pinky rats and he does the same thing can anyone give me some tips on how to change him over to rats
Thanx

 

[Djando98]

Braining worked!

- Braining: I have not tried this personally as the first two techniques above have always worked for me. Pierce a small hole in the cranium of the mouse/rat and gently squeeze the head. This will release fluid from the brain which will provide additional scent and will hopefully get a feeding response once you offer the food after braining.

So my 6mth old Northern Diamond stopped eating around a month ago. and i have taken all measures to ensure temps are spot on and all husbandry is covered off.

She wouldnt even look at a mouse as food for the first 3 weeks. then all of a sudden as i was installing a new thermometer - Bam! she struck at me! so i thought id try to feed her - she struck.... wrapped... then... nothing! she left the mouse there and didnt even attempt to eat.

So i remembered reading your post and though id give "braining" a go! re-heated the mouse then took a drawing pin and gently pressed it into the mouse's brain - released a small amount of fluid.

completely different response this time..

i could barely get the mouse in her enclosure and she was already going for it!

she wolfed it down..

so i thought i would share my success! (i was quite skeptical at first - but wow!)

Thanks!

 

[RamsMice]

Brilliant Info, Good read. Should be made a sticky

 

[Shanni]

Hi all, Noodle, my 20 month old Stimsoni hadn't eaten for nearly 13 weeks. Her tank temps were all good and we'd offered mice or quail every couple of weeks with some interest, but no eating success. She seemed healthy enough & we'd read a bit about not eating through winter so we weren't panicking yet. Tonight Mum was sorting chicken necks & wings for our dog & one wing was left over, mum zapped it in the microwave & was scraping the just warmed but not cooked meat off the bones when we decided to offer a piece to Noodle. She investigated it up close, her tongue flicking fast but not striking so I put it on her tile & yay, after a few minutes of checking it out she ate it. We ended up giving her 4 pieces (no bones) & the last two she struck & coiled before eating. So exciting to have her eat after such a long break but I hope she digests it ok since it has no bones or feathers etc on it.

 

[Catgrem]

Hey all, I am after some advice about my 8 month old Stimi! I brought her in March, and she was a very good feeder! Never missed a fed, we put her up from pinkies, to the next size and she took it no worries, but the following week she stopped eating..... It's now been 5 weeks without a fed, but my other stimi, which lives in the same cage is eating fine! I returned her back to pinkies tonight, and still no luck!

She seems to be fine, and behavior is normal, besides the no eating, I have questioned the store I purchased her from and they advised me to put her in her click clack in the cooler end of her enclosure overnight.... Does this sound normal???

I just feel so bad doing that to her, and when I say she seems to look healthy, I'm no pro at this, her being my second snake, her temps are 32 at the hot end, and around 27 at the cooler end! But I find her mainly in her hide at the hot end of the enclosure.... I don't turn off my gas heater either, so the house isn't cold or anything overnight.....

Ive read this entire thread, but I'm still worried, she is so little... Is it dangerous for her to go this long without a feed? I would be devastated if anything were to happen to her....

I am considering taking her to a reptile vet, just to get her checked over......

Any advice or anything would be appreciated!

 

[Sezzzzzzzzz]

Hey all, I am after some advice about my 8 month old Stimi! I brought her in March, and she was a very good feeder! Never missed a fed, we put her up from pinkies, to the next size and she took it no worries, but the following week she stopped eating..... It's now been 5 weeks without a fed, but my other stimi, which lives in the same cage is eating fine! I returned her back to pinkies tonight, and still no luck!

She seems to be fine, and behavior is normal, besides the no eating, I have questioned the store I purchased her from and they advised me to put her in her click clack in the cooler end of her enclosure overnight.... Does this sound normal???
it doesn't sound like good advice, that's for sure!!!

Stimmi's, from what i have read can be tempermental feeders in the winter months. I dont keep them though, so have no first hand experience with them.

i dont know why the would have said to put it in the cool end of your enclosure though??? they may have been suggesting your snake is stressed due to its home being to big, and to put it back in click clack so it felt more secure?

if its too cold your snake wont eat because it cant get the temps needed for it to digest the prey item. but your temps sound fine. This time of year its natural for them to slow done a bit.

what is your heat source/s? How big is the enclosure and how long has the snake been in it?

has she shed since you've had her?

I just feel so bad doing that to her, and when I say she seems to look healthy, I'm no pro at this, her being my second snake, her temps are 32 at the hot end, and around 27 at the cooler end! But I find her mainly in her hide at the hot end of the enclosure.... I don't turn off my gas heater either, so the house isn't cold or anything overnight.....

Ive read this entire thread, but I'm still worried, she is so little... Is it dangerous for her to go this long without a feed? I would be devastated if anything were to happen to her....

Don't worry, even little snakes can go months without food.

I am considering taking her to a reptile vet, just to get her checked over......

Dont do that yet, its not necessary and a waste of money at this point.

Any advice or anything would be appreciated!

above in red.

 

[CheekySod]

Thanks for the info mate! yeah this new jungle is a bit of a pain to take the bait but im sure he will in the next two weeks

 

[ShellJoe]

Hi there,

I have a nearly 2 yr old stimmi, and he has not eaten in 4 months!!!!

His temp is 33-34, husbandry is fine, comfortable in his enclosure, always out and about exploring, climbing over rocks, mucking around in his reptile sand etc. We have tried weanlings, hoppers, and even a quail today and nothing... He looks at it, has a lick, and then pulls back, and goes under his rock...

We dont know what to do.. He has lost a little bit of weight, but not a dramatic amount, hes a muscly little critter

Any suggestions guys? He was my first snake, my baby, and pride and joy... I dont know what i'd do if anything ever happened to him..

Please help??

 

[saximus]

That doesn't sound that unusual. A lot of adult snakes wouldn't have eaten for about that long. Even if the hot end temps are up they can be sensitive to the ambient atmospheric triggers. I'd personally give it another month and see. September is typical "wake up" time

 

[ShellJoe]

Thanks for the quick reply..

Just worrying, because we have the fire on every night, and he is in the lounge room, so its still relativly warm inside the house too... Wouldnt have thought that would be an issue... But i guess we will just have to wait and see..

Thanks again

 

[Dragon_crazy]

Hey all, I am after some advice about my 8 month old Stimi! I brought her in March, and she was a very good feeder! Never missed a fed, we put her up from pinkies, to the next size and she took it no worries, but the following week she stopped eating..... It's now been 5 weeks without a fed, but my other stimi, which lives in the same cage is eating fine! I returned her back to pinkies tonight, and still no luck!

She seems to be fine, and behavior is normal, besides the no eating, I have questioned the store I purchased her from and they advised me to put her in her click clack in the cooler end of her enclosure overnight.... Does this sound normal???

I just feel so bad doing that to her, and when I say she seems to look healthy, I'm no pro at this, her being my second snake, her temps are 32 at the hot end, and around 27 at the cooler end! But I find her mainly in her hide at the hot end of the enclosure.... I don't turn off my gas heater either, so the house isn't cold or anything overnight.....

Ive read this entire thread, but I'm still worried, she is so little... Is it dangerous for her to go this long without a feed? I would be devastated if anything were to happen to her....

I am considering taking her to a reptile vet, just to get her checked over......

Any advice or anything would be appreciated!

Im in adelaide too and my stimsons same age she hasnt eaten in last 4 weeks maybe its weather down here ha ha

 

[REDFOX53]

Hey guys I've been reading the forum for a while but only just joined as I never needed any advice (that hadn't already been given on the forum).
I want to ask about my Darwin Carpet he (I was told by the breeder but I'm relatively sure is a she) is just shy of three years old 6ft and weight around 2.2-2.4kg.

It has always been an aggressive feeder but this year has gone off its food, it actively hunts around its enclosure every night (which used to be how i knew when it was time for a feed). Originally it was feeding on a large rat every 10 - 14 days but last feed it didn't eat for around 3-4 months (ate in mid june) but when it did feed it was extremely aggressive afterwards so i kept feeding daily until it no longer showed interest(1 large and 3 medium rats). Now it still hasn't eaten and I'm not that worried( lost a little bit of weight but it was slightly overweight anyway and I know it can last several months without food).

I feed in enclosure after knocking on the base hard three times (learnt from a family friend who has been in herp for 40 yrs but passed last yr so cant ask him any more) and there is never any confusion about when its feeding time even when it doesn't eat it will still show interest after i knock just not strike.

I was wondering if anyone with more experience knows if this fasting will become a regular thing or if it is due to winter months or if its something i need to get checked out at the vet? I'm only 21 and this is the first issue I've had with my snake (purchased at 8 months feeding on pinkies at around 12-14 inches)

Sorry about the long post I just noticed while reading other threads that everyone complains about not enough info so i tried to be as specific as possible.

P.s. I talk about aggression a lot in this but that's only while feeding after knocking on the base. I wrap Dexter around my shoulders and have let countless (inexperienced) people handle him and he has only ever tagged me once when he was around a yr old. He was on my desk (exploring) and i was typing and he struck my little finger, i guess it was the fast movement.

 

[starr9]

I have a stimmie who loves her food! She will strike so hard and fast the min she knows dinner is ready! This is my first snake and I got her when she was older and had been through her first winter with the breeder. She is now 2yrs old.

Over this winter she went off her food and I let her be till a few weeks ago when it got warmer. Now she use to come up to the food offered and have a good smell of it then BANG she would strike! No problems! So the first time I offered her some food after winter I was very surprised when she just slowly opened her mouth and grasped the food. She coiled around it a bit but nothing like her old show. I put it down to still waking up after winter. I made sure she had no lumps or bumps anywhere just to be sure. Any way the next 4 feeds she did the same thing, slowly come up to it and open her mouth and take it gently. Now I got to thinking ok this is not like her at all. She had a shed and still not back to her old ways. I asked Blue for some advice as I was thinking of taking her to the vet to get a check over. He advised me that during winter and with no regular feeds her tummy would get a bit smaller and she would be less likely to move around etc to save energy etc. He advised me that she could need to shed before Id notice any change back to her old ways as well! He said to give her one more feed and see how she went. Well last night she was back to the girl I remember!! She smelled her dinner and then BAM!! It was like her first feed with me all over again! I was shocked at how fast she was and may of let out a girly yelp, but I could not stop smiling!!!

Even with the readings I did to make sure I hadn't missed anything and she was not ill, all I needed was someone to point out something that now, seems so obvious. She just needed a few feeds and a shed to get back into her swing! So BIG thank you to Blue and I hope this info can help others!!!!

 

[cathy1986]

The most common feeding problem is that a captive snake doesn't want to strike and eat pre-killed (frozen or fresh) food items. Feeding pre-killed prey is recommended for the safety of the snake, but sometimes snakes are reluctant to take pre-killed prey, especially if the snake is wild caught or is being offered a prey item it has never eaten before. There are several ways you can try to entice a reluctant snake to take pre-killed prey:

• Make sure the prey is warmed - thaw frozen prey in the fridge or in cold water, but then place it in warm water just before feeding. Never use the microwave or burns may result due to eneven heating.
• Use feeding forceps - this is a good idea anyway, to keep a snake from associating your hand with food. The forceps allow you to wiggle the prey item slightly, which often elicits a strike from the snake.
• Dip the prey in chicken stock - the scent of chicken stock appeals to some snakes.
• Rub a new prey item with another favororite food - for example, if your snake likes chicks but won't take mice, rub a chick on a pre-killed mouse. The familiar scent of a favorite food may trick the snake into taking the new item.
• Try a different color - if you tried a white mouse without success, try a multi-colored mouse since some snakes seem to balk at albino mice.
• Pithing or braining - puncture or slightly crack the skull of a prekilled prey item. Although it seems a little gross, the scent of brain matter is particularly effective at stimulating the feeding response.
• Give the snake some privacy - feed at night, and cover the tank so the snake is left totally alone with its food. Also provide a dark hide box for your snake, as some prefer to eat in a secluded spot.
• Try a different size - maybe your snake would prefer its prey slightly smaller or larger than what you are offering

 

[Kraft]

Hi all I am here because I am in need from the snake gods I.e you guys! I have a 9 month old jungle python who eats like a beast and I also have a 2 month old jungle jag which I've had for 3 weeks he had eatin a week before I got him so I let him settle for a week then offered him a fuzzy mouse which he wanted no part of so I waited another 3 days an decided to try again an he didn't bite so I thought I'd just leave it in his click clack a few hours later it was gone but since then I can't get him to feed an he doesn't seem to bite at anything I've tryed wiggiling, Braining and leaving it in his click clack again but nothing temps are great he is in a 5 liter click clack plenty of hides I'm aware they can go along time without food but I can't seem to put my mind at ease also I don't believe he's going to shed as for he isn't showing any signs please help o great ones!!

 

[The_Geeza]

I got 2 stimis that r not eating and it's mid summer.... I put it down too our aircon in the house .... Anyone else experience this... Stimis r so sensitive to temps!!!
Ta
Pete

 

[euphorion]

I thought it was odd that you started a thread about eating
makes sense now!

ditto, haha