Refused feed.

[SnakeyJay]

Hey everyone.... So I went to go and feed my corn last nite and he wouldnt take it... I teased him with it n he was interested but he kept backing off.. So I popped it on a plate n put it in with him over night... Still not taken it.. I havnt changed anything im doing or the food item.. and hes never refused a feed before. Anyone know what could be the issue?.

[stephanbakir]

Could be he just isn't hungry, snakes can go literally months without eating.

[sickvenom]

Hey everyone.... So I went to go and feed my corn last nite and he wouldnt take it... I teased him with it n he was interested but he kept backing off.. So I popped it on a plate n put it in with him over night... Still not taken it.. I havnt changed anything im doing or the food item.. and hes never refused a feed before. Anyone know what could be the issue?.

the answer is very simple - he's not hungry. assuming there are no health issues, and that nothing has changed with the temps in his cage, i'm just guessing he's not hungry. it happens. no need to be alarmed...... yet.

[SnakeyJay]

Lol I thought he might not be hungry and im aware their slow motabolism allows them to go without eating so im not overly worried.. Im just curios as hes never missed a feed and usually hes an aggressive eater for such a little guy.

[sickvenom]

hope you tossed that mouse. probably not re-freezable since it was in the cage all night. try a fresh one next week.

[SnakeyJay]

hope you tossed that mouse. probably not re-freezable since it was in the cage all night. try a fresh one next week.

Lol I never refreeze the mice or rats... But yeah I threw it out.

[Lankyrob]

Our two yearlings both refused feed yesterday too, they both normally eat even in blue but just werent interested. Checked on them both this morning and they are both in blue, could just be that feed day has never fallen on this specific part of the shed process before or that they just arent hungry, either way they just have to wait til next feed day now! :)

[SnakeyJay]

So I shouldnt try again in a day or so? Leave it the 10 days to next feed x

[Lankyrob]

I always wait til the next scheduled feed, hassling them wihth daily attempts is more likely to stress them than to help. As we all know they van go months without food and still be healthy, as long as there are no other issues they just have to wait.

[SnakeyJay]

Ah cool... Ill leave it for abit then and see if he goes into blue or anything.

[infernalis]

Surprised no one brought this up.... Your snake may be due for a shed soon. Many snakes refuse to eat for around a week before a shed cycle is expected.

[SnakeyJay]

Surprised no one brought this up.... Your snake may be due for a shed soon. Many snakes refuse to eat for around a week before a shed cycle is expected.

Tut tut wayne.... Rob already suggested that one.. But yeah im hoping thats whats happening.

[mykee]

I'll add that by putting the dead rodent of a plate overnight and not on the heat, you are cooling down that animal to the point that it is no longer either locateable or palitable to your snake.
Snakes find food by movement, heat and smell. Since it can't move anymore, you need to depend on smell (increased by heat) and heat alone.
Lose the plate next time, you may have better luck.

[sickvenom]

I'll add that by putting the dead rodent of a plate overnight and not on the heat, you are cooling down that animal to the point that it is no longer either locateable or palitable to your snake.
Snakes find food by movement, heat and smell. Since it can't move anymore, you need to depend on smell (increased by heat) and heat alone.
Lose the plate next time, you may have better luck.

Exactly. I don't know why people use the plate method. Pretty silly. I feed all my rodents straight from the fridge and xangle with feeding tongs. 100% success rate.

[Lankyrob]

I use a plate to tease feed teh snake onto - then when they eat it drastically reduces the risk of substrate getting stuck to the prey. If they wont tease feed for whatever reason i leave the prey on the plate overnight but under the heat bulb (or at least at the warm end of the viv). For a long time my BP would NOT strike feed no matter how we tried but would always eat the prey item if left on a plate - lately he has started to tease feed with no problems.

[whoaxmary]

Sounds like he's just hungry. I'd follow everyones advise and hold off till the next scedualed feed before offering it again. Also over handling and stress can throw a snake off eating. My Pine didn't eat the other day, and I can only assume it's either because he just isn't hungry or because between now and the last feeding he's been handled FAR more than he ever has been before (he's shed recently, I keep a close eye on his temps as he gets really pissy if he gets to warm, and I have no reason to think he is sick.), so I'm not touching him at all until I offer him another meal just in case.

[SnakeyJay]

Hes a grumpy boy anyway. So I only handle him once or twice a week when u have to. Ill get him out fot cleaning or something and keep him out an extra 5 or 10. Anything more seems to stress him.. And hes got aspen for substrate, hence the plate (which was on the warm side btw). He usually does strike feed.

[stephanbakir]

Until your snake is reliably eating, DON'T handle him unless you have to, the stress wont help him at all.

[SnakeyJay]

Its cool, wasnt planning too.. Hopefully he was just not hungry, so ill leave him till next feed day.

[SnakeyJay]

Update.... So I just tried feeding my corn again n he scoffed it down straight away.... Guess he just wasnt hungry last time.. So glad he took it this time :)

[Marica]

Glad to hear Jay :)

One of my little corns who's usually a guaranteed eater, even while in shed, only ate 1 of his 2 pinks last week - first time I got to put my garbage disposal MBK into use :D Turned out the corn was going into shed and didn't feel like a 2-part meal that day.

[SnakeyJay]

Haha just a kids meal for him.

[KD35WIN.AS.ONE]

you cant refreeze rats/pinks if there not taken within less then 15 minutes of de-thawing?

[Marica]

From what I've read, once they are thawed the decomposition process starts. Considering the time it was left out and the time it takes to refreeze, the item would have already started to go bad.

[SnakeyJay]

Totally agree, I wouldnt refreeze my meat so I wouldnt theirs.

[Lankyrob]

Totally agree, I wouldnt refreeze my meat so I wouldnt theirs.

100% agree, rats and mice get treated the same way i would treat chicken for human consumption, except that i serve them raw rather than cooked :rolleyes:

[SnakeyJay]

Lol.. Somehowi doubt my snakes would want a grilled rat :p

[TeaNinja]

why did i just get the idiotic image of someone feeding their snake a rat steak dinner with green beans and potatos on a plate lol.

a little mini dinner lol.

[Lankyrob]

Well my snakes eat off a plate........... :rolleyes:

[SnakeyJay]

Posh snakes rob... haha.

[Marica]

why did i just get the idiotic image of someone feeding their snake a rat steak dinner with green beans and potatos on a plate lol.

a little mini dinner lol.

How about sausages (http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/zoological/reptilediet.html) :rolleyes:

[SnakeyJay]

Lol thats so sad... Why would people change their natural-ish diet. If your not prepared to feed f/t pret then dont own a snake.

[Marica]

Agreed Jay. Those sausages are one of the most ridonkulous things I've ever hear of.